We seemed to have aquired a Rottie - advice please :)

[MrsElle]

We have taken on a rescue Rottie. She is quite a sweet little thing and we want to help her to settle in as soon as possible.

She has been in three different homes in the last four or five months, is older than 4.5 years as she has a docked tail and looks as if she has had pups at some time.

She has met our other dogs in the garden and they had a play (other two are outside dogs, new dog is inside), she chased the chickens and has had a sniff at the horses while on the lead. She is currently sat in the lounge with me, she is on a long lead as she evidently hasn't lived with cats before and chased them when she met them a while ago. She is a bit stressed and panting.

So, how to settle her?

 

[cbmcts]

Oh, how exciting Poor girl, she sounds like she's been through the wars.

Start a little bit of training? watch me, sit. down. Anything so you can treat and praise and get her thinking a bit, (also good news for the cats ) A kong - stomach tends to work for most rotties. A nice long walk to tire her out...

And of course - PICS!

 

[Bosworth]

just ignore her, give her a toy and leave her to it. I would keep the cats out of the room and remove the lead. Having a lead on will probably cause her to believe she is going for a walk. So she will be anticipating a trip out and be on edge waiting for something to happen. turn the TV on to give backgorund noise and just continue as normal. The sooner you relax the quicker she will. I know the cats are house cats but it won;t harm them to be excluded for a day to allow the dog to relax. Also I know with my rescue lurcher i taught the word 'no' the second they even started towards the cats and when the bitch failed to respond to no then I backed it up with a rolled newspaper banged on the floor. And then loads of praise as soon as she stopped looking at the cat. I had to smack her bottom twice in the first 2 days for threatening to chase the cats, but by day 3 it was all over. Our cats were a no go area and she knew it. And she would see the cat and come towards us for a cuddle. Other peoples cats in teh garden were fair game and could be chased out but that was great, our cats had to be tolerated. Flodden and Poppy just see cats as fun, and the cats ignore them completely. even when flodden holds one down and cleans it completely it now doesn't attack just lies there looking fed up.

 

[mattilda]

Rotts are usually softies at heart but do need to know from the word go who is boss and what their boundaries are. Personally I don't like the rolled up newspaper thing but find a low growly no and if ignored a sharp clap of your hands gets their attention. Agree take the lead off and chill. She has had a lot of homes in a short time and may take a while before she realizes she is with you to stay. My 2 will chase our cat if she is in the garden, fortunately a rare occurrence, but it is something we continue to work on.
Enjoy her, rotts give such love back to you and if she's anything like ours display an amazing back wiggle!!

 

[padderpaws]

invest in some expert advice like someone from the A.P.D.T or other professional body. Give her a routine and maintain it. That will help her settle. Good luck.

 

[lexiedhb]

Walk her legs off for the first few days/weeks.
Give her a routine (up time, walk time, feed time, quiet time, play time)
Watch me is really valuable- if you can train a solid one she should watch you when asked instead of the cats
A big meaty bone would probably also take her mind off the smaller furries!!

PICSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

 

[Slinkyunicorn]

Deffo need piccies

Drop CAYLA a PM as well - her Reagan was a rescue - so i am sure she will be able to give you some advice *whispers she is a really nice dog - despite her owner*

I'd agree with the others though - lose the lead and just carry on as normal so she gets used to you and your home

 

[MrsElle]

Thanks for the advice so far guys - keep it coming!

'She' (I really don't like her name but she answers to it so it is staying!) is actually pretty well trained. She will sit, give her paw, lie down, go to her bed and roll over! She will walk to heel, although we have been told her recall is poor. She doesn't leg it, just potters along in her own little world oblivious to all efforts to call her back! That may change when we take her down to the beach with other two, hopefully when they come back she will! Something to work on anyway

She has a problem with drinking (don't we all! ) in that if she has access to water she will drink until she is sick, then carry on drinking until she is sick again. I can only assume that she was at some time left extremely thirsty and now drinks everything she can. We have been told she will stand in a stream and drink and drink, so will have to watch her out on walks for that too. She has been seen by a vet recently and is fit and well and although she did have major dental problems, her teeth and gums are looking pretty good at the moment.

OK, enough rabbiting, here is 'Chelsea'.........

 

[Cinnamontoast]

Defo teach the watch me or leave command: I'm using Zak's favourite squeaky tennis ball for this, now he can do it with the ball thrown away, with food, anything. It's a really useful focus trick for inside and out and very helpful for small furries!

If she's food orientated, use this to teach her simple but useful training. Spend some time finding out what vocal commands she knows and reinforce with treats to keep her mind off the cats.

I'm hearing more about Rotties recently and converting to thinking I really like them. I met two beautiful puppies this year who were super well trained. Gorgeous things! Can we see some pics?

Oops, cross posted with you! Pretty girl!

 

[Slinkyunicorn]

She looks lovely

 

[wildwest]

shes a beauty shell settle soon lots of walks with the others will help :}

 

[Dobiegirl]

What a lovely girl though Im not sure about her name.

If she was mine I would like my vet to check her over with the excess drinking, if nothing else but to put my mind at rest there wasnt something else going on.

 

[mattilda]

Makes you wonder what they've been through if the excessive drinking is a behaviour due to mistreatment. My heart bleeds for any animal that has been or is still suffering cruelty. She is a lovely looking girlie. As for the name...well I've heard worse. We weren't sure about Sage, she was 6 months old when we got her, but couldn't think of anything that sounded similar that we liked. It has grown on us and now I quite like it...plus noone else has a dog with that name that I've come across so far!!

 

[CAYLA]

I think the name is fine! anyone read my "changing names post"

I have replied to the PM, but as suggested they are the most rewarding dog but should only be in capable hands.

 

[Aru]

Shes a lovely looking dog.Agree about the name though anyone know anything that thyms or sounds like it

I would second the other posters on checking out her over drinking issue.For peace of mind Id drop into the vet and have that checked out.It may be a reaction to previous treatment but excessive water intake can be a sign of an underlying disease as well so it may be safer to rule potential issues out early on.

Monitoring over a day or 2 exactly how much she will willingly drink if its left out adlib would also be a bonus to your vet if you are getting her checked out.

 

[Sandstone1]

She looks lovely, only thing I can think of that ryhmes with her name is Elsie!

 

[Kaylum]

My rescue jrt was unhappy about cats but the cat was seriously relaxed about everything (also a stray but must have lived with dogs in his past) and when the dog went near him he stretched out a paw and showed his claws. Cat and dog never cared after that day and ignored each other, even though they shared the same bed.

She looks lovely.