Rottweiller- supplements?

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0310Star

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I have a 4 month old Rottweiller bitch and seeing as they are prone to bad hips it got me thinking about my horse and the fact I give her a supplement for her leg problems and also as a preventative for anything else happening.

Does anybody with a Rottie give supplements for this? If so, what do you give and how old do you start them on it?

I am obviously wanting to avoid any problems long term so just want to do what's best really! I should also probably mention she is on the RAW diet if that makes a difference at all.

Thanks in advance :)
 
0310Star said:
I have a 4 month old Rottweiller bitch and seeing as they are prone to bad hips it got me thinking about my horse and the fact I give her a supplement for her leg problems and also as a preventative for anything else happening.

Does anybody with a Rottie give supplements for this? If so, what do you give and how old do you start them on it?

I am obviously wanting to avoid any problems long term so just want to do what's best really! I should also probably mention she is on the RAW diet if that makes a difference at all.

Thanks in advance :)
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My old NI was on FlexiJojnt as he was having hip[ displacia issue, vet recommended metacalm but flexijoint is the way we changed onto with no regret and as good, results and even used water treadmill too to build up muscle and strength.

Our new pup was on raw diet but we have change onto pedigree puppy food
 
I have mine on Yumove, although he got angry last week and ate the new tub of 250 in one sitting. He seemed bouncy for a day or two but I think I need to buy some more for long term effects.
 
Hip dysplacia can be common in rotts but if the parents have good hip scores should not be a big problem. Arthritis is a bigger problem. Both mine have it in varying degrees. I feed Royal Canin mobility food and they have a daily Nutraquin+ supplement. They also have a 4 weekly Trocoxil each and Dexter, who has it worse in the toes of one foot, is on Tramadol. Mine are 7 and 8 and still bouncy happy dogs.
 
So is the general opinion to use a supplement when the problem arises?
Obviously with horses a lot of people use a supplement before a problem starts as a preventative so I was just curious if it is worth doing that with my pup?

We will be sticking with raw because unfortunately biscuit diets don't agree with her so we think there could be something in it which she is allergic to. And she is looking fantastic on raw!
 
May be worth chatting to your vet. I am of the opinion that many people take stuff they don't need why do it to our animals? However, I am by no means an expert and can only go off my own personal experiences. None of mine have been given supplements until the need arose. That includes my horses.
 
Same with mine, horses not had anything until needed but I am much more confident in what to do with the horse than the dog! I think I will have a chat to the vet next time we go in for something and see what they say.

Thanks for the replies :)
 
The most important thing with large breed pups is to grow them slowly so raw is ideal and careful not to over exercise. Billingshurst book grow your pup with bones is worth reading
 
satinbaze said:
The most important thing with large breed pups is to grow them slowly so raw is ideal and careful not to over exercise. Billingshurst book grow your pup with bones is worth reading
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This is the basis we are going on, the vet said she is really healthy and her coat is amazing and we have just gone on the basis of when she comes out with us and she seems tired, we pick her up... until she is too big to carry anyway :)
 
I had to read this as we've had rotties for years so the title caught my eye. I'm no expert but we have never given ours a joint supplement unless/until they needed one in old age and then after careful consideration and a bit of trial and error we settled with cosequin for ours.

We currently have a rottie pup just coming up to 6 months of age who is a big boy, also fed raw ( Natural Instinct ) and he looks amazing. I wouldn't dream of giving him a joint supplement at this age, he's still growing and I can't see why he has a need for joint supplements. I certainly wouldn't give a child a joint supplement for no reason so although I get the idea of using them as an "insurance" type measure for horses because we ride them, jump them & that's not what nature intended it's not something I would do for a pup. The rules we go by are be careful with her exercise when young, be careful with stairs and jumping down anything and feed her the best you can afford - although I reiterate I'm no expert!
 
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Thanks for the reply, that makes a lot of sense with regards to how we use our horses for something nature didn't intend.

When you say be careful with stairs or jumping down anything, how far do you with this? Our stairs are open in our living room so unfortunately unless we are keeping an eye 24/7 she does occasionally go up but only maybe once or twice a day?
Also what rules do you go by with regards to walking? I have heard really mixed opinions on this, we have just been going on when she gets tired we pick her up (well, for as long as we can!)
 
My husband & I were discussing the walking debate this morning. We were always very careful with previous rotties, doing very little for the first 6 months then a gradual increase until about a year old but research seems to say now that they can do more than this - i.e. let them play naturally and do as much as they feel like doing. The caveat with this is that they must not be lead forced and never allowed to continue until they are tired. It seems a more natural approach but we've been debating it all morning! With ours we are doing more than previous pups in as much as he is off the lead and allowed to play on his walks but we never walk him or keep him out until he's showing signs of tiredness. On the odd occasion he was tired when he finished a walk we rest him for the remainder of the day. Of course the downside is if he didn't get enough exercise he would be like a loony in the house so it's a case of using up his spare energy but not overdoing things. You will know roughly how much your pup wants to do each walk without being so tired she needs picking up.

Our last dog was under an orthopaedic specialist in his old age and he said any damage done ( or any hereditary issues ) normally show in rotties at about a year old.

We only allow ours up the stairs at night so he does one trip up & down each day at present. Until very recently his downward trip was supported by us but he is now able to come down unsupported so we let him do the stairs on his own. We don't want to "baby" him so that he doesn't work anything out for himself but a downwards impact is the worst thing for their joints so we are being careful. It's the same with getting in and out of the car, he can get his front feet up so we lift his back end in but we don't allow him to jump out unaided. Until about a month ago we were lifting him out but now we hold his collar & support his chest so he sort of lowers his front feet down and avoids any impact.

As I said I'm really no expert so we are just going by what we've learnt over the years. I would be careful with allowing her to walk until she's tired though as I'm not sure if that's a good thing at such a young age. Playing in the house is different because she can stop when she chooses.

I'd love to see a pic, can't resist a rottie :-)
 
Thats really informative, thank you!

She currently does a 5 minute walk around the block, we live on an estate of cul-de-sac's which all link together, once or twice a day. Although this takes her more like 10-15 minutes and she is a bit of a stop-and-starer at the moment with anything new.
Would you say this is ok along with the occasional trip out (every few weeks) somewhere new like the woods? The 10 minutes just takes the edge off of her when she is at home running around like a bulldozer! :)

This is Poppy (hope this worked)... Edited to add, you can see what I mean about our open stairs!
Poppy%207.jpg
 
Oh wow she is gorgeous, just lovely! She sits with her back leg out just like Bisto our pup does.

I would say you aren't overdoing it, in fact if she isn't tired you may be able to do a bit more with her. At 6 months our boy is doing 3 half an hour walks a day although some of that time may be spent just sniffing, mooching about rather than actually walking & covering distance. I would say if she can be like a bulldozer in the house she isn't too tired on her walks so if she's asking to be picked up she may be playing you! We've found that bitches can be good at that - much moreso than dopey males.

We like to take ours to see as many different things as possible so it may be an idea to take her to other places as frequently as you can rather than once every few weeks. Playing in the woods and generally getting used to the smells is great for them and I would do that as often as you can. Does she go to socialisation classes or mingle with other dogs? The more you can expose her to the better.

We have blocked our stairs off with the base of an old bed which we can clamber over but Bisto can't so it might be an idea to block yours off if you can.

I've tried to attach a picture of Bisto but I can't get it to come across, will try again later.
 
Well she hasn't asked to be picked up yet but we just thought that if she does ever start lagging we would.
I'm glad you said that about the walks, she doesn't seem to tire out the rascal! Maybe we should up it to 3 x 15 minutes a day and see how we go!

Oh yes please attach a photo, would love to see him :)
 
They are beautiful mattydog! Mine is currently doing laps of the house. We are having a week full of mouthing... Please tell me it doesn't last forever!! Lol
The puppy trainer has assured us she WILL grow out of it, and I can't wait until that day 😊 by far the hardest part!

I forgot to say earlier she ia starting puppy training on the 7th!
 
Oh dear the mouthing - ours is still going strong! He loves to carry clothes about, the other day he went into Go Outdoors with us and pulled a fleece off the rail and carried it around with him. Today he had his head in the washing machine and rooted around in it until he found a sock and pulled that out. He doesn't chew through anything just mouths it all, my bras being a particular favourite!

I'm trying to get some pics on, I think this is one of our 2 old boys who both sadly passed away last year.



I'll try & get Bisto on in a minute.
 
Oh my goodness, bisto is adorable!! And you're two old boys were gorgeous :) Its amazing to think Poppy will be the size of Bisto in 2 months time!

People may frown upon this but she didn't come from a breeder, she was an accidental litter! But we met both parents and the people were very honest with us so we were happy to take her. She has such a lovely face, almost quite girly for a rottie. I think she will be quite the stunner when she is fully grown :)

I don't mind her mouthing stuff, the problem we have is she mouths us! She is quite nippy but the trainer has assured us it is just her being a puppy as she isn't viscous with it at all, just really playful and tends to be especially bitey when she is tired so would make sense!
 
I agree with you, she is really pretty and very girly. Our girl was a very pretty dog but not such a pretty pup as Poppy so I think she's going to be beautiful. It doesn't matter where she came from as long as you're happy.

Bisto still attempts to mouth us but when we say "ah" quite sharply ( which is his warning before "no" ) he fakes a yawn so still keeps his mouth there but yawns on our hand - he's quite a character!

Good luck with Poppy, keep posting updates as I'd love to see how she develops.
 
I love the name Bisto, I would never have thought of that for a boy!

How long do you think it took him to grow out of mouthing you and not being so nippy? I would like to be able to give her a cuddle without the worry of losing a finger! lol

I will keep you updated, I may start a thread in a few weeks with photo updates! :)
 
Bisto as a name came about because we wanted him to have the initials of the 3 rotties my husband and I have had together - B, S & T ( Bear, Storm & Tia ). Apart from Buster we couldn't come up with much else! He has the bloodlines of all 3 too.

He was only nippy very early on, I'd say by 4 months he definitely wasn't nipping but we were VERY firm with him. He does still attempt to mouth us on the odd occasion ( followed by the fake yawn ) but it isn't a nip and it is now quite rare as he seems to have finished teething. He does however still mouth clothes etc at any opportunity he can get! Are you firm with Poppy? I'm not sure if you've had rotties before but you do need to be firm with them ( not aggressive but fair, consistent and firm ) and particularly with the bitches in our experience. We use an "ah ah" noise which means " you're treading on dodgy ground " which progresses to a firm "no" if the unwanted behaviour continues. "No" means stop what you are doing immediately and there is no leeway on this.

I expect your puppy trainer will deal with all this for you and will help you with the nipping issue. That really shouldn't be allowed to continue but it's easy to say as an outsider!

I'll keep an eye out for your updates as I'm sure she's going to be very beautiful.
 
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Ahh what a lovely idea for his name!

Well we have spoken to the trainer and she has told us to use treats to teach her the word "no". We have only been doing it a couple days so I guess we need to allow time. When you say be firm, do you mean by voice only, or a tap on the nose etc? Just about everyone we have spoken to have suggested something different and some things we "should not do!" while other think they should be done.... its all really conflicting I must admit. We are starting the puppy training weekly as of Tuesday so hopefully they can help, although she doesn;t nip when she is out of the house, only at home with us which makes it hard to explain.
My partner has had a Rottie before but when he was younger, this is quite new to both of us so that's why we are so set on her going to puppy classes and doing everything right with her. The very last thing we want is for her to think she is boss of us!

She is 4 months and 1 week on Friday, she has been particularly bad this week with the nipping but the problem we have had is that she hasn't got out and about as early as we would have liked. She was jabbed when we got her at 10 weeks (jab done at 8 weeks), and when we took her to our own vet for the second jab they told us the first jab wasn't registered with them so we would have to start again and she would have to stay in for the 4 weeks between (final jab was Monday 23rd, last week) and 1 week after while the final one settles which has bought her up to over 4 months old now. So I think a lot of it may have been frustration of always being at home and not being able to wear her out if you know what I mean?

She is now having 3 x 15 minutes walks a day which I am hoping will help, although she is still full of energy after these!

Thank you for all of the advise so far, I really appreciate it! :)
 
We had exactly the same with Bisto, we got him at 10 weeks and then like you had to restart his jabs but our vet suggested reducing the timescale between the jabs as he already had some coverage from the first jab the breeder organised. He explained that the only reason they restart the jabs to get the same "brand" is that insurance companies can refuse to pay out if there is a claim for an illness relating to inconsistent jabbing. The actual protection provided by having a different manufacturers jab initially then swapping for the remainder is no different and the dog would be fully protected. We did it anyway but it does seem a con.

Despite the fact he could't go onto ground that dogs had been on for quite a while we still got him out & about in the car and carried him everywhere. Our dogs go everywhere with us, except riding whilst he is young, so even if we get in the car & go to Tescos they still come and stay in the car unless the weather's too hot. It gets them out of the house & gives them things to look at and as puppies it seems to tire them out mentally - they love it, you can't move in our house the minute the car keys are picked up! It also gets them used to sleeping and relaxing in the car so that you can travel with them if you ever need to. My husband is a Costa Coffee addict so he takes them to Costa and sits outside with a coffee so that they can sit outside with him and watch the world go by, they come to the pub with us, they go in any shops they are allowed such as pet shops etc as we think it makes them well rounded dogs. Combined with this they are walked at least 3 times a day without fail and in addition come to the yard with me some days and are allowed to mooch about there in the fields and around the yard for at least an hour whilst I'm sorting the horses. I think that as long as you aren't wearing her out by forcing her to exercise when she's tired then do as much with her as you possibly can - I promise you that as she gets used to things it does get easier and now is the time to get her used to all this whilst she's young. You'll then have a lovely easy adult dog that you can take anywhere.

Ours meet other dogs whilst out walking and with the other owners consent are allowed to mingle if appropriate, we also walk them with friends dogs from time to time and if we ever have to leave them for more than 4 hours they go to our local Dog Lodge where they stay for the day and mix with all the other dogs there. From about now Bisto will go there initially for an hour then build up gradually until he is used to being there so in an emergency or just when necessary he can go there and have a lovely social day! Our dog trainer doesn't agree with this as he doesn't think they should be allowed to mingle freely but we have always done it and not had a problem. If you have somewhere similar near you it would be good to introduce Poppy at an early age. Ours ensures all visiting dogs are jabbed so just double check that with yours.

I think you'll find the nipping stops once she can be more active out and about and once she has some training with your trainer - the training will tire her out as well as giving her something to think about.

With regards to correcting we don't tap ours on the nose or anything like that, we reward with treats and are consistent with commands and that seems to work. We do push back if necessary and if a dog is jumping up all the time ( Bisto was terrible ) we also push off using "no". We start off by saying no very firmly without shouting but as they progress we can just say it in a normal voice.

There are times our dogs have been hit ( I'm going to get slaughtered on here for this! ) and when I say hit I mean a proper wallop - we had one that showed an interest in sheep as a pup and despite using a long line initially and following all the correct training procedures she still as a young dog would be keen to chase them. She was never allowed to get away with this but unfortunately once she did and chased a herd of sheep on the moor, luckily she didn't get close enough to grab one but she did get walloped for it. It was the only time she got smacked & she never chased sheep again after that, the shock of getting hit seemed to be enough. I know people don't agree with it but a good wallop from us is better than being shot by a farmer.

That type of situation justifies a hard smack imo, but because we don't smack or tap ours in normal situations it seems to do the trick because it shocks them. Other than very serious situations they have no negative physical contact.

Your trainer may say different and you must go with what you think works, I'm not telling you what to do just explaining what has worked with our rotties over the years but all our dogs are only pets so I'm not an expert by any means!

God I've waffled on - sorry!
 
I am glad you waffled, that is exactly the kind of answer I wanted! Good, in depth reply :)

Well I did some research online yesterday and printed off some bits with regards to making the sharp sound a puppy would make when she has bitten too hard, and not having any anger or stress directed at her in our voices and bodies, and if she really doesn't listen then to ignore her completely with no eye contact for 20-30 seconds and then go back and continue playing. We are going to try and be as consistent as we can with it as we are a little worried it is almost a "learnt" the behavior now so we want to try and get on top of it as quickly as possible. I am annoyed at us for not knowing what to do early on but I guess its all a learning curve!

We try and get her out in the car as much as possible and she is now really good in there, I am slowly building up the time of leaving her in there when its not hot when I go and do the horses so I can take her around one of the fields when I have finished. We are lucky to have 100 acres she can walk around when she is big enough! My partner is going to bring her tonight while I ride and take her for a little potter around one of the fields. We are also going to start her recall training this weekend so she can start coming off of the lead as we have the ideal place around the fields at the yard where she cant get out anywhere.

She starts puppy training on Tuesday and I can't wait as I think this will really help with her socializing!

We have found that she is very strong minded and extremely intelligent for her age so she is certainly a handful lol
 
Also, what are peoples thoughts on agility training for Rotties to help with socialization and energy?
I know somebody who does classes so may be an idea, I would be worried about over working her legs though?
 
I think your situation sounds perfect, what a lucky dog!

We recall with treats always when young, it seems to do the trick. We've tried the long line but found that treats seem to work best - of course no dog is perfect so there are times ours ignore us but in general the treat on recall is a help.

The nipping is a shame but you will get on top of it. I also read about squeaking or yelping like a pup would when nipped but it seemed to interest ours, they would almost look at you like " oh what was that noise" and as it was interesting to them they would nip again to see what happened. As a training aid it was never a permanent solution but try it and see how you get on - they're all different!

I don't know anything about agility so maybe someone on here can help you with regards to age to start but I would guess at least a year old. I do know of rotties that do it and love it so if it's something you both enjoy then give it a go!
 
I really hope she is a happy dog, We both work but we go home at lunch to her and she has plenty of stimulation around us working. In the winter my aim is to take her to the yard every morning with me so she gets a good run before work.
We are looking to get another dog in the near future, and it will be a bit of company for her when we aren't there. Our trainer advised waiting until she is 6 months before getting another older dog but we are going to speak to her Tuesday as I am wondering if this would help with her biting as because we have been too soft at the start I do wonder if she needs to guidance of an older dog.

Have you had a puppy and an older dog at the same time before? If so, how did you find it?

Well tonight she is coming to the yard for a walk and to meet another girls 2 dogs so hopefully we can try a bit of recall training then :) Will pack the treats!!
 
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