Great topic, Sheepdog! Thank you for offering your fine expertise and guidance. I haven't had a dog, other than the occasional foster dog, since my beloved Helga died several years ago. I like the classic German Rottweiler temperment: strong, stoic, loyal, calm, and a fierce defender of home and family - in other words, nothing at all like the product of America's backyard breeder. Helga, unfortunately, was the victim of a such a breeder who wasn't concerned with maintaining proper temperment, health or physicality. She was long of leg, where Rotts are supposed to be stout and muscular - not unlike a Pitbull. Her face was long and narrow, and she tended toward hyperactivity. Still, she was a great dog but died fairly young due to what I can only assume was bad breeding. My question is, do you think it makes sense to buy from a breeder who claims German bloodlines in their Rottweilers, or is that just a load of baloney? Or does it make more sense to import a dog directly from Germany?

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It isn't really the country of origin that matters, the trick is the "breeder" you will be dealing with. You can always ask the breeder here in the US to show you copies of the pedigree, to see if the dogs are imports. However, there are probably just about as many scruffy dogs produced accross the big pond as there are here. The exception being some countries have a dog warden that comes out when you have a litter born and will cull the litter for you, wether you like it or not. Any defects noticable at birth will get the pup culled, undersized from the rest of the litter, off markings, most litters are cut down about 50% If I am not mistaken, Germany is one of those countries that does that. This definatly does cut down on the numbers of defective dogs, but of course, not all defects are noticable at birth. So that is a point in favor of the imports, for sure. And I have seen a lot of really sorry Rotts when the breed came up in popularity. But there are always good breeders that do things right, it's just a matter of searching them out. Lots of breeders do import dogs. I have imported 4 myself, and have to say, they are super nice dogs. (not Rotts though, Standard Schnauzers and Welsh Terriers.)

It is always a lot easier to deal with a breeder here in the states of course. Hopefully, you can even find one within driving distance. It does help immensly when you can see the parents, especially in dogs like Rotts where conformation is so important. Of course, you can't always judge temperment issues even seeing the parents. Dogs act differently around strangers. And dispite what many people think, temperment is not entirely dependant on genetics. The way a pup is raised, not only by the breeder but the purchaser of an 8 week old plays a role in the development of a pup.

So, in most cases, buying in the US makes the most sense. I imported because of the very limited gene pool available in my breeds here in the USA. The most important thing is finding a breeder that you feel good about and are certain they arn't blowing smoke at you. It's usually not hard to do after exchanging a few emails back and forth. Having some basic dog knowledge is really helpfull, you can catch certain things that might tip you off to the fact that the breeder hasn't got a clue. One of my "pet peeves" are breeder ads that over use the word "love." "We love or puppies so much and we raise them with lots of love and play with them all the time and we want you to just love our puppies too" You can give a pup lots of love and attention, but if they have crappy genetics, it isn't going to make them a good dog.

 

 

 

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I feel bad now, I gave my dogs grapes before. I can't remember if they actually liked it though, it's either they really liked it, or they didn't like it. I knew cats couldn't have grapes, but i didn't know it was the same for dogs too.

Any suggestions on how to make a dog stop going to the bathroom on the carpet? At my uncle's, where my dogs stay they seem to always go to the bathroom (his dogs too and my aunts), and it's really frustrating because it smells so awful. The back door is always left open, so it's not like they can't do outside.

Also how do I get my Aunt's dog to stop attacking me when I leave? If i am by myself, i have to coax him into the backyard, give him like a toy or some dog food, hurry and run through the house, open the door and leave as fast as I can. I don't always know if/when he is going to attack me either, sometimes he watches me leave and doesn't care, other times he has me pinned up against the door trying to calm him down.

And last but not least, I'm moving out of state next year, and probably will not be taking my dogs. I've had them since they were puppies, but my boyfriend already has a dog, and we just got a cat, and my dogs are kind of old and seem to be content staying with my uncle. Is it okay to just up and leave them?

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Humm, sounds like your aunt and uncle really need some tips on housebreaking pets. Your dogs are just following the example set by the dogs that live in their household. Dog eliminate by scent, if they smell where a dog has gone before, that is where they will choose to go. And since a dogs sense of smell is so much better than ours, even a good cleaning of the carpets will not remove the oder enough that the dogs can't smell it. Their abilities to smell are at least 200 times greater than ours.
The dogs can be retrained, but it would take a lot of work and effort on the part of your relatives. Just leaving the door open so they can go out if they want to is not going to work. Why bother going out when the toilet is right in the house? I am a big fan of the crate training method. There is a lot of good info available about in online. What they need to do is confine the dogs to crates for a few hours, or even overnight, and then in the morning, first thing, physically take the dogs to the back yard (or where ever you want them to eliminate) and make sure they do their business outside. Be sure to pet and praise them when they finish doing their business outside. Then they can be let back in the house. Any time they can't be closely watched, they should be put back in the crates, and then taken outside again when it is time for them to be out again. In the meantime, the carpeted area of the house should be off limits to them, blocked off with baby gates or whatever, to keep temptation away and give them a chance to figure out they are supposed to go outside. They will not get over their bad habits overnight, it may take plenty of time and patience to straighten them out.

Your aunts dog definatly has some quirk in it's personality. It is difficult to say what triggers his reaction to your leaving. Especially since he will allow you to coax him into the back yard for treats or to play. And since he doesn't do it all the time. But there has to be something that triggers his reaction to you leaving. You might try some sort of reprograming training with him. Does he know any basic obedience commands? Like sit or stay? If so, just as you are ready to leave, call him to you, tell him to sit, then when he complys, give him a treat, then tell him to stay, then calmly walk out the door. Never run or bolt out the door, in many breeds the instincts are to chase whatever runs from them. Of course, you may have to do this every time you leave, but it is a better departure than getting pounced on.

As to leaving your dogs with your Uncle, since they have been there before and are acustom to the household, most likely they will be fine. Very few dogs will pine way after their original owner leaves them, although it has happened. Dogs are one of the most versitile animals there are, they are quite good at adapting to what ever circumstances they may find themselves in.

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Out of curiosity, is there something wrong with my dog, Dixie..? Everytime he hears the littlest sound, he jumps up, and starts barking. And then it takes at least 10 minutes to stop him. And then he hears someone pull up the driveway, and it starts all over again. It gets really annoying, because many times during the day, there are many sounds in the neighborhood. Is he just wanting attention? Or does he feel like disturbing the somehow peaceful quiet of the neighborhood? Because we always have to discipline him, and we don't like that! What should I do?


Sorry if that sounded ignorant, but I AM ignorant to the ways of pets. Though I don't love them any less.

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Lots of different things come into play here. First off, what kind of dog is Dixie? One of the duties of our friend the dog is to protect it's owner and it's home. He may be doing the job he was bred to do. As dogs have a lot better hearing than we do, they will be alert to things we don't hear, and they want to warn us that something might be up.

One thing that can be the cause of excessive barking is boredum, or lack of exercise. Does he get out much to run and play? Age also makes a difference, younger dogs, (just like youger kids) have a lot more energy than us old coggers. Also, how long have you had him? If he is fairly new to you and your neighborhood, it may just be the strangeness of the situation that is setting him off.

He could be barking for attention, if you spend a lot of time with him when he starts barking. (by trying to quite him down) Try a different form of disipline, when he starts barking put him in a dog crate in a quite room and ignore him for a few minutes. Doesn't need to be very long, 10 minutes is fine, but don't take him out until he has not barked for a few minutes. Reward not barking, instead of barking. There are lots of ways to disipline bad behavior, try several things to see what works best for your dog. The penny can trick works well for some dogs. Put a few pennies in a metal soda can and tape over the hole. Shake it or even throw it at the dog when he barks and say NO!

There are such devices as anti barking colars that deliver a mild shock when the dog barks, but I would certainly try milder corrections before resorting to anything that extreme. Do make sure he gets lots of exercise first of all.

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Oh, I see. Well, Dixie's really energetic, and I guess, in his own way, protective of his masters. As a matter of fact, he probably IS barking for attention. Yeah, we have a big backyard, and he loves to run around and play in it. Occasionally, we'll take him for a walk. And we've had him for a bit more than 2 years.

Alright, thank you for all the help! This gives me ideas.. Heh heh..

Just kidding. Thank you again!!!!!

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My sisters dog, Luna, which are a golden retirever, got sick when eating pineapples, she got fever and was down for a week.
Worried she called to vets and they confirmed that its common for lots of dogs, getting sick when eating pineapples.
So thats my first question, what in the pineapples making the dog sick?
A new drill I found out by my dog breeder, that Xylitol is toxic for a dog. After an half hour after eating it, the dog starts puking and becoming dull. Even get cramp and becoming unconscious. Have anyone read anything about dogs and artificial, non-saccharide sweetener.
Btw, Nice topic!

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Well, you've got me on that one. I haven't a clue what substance in pineapples would be toxic to dogs. But I guess we'd all better start being more careful about leaving any fruit salad out where our dogs can get to it from the sounds of it. First grapes and now pineapples!

As far as artificial sweeteners, I don't thing they are good for anybody, dog or human. Every few years they come out with a new one and when the new one comes out they decide the previous one causes cancer.

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I have so many questions so many times...

So my precious ball of fat aka my dog seems to be... pregnant. Now my aunt and my uncle tried to keep my aunt's dog away from her, but it seems recently her stomach has swelled and she has become more "developed" if you get what I am saying? And I could have sworn that when I was petting her I felt something move. Anyway, I don't care a whole lot if she's pregnant, but I just am worried she is too old. She's around 10 and pretty hefty for her size (she is a dachshund btw), she's had two litters before, the first little she only gave birth to two puppies, and the second litter 6 (then 4, two died). Aside from her weight she isn't too bad of a dog, I mean when it's cold she gets a little slower and lazy, but she's not like falling over with arthritis you know? I just want to make sure it's okay for her to be having babies so late.

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