Prior to getting my Rottweiler, I had an excellent Belgian bred GSD. At 10 months old she was as solid a dog as I had ever had (she was my 3rd GSD) I trained her, maybe not so much in PP, but would bite whatever (whoever) when I used her keyword. She was not viscious, but would bite and hold until released. She met an untimely death from a freak accident at 10 months old. I had searched a long time for another GSD that could have lived up to her, but to no avail. I found a Rottweiler female pup from a good kennel that was being dispersed in a divorce situation.

Now to my real question - - -

I live in the country and spend a lot of time alone. I also understand there is a great difference in the two breeds of dogs. Loki is loving and gentle and does show a pretty strong prey drive. However, I still have in the back of my mind, all the horror stories we hear about the Rottweiler breed. I would like to be able to train her to bite on command as I did with my GSD. Do I need to be aware of any additional concerns? I do not want to ruin this dog and have to worry about her being overly aggressive. I just want her to be there for me when I need her protection. I have small grandchildren and (don't laugh!) a Pomeranian dog who I need to consider.

All suggestions would be appreciated.

Thank you
Charlotte

Please define exactly what "bite on command" means, if you would.

I'm interested in your reply....

When my GSD was small, I started working with her with the ball on a string. I used this in conjunction with the usual training of sit down stay, etc. She got to the point that, for instance, when she was in a down, if I enticed her with the ball, she would come to immediate attention, coming just off her haunches, but not breaking the down. I would get her up but keeping her in the stay. She would totally concentrate on the ball. When I gave her her take command she grabbed the ball and would not let go until I released her.

One evening my adult son came in from the field and had taken his muddy boots off. He was standing on the living room carpet, working his toes in the carpet nap. Keisha had been in the down stay and came up on her haunches at full attention. My son wanted to know what her problem was. I explained to him what we were working on. He asked if I could get her to take his toes. I got her up, she was totally concentrated on his toes. I gave the take command and she grabbed his foot and would not let go until I released her. I put her back into the down stay. He said she did not hurt his foot but had a really strong grip and that he would not have wanted to try to take his foot away from her. After that, I experimented with other objects and she would take and not release anything that we worked with.

This work with her was to my advantage as there was a person who came to my house (a bi-polar relative) who was screaming, yelling and acting in a threatening way. Keisha got between us. This person was a woman so was very intimitated by Keisha's actions and it was not necessary to give the take command. I am confident, that had it been necessary to give the command, that Keisha would have taken control of the situation.

This is the type of controlled behavior I would like to teach my Rottweiler. Loki is of a similar personality as Keisha, is exhibiting a good prey drive, but admittedly, is a little harder to control when working with the ball. She still tends to break from the down stay when she wants to get the ball. She doesn't always wait for the take command.

Does this give you a better idea of what I would like to achieve?

Thank you
Charlotte

You want a toesucker that threatens some of your family members but not others? What you are talking about is a bad idea that could easily result in getting one of your grandchildren, a guest, or (God forbid) your Pomeranian bitten. If you want a PPD, train a PPD with the assistance of someone with alot of experience who knows what they're doing. Don't do your own stunts.

Iain gave a great reply.
Beginners have no business working on something as potentially dangerous as bite work for ppd type protection. They'll either train incorrectly and develop bad habits as the first poster was an example of, or it can lead to greatly increased liability in the case of a bite.
Leave ppd bite work to professionals.

And I've said this dozens of times in many posts on this forum. Folks, stop thinking that your dog is going to protect you in a dangerous situation unless the dog has the genetics and temperament for it, along with good training. It's a *rare* situation in which a dog protected it's owner. With an untrained dog, it's extremely rare.
Stop fooling yourselves, ok? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />