Challenging dog!

H

hula

Well-Known Member
Joined
25 November 2011
Messages
258
Visit site
Hi

I have a 5 1/2 year old rottweiler bitch, who (despite having 2 previous rottweilers and having a family full of various dogs and characters, and being brought up with dogs) is the most stubburn, challenging, unruly, dog I have ever come across... and of course I love her to bits :D

We have had her since she was 6 weeks old, and since the moment we brought her home she showed complete and utter ATTITUDE! For example "stalking" me like a ninja within 20 minutes of coming in the house and being generally naughty, trying to be dominant at every opportunity. She is a dog that if you give her an inch and she'll take a mile. I am glad that she has come into an experienced home, as she seriously would have taken the ultimate P. We have also paid for a dog trainer for the first time ever for 1:1 sessions to get her right. We have come to love her to bits and with family, friends and welcome strangers is lovely and a right slop pot, if enthusiastic...

Although now we know her (and yes she is still a pain), there is one gripe that gets me and now she's getting older more of a concern... VET. She is awful with the vet, gets extremely aggressive (like a devil dog), wound up, petrified and distressed. I can only base this on an experience when she was 9 months old and a vet became nervous of her (she was sat like an angel at the time) and tried to inject her and left the needle in her leg while pulling the syringe away. However, it has got to the stage where she has to be muzzled and given her boosters in the car park while she is not looking, the last time she was in the vet room was 3 years ago and was a distressing time for me and her... she was petrified.

I am now worried with her becoming older about the vet needing to examine her... this has never been possible. 1 previous rottweiler was an angel at the vets our very first was not (but not as bad as this one). For our first we were given sedatives from the vet to give her before we brought her which helped. I have enquired about sedatives for this madam but this seems to have fallen on deaf ears... do they still give them out? Although she gets muzzled she is a very strong, stocky and muscular girl and gets it off within no time, and previously it has taken me, my dad and a vet nurse to hold her, and I don't like seeing her so distressed. I am particularly worried as atm she has a case of wet eczema which hibisrub is not working on and I feel its going to be a trip to the vet...

Has anyone had a similar experience/ any advise?

PS punish the deed and not the breed!
 
Short term she might need some light sedation before a vet trip, my own fella will be a candidate for Sedalin when he is older, I am predicting :p long term, lots of trips in where nothing happens, the girls behind the counter and or vet nurses feed her, make a fuss, then out again.
Also bear in mind she may be feeding off your tensions.

Regarding being a nit in the house, lots of control work, make her sit and look at you before she is allowed to go through a doorway, no charging ahead in front of you, no butting you with her head or with toys, no random slapping her paws on you, no standing above you on the sofa etc, if you leave the room, leave her in a sit or a down stay or put her in a crate for some down time rather than follow you around the whole time.
Maybe your trainer is already going over these exercises with you though :o

I don't believe that the vast majority of pet dogs are truly dominant but there are certain breeds and types that do throw their weight around if you let them :p
 
regards to the eczema (having it myself) I wouldnt reccomend hibbyscrub. Would be abit to harsh i feel. You need to dry it out so lots of sudocreme should do the trick
 
Thank you so much for your replies! She's a wonderful dog a big big character but when she is good she is very very good but when she is bad... Lol.

Thanks for the advice about the vets cave, I think I may try that. Im going to see how her eczema goes over the weekend and get her booked in... With a sedative!

MiCsarah - I did apply sudocreme when it first appeared and it didn't work :( so went onto hibbyscrub. perhaps I should have been a little more patient, i have managed to trim the hair aound it and kept it clean. All my rotties have had wet eczema, but it's the first time for this one, it's a small patch approx 2" square on top of her head. Would you recommend switching back to sudocreme?
 
I would consider taking her to ringcraft classes. You will have the opportunity there to get strangers to run their hands over her and generally inspect her.....this should help build her confidence about being gone over and generally prodded.

At the same time, as someone else suggested I believe, pop her into the vets at every and any opportunity. By that I mean several times a day if possible; walk into waiting room and straight out again. Then walk in and sit down for 30 secs and then straight out. Take a stuffed kong with you with something amazing in it that she will only ever get in that environment. Build up to getting a receptionist to give her a treat and then if they do have an empty consulting room the icing on the cake would be to walk her in there and then straight out. Build the time in the consulting room, get a nurse to pop in and then straight out whilst ignoring the dog. Then get someone to treat the dog and work up to examining the dog.

It will take hours/day/weeks and possibly months. I have one male that I had to do this with and whilst he now goes happily in, if anything (in his eyes) traumantic happens whilst there i have to go back to building up his confidence/trust again. It is a pain in the ar*e but well worth it in the long run. Said dog skinned his back leg at a shoot earlier this week exposing all the muscle, tendons and ligaments. He walked in to the vets, allowed an inspection and a premed without a grumble or any stress. However, as he had to have a GA and spend some time there he has now gone back several steps and with the vets agreement I will be removing his stitches myself at home when the time comes. Then there will be many many visits like those outlined above before I get him back to where he was before this last incident. Deep joy! :rolleyes:
 
I'd stick with the sudocreme if I was you, maybe get a mild steriod cream from the chemist, think it's betnovate, It can take months to clear mine up sometimes. You just want to try and dry it out as much as possible but not put anything on it to aggrevate it such as shampoo
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top