we are a family looking for a new member.
i had a beautiful rotty girl for 14 years who was a cherished family member. she passed away 3 years ago about the time my husband and i started our family. we now have 2 little girls and would love to have another rotty, but i'm a little nervous of the breed in recent years as they seem to have become the tough guys dog.

when i got my girl, rottweiler's weren't very popular, but now i feel the breed has a stigma attached when it comes to children. my bitch was an excellent family pet and my sisters and i grew up with her watching over us. i'm wondering if anyone can put my mind at ease as to their suitability around young children these days.

i am a stay at home mum and my husband is a professional rugby league player. we have a reasonably sized garden and are hoping for our dog to accompany us walking the girls to school and going to the park on weekends, and for company when i am home during the day. we are not looking for a show dog.

my plan would be to take the puppy to training accompanied by one of my children each time so that they learnt about training and for the dog to recognise their place in the family. i feel that the children should be taught to assert reasonable authority over the dog from the early stages. i also feel that such large dogs should be kept off the furniture and below the younger members of the family so there is no confusion regarding pecking order. while i would never leave other children alone with my dog, are they considered safe to leave unsupervised in the garden with the kids if they're properly raised?

do many breeders raise their dogs and puppies as family pets?

thanks for your help
cheree costin

Hi Cheree
I personally think a rottie is what you make it.
I have several of the black and tan beauties and can hand on heart say they are wonderful :-) :-)
If you need any help in finding a rottie please let me know
I do know a few that could help you.
Rottweilers do love children they want to play in the games have their toe nails painted and wear baseball caps
they are a little on the large size and do tend to forget that..as Im sure you will know :-)
Get a pup raised in the house,meet both parents and visit regular to watch your pup grow.
I honestly do mean if you would like any help please yell
whereabouts in the country are you?

Carolyn

My friend has two Rottie bitches and a 5 year old Son- they all get along brilliant:) I think there are many breeds now with a stigma attached to it- I have a German Shepherd bitch and two children aged 5 and 7- and we've not had any problems either:) I agree with Carolyn- they're what YOU make them- and with an 8 week old puppy to mould and shape as you please- you shouldn't have any problems:)

Stacey x x x

Fortunately the pedulum seems to be swinging away from the devil dog tag in the last 10 years, and the poor bull breeds have it now.

If you go to a reputable breeder, preferably someone who is a menber of one of the breed clubs, and has some record of producing good Rotties, bred for temeperament.

If I was a breeder of Rotts I would have no objection to showing you letters from past puppy owners, (we all love to get them and treasure them along with the photos :D), also meeting probably several generations (usullly of the bitches side) of the pups family, this should reasure you as to the pups likely character, and I am sure that you could arrange to visit the Stud dog too.

I would say a Rottie would be a very good family dog, and you seem sensible if you don't mind me saying so :D

If a Rottie is from a reputable breeder, bred from parents with good temperaments, and is then trained and well socialised, I don't believe there should be a problem at all. I don't own Rotties but have never seen a "bad" one locally. There was one who was very dog aggressive, but then the owner had only ever walked it with, and got it used to one other dog, so its' not really surprising.

I would stress the socialisation from a very early age, making it pleasant to meet new people and also get lots of visitors to the house. I always advise taking pup out in arms before injections, to meet people (who are bound to want to pat and say "AAh"!!) but be careful and dont take the pup anywhere it could pick up anything from an unvaccinated dog.

I socialised my current dog like mad, she now greets strangers at the gate and loves people, but will interestingly still "guard" the back of the house/garden. My others who I didnt socialise so well from a very early age tended to ignore people and were more reactive and "guardy".

I am sure things will work out very well for you :)

Lindsay