I have just bought a 8 week old rottie pup.She is very energetic and playfull. Sometimes the play get a little rough with her nipping at our hands and clothes.A firm no does not help and only gets her to growl or bark back.When she is picked up by us she growls.If we ignore her she stops. She just cant seem to stop nipping and its beginning to really get to be a problem.Help!!

Cut back on the rough play and only play with one of her toys, if she nips or bites then lift your hands out of reach and walk away, say nothing. (end of game until you decide to play again) Shouting NO is quite exciting for a puppy and IMO do that will only increase the problem where as teaching her that unacceptable behaviour will end the game and incur your moving away and ignoring her.

hello jackie, thanks for the advice.I also have two more problems!! Firstly, when we lift the rottie puppy to cuddle her she growls, when we try to kiss her she REALLY growls. Secondly, when we are walking, she sometimes stalks and nips our ankles and if we try to verbally reprimand her, she play bows and barks and growls.

hello, we too have an eight week old , rottie girl , she too growls when excited , but you answered the problem in your questionat the beginning you said she stops if you ignore her ,don't they just hate being ignored, when madison starts to growl we put her down or stop what we are doing , and totally ignore her , when she comes back with a lick we give her lots of praise ,also get lots of different people to hold and her handle her and feed her , when you do feed her make sure you leave the bowl on the floor and put the food in as she eats so she dosnt get food aggression and asociates your hands with getting more food , keep us updated on her progress ,x x

At 8 weeks old are you walking her in the street, has she had her injections. IMO take no notice of growling at all, if you responded to a dog behaving like that, they are getting what they want, attention, to be put down or may be played with. And the more you responded the more they will do it if they want you do do as they wish, after all it's working and dogs learn to get what they want by trial and error. Nipping at heels is normal puppy behaviour as is the other things you are complaining of, there is nothing wrong with your girl that will not pass with the correct handling. One last thing, don't keep trying to kiss the pups head if she does not like it, it may to her seem a threat to bite to bring your teeth near to her head or throat.

think I may have miss read your bit about biting heels, this is a real pain and she will grow out of it, and in that case only I think I would turn round and snarl at her, if that does not help then pick her up and put her out of the way, like in a cage or a different room, baby gates are a big help with this. Don't let it turn into a confrotation though, if she answers back put her away from you for a while, again to make sure she know that doing it will not lead to a 'fun' situation

Have you tried scruffing?  A few owners don't agree with it but we've scruffed all our Rott pups and its always worked and it is after all the way their mother would tell them off.

Can you describe what you mean by 'scruffing' if you mean pick up or shake then I will have to disagree with you no dam would do that to an 8 week old, well not in any breed I have experience in. They seem to push them over (or the pup rolls over) and the bitch puts a paw on the pup and tells it off, I have never been able to replicate this behaviour but I am fairly good at the stare.

Yes, I do mean pick up not shake.  You are completely entitled to disagree with me on this as I'm only referring to Rottweilers and know and have seen Rott dams do this to their pups.

Well I have no doubt it may work because it must cause pain, and I would not dream of suggesting to someone they did it without being there to see. Would have thought that at 8 to 9 weeks a pup should be too heavy to be treated thus, but as you say you will do as you see fit and if you see fit to suggest someone else does it then so be it. IMO inflicting pain on a pup, however mild, is not a good idea and could well be counter productive.

dams do do this when the pup is a few days old but I have never seen a dam attempt to pick up an 8 weeks + pup - I have not bred Rotties but can't see why they would be different

You can be locked up for shaking a human baby and i think you should be for shaking/scruffing a pup IMO.I have never in all my years with my breeds seen any of my females do this to there pups.

Have seen them pick up and move pups when they are tiny, but as far as one can see it is not really by the scruff but they seem to take the whole head into the mouth and support the pup at the back of the skull. But it is difficult to see as one does not disturber a bitch at a moment like that and the behaviour stops before the eyes open. Cats on the other hand do pick up by the scruff and move their young, but none of this behaviour is done in correction or anger it is just to return the young to the nest.

I'm certainly not going to get into any disagreements about scruffing but know many well known top Rottweiler breeders who recommend doing it.  I've had Rotts for 20 years and as IMO it doesn't cause pain and all I can say is that I have seen Rott dams do this when a pup is being over feisty.  I thinks its absolutely rediculous to compare it with shaking a baby and find that comment extremely offensive.  Can I ask if any of you have had experience with a dominant Rott pup?  My last comment on this I think,  coz I don't want this thread getting into a ruck and it is going off topic.

http://www.dogwhisper.com/book_review-alpha.html

Sorry, can't do links but this is an interesting read for anyone who is undecided about scruffing.

Link

At this late stage in my life I don't think anything will persuade me that aggressive treatment of a puppy is helpful or that in some cases it does not lead to latter problems. Firm and positive yes, aggression no, where possible distract and reward works well without the danger of causing problems in the future. And still do not believe that a Rottie or any dam would pickup and shake a pup of 8 weeks to discipline it, kill it, may be, but to correct it, no.

Hi, Im the guy who started this topic! What do you folks think about the lil gal playing with other dogs? My friends have 3 labs, a cocker a mixed breed and a male rottie who is 4 years old. My little one meets all these dogs on a regular basis. 2 of the labs, the cocker and the mixed breed will show some interest in her and maybe play a little and thats just fine with me, coz if the play gets rough, they very quickly put the lil devil(darling) in her place. One of the labs is a young bitch and she invites the rottie to play which sometimes gets very rough and ends up with the rottie on top of the 18 month old lab.The big male rottie she has to yet meet, but he is just playful and Im sure that if tings get rough, he will end the games(I hope!).What Im wondering is that is it ok for the little gal to play with the young lab bitch,especially since it involves a lot of biteing and snarling?

Personally I believe if you allow a puppy to play with older dogs, especially if those older dogs are boisterous, then you are giving her all the right opportunities to learn lots of very wrong things unless you supervise the play sessions very carefully - too many dogs have learnt to become dog agressive from so called 'free play' sessions with older dogs at home, or in poorly supervised 'puppy parties' :(

I don't think a young puppy of any breed should be allowed to play rough or run free with a much bigger dog - it's the quickest way to damage muscles & joints. By all means let her get to know them, but don't allow things to get carried away!

OMG that means my cavaliers are doomed ;) They have played from the day they arrived with my very large GSD girl & boy do they{the cavaliers) get rough with her

& she has always loved to wrestle them to the ground :O

Oh well better lock them up in their crates so they can see but not touch ;)

No quite in the context of this situation, but Ian Dunbar teaches that if an older Rottie makes a passing/warning growl, once you have sussed out what's worrying it and move on, you should reward him with praise and treats.
After all, he says, Rotties are famous for not having noticeable "warning body languages or vocalisations", like other breeds, so if you've got a Rottweiler telling you something before he may/may not use his teeth or body against you, that is a very good thing!!!
Over the years, having worked with loads of Rotties when they are getting wound up by stressful kennel environments, I can certainly vouch for this! 
The only information i'm given to tell me they may be about to have a go at me is that their eyes get bigger - way too subtle! - but if I wasnt so experienced and vigilant, I might have a problem - so yeh, if i was in their kennel with them, and they were more able to growl like other dogs can do, i know I'd be a lot more happier!! (although, i dont let it get to me and I enjoy their company)
PS - I know that some dogs can just growl when they are just excited, as a result of adrenaline - just like football fans shouting and chanting on the terraces - this is just a harmless expression of joy, but can sound quite scary and intimidating to some people.

My two both play together :-)  I think it may have been took the wrong way the 'scruff' comment- I always used to grab Kassie and glare at her and she is now a lovely bitch and I really couldn't ask anymore of her :-)  When I went to collect Rico I saw his Dam with him and she would roll him over and hold her mouth round his to stop his nipping.

Stacey x x x

Going back to the OPs concerns about the pup growling when picked up.
Make sure the pup finds being picked up a very pleasant experience, use tasty food treats as soon as you pick the pup up and make sure he/she is supported properly, etc. Many dogs and pups find being picked up worrying - it is not a natural thing to happen to them and to be honest, my advice is that when a Rottie is an adult, it wont be picked up, so don't pick up the pup!!  ;)

If the pup is put down when it growls, it *may* teach it that growling gets it what it wants and the dog can then start to get manipulative. I would wait a few seconds until the pup stops growling, then praise and reward and put down carefully :) Or best of all, just don't pick up at all from now on.

Also, consider how well the pup is handled in everyday life - have a short session every day and go over the pup feeling paws, tail, ears etc very gently and make it all very rewarding. Use a happy voice and start with a few seconds and then give a high value food treat, repeat and so on. This wil ensure the pup is easily handled by the owners when mature and that it associates handling with pleasant times :) Also go one step further and get friends and neighbours to do the same..... but do control them and make sure the pup is happy, it must never be a negative experience.

Hth
Lindsay