Hi Guys,

As you may be aware from an earlier post, i will be picking up a 12 month old Rottweiler from manchester dogs home tomorrow, unfortuntely it seems this dog has been mistreated, not trained and not socialised. its really sad he doesnt even have a name! :(

Obviously because of the obvious mistreatment of this beautiful dog he is going to take time to trust me, therefore i was just wondering:

1) how long should i wait to start basic training? and also how long should i wait to book him in for training classes, bearing in mind there is a 6 week waiting period?

2) would it help the bond between us if i let him sleep in my room?

Unfortunatly i have never owned an abandoned dog before, but could not bear to spend £500 on a "pedigree" puppy when this dog needed a new loving home, it really upset me being at the dogs home i never knew people could be so cruel to animals,i will definatly make regular contributions to there charity shop! :) and any advice or tips on training or making this dogs life more comfortable will be grately appreciated.

John

Decide your 'house rules' and stick to them,  Nothing is more unsettling to a dog than change.  If you are going to allow him on the sofa, then he must learn an 'off' command and respect it, or even better, he must learn to 'ask' or wait to be invited, and you must be prepared for him to want to get up for a cuddle even when you're wearing your best suit ;)
Initially treat house training as you would for a brand new puppy, hopefully it won't take too long for him to get the hang of it, but the more mistakes can be avoided by a little fore thought from you, the quicker he'll feel confident in you as his friend and not somebody out to 'trick' him.
IMHO training can and should start straight away. It might be an idea to have a short lead on him when he's in the house, so you have something to take hold off that's not so 'hands on' if you do need to move him quickly, this sort of arrangement is often better tolerated by a dog than simply grabbing the collar (and puts you a little more out of harms way should he take offence).  Use only positive methods, such as 'lure' training, as this will also help build his confidence in you.  I would stay 'hands off' (ie, no pushing or pulling him into position) as a) it could be misinterpreted by him, and b) it will encourage him to think about what he's got to do to get the reward - doesn't have to be food either, could be a quick game ;)
Get your self aware of 'basic' doggie body language and how to use it to best effect - avoid patting the top of his head, or shouldars, concentrate on the chest and throat area. Also avoid holding prolonged eye to eye contact - this is challenging behaviour between dogs, and can end in an attack.
When socialising, don't push him to take on any more than he can tolerate, take it VERY slowly - he won't die if he doesn't get 2 hour long walks every day, if you only get to the end of the road, then so be it, it's probably further than he went with his previous owners.

HTH  Good luck!

It's so nice to see that there are people out there who will take on an older dog with a few problems.  Hats off to you John, and good luck.  Keep us all posted. :)

Gwen Bailey's perfect puppy training book is a good  read. It gives very sound advise with regard to puppy training using non violent means. Should you need to start training from scratch this may help alot. Well done you, for having such a positive outlook. i wish you both all the best.

I feel taking him to training classes might be a bit much for him in the early weeks, if he is nervous as you describe. 

Why don't you have a word with whoever runs them and ask if you can go there on your own to watch for a few weeks.  This will give you an idea of their training methods that you can try out at home, but more importantly you can check the classes out to see it they are good motivational classes that you will both enjoy.  If they are not, it gives you time to check out another club.  No training club is better than a bad one.

After a few weeks and depending on how you are getting along with the dog, ask the trainer if you can take him along and just watch, it will be good for him to meet other people and dogs without the pressure of taking part in a class until he gets used to it.

Good Luck
Sandra