[Ed]

It is sad situation all around. Abandoning is the worst, and like Robert says, there should be a special place in hell for those people. I remember listening to “No Ordinary Dog” on Audible. I’m not sure what the right solution is.

[Ed]

There is a lot of material on the site. What I found most helpful was to dive in and listen to dozens, perhaps over 100, chats, Q&As, etc. It kind of reshapes the way you think about it. On being the alpha… perhaps another perspective is being his/her rock, everything may be going to all sort of extremes and he/she knows that you are there as solid as can be. You provide him/her with leadership, protection, development, the skills to succeed in a human world, and the primary motivation for your actions are in his/her best interest. I had the same weird feeling about the first good 1-on-1 trainer we hired — he pitched a 5-session package, etc. Turns out he was what I needed at that time. I think most of the dog training that goes on are for the easy dogs. So perhaps you can ask for references where he/she has addressed similar issues with high drive dogs. It is awkward to call references up ourselves, but if these are the best he/she can come up with and they are not very happy to take your call, that in itself would be valuable info.

[Ed]

It could be resource guarding. I think there is a lesson on it, or perhaps it is a video. If it is resource guarding, according to Robert, the only fix is for you to raise your status with the pup, primarily through obedience training, so that he stops seeing you as a resource. According to Robert, dogs do not get jealous per se. Meaning the would be jealousy goes away once he stops seeing you as a resource. Assuming it is resource guarding, it can get serious and out of control very quickly.

[Ed]

Check out this video… is that the mouthing you are seeing? https://youtu.be/4HicIEayBdY

[Ed]

Yay Rottweilers Unite!! Does she know leave it? I’m pretty sure Robert has a leave it lesson. It is possible that she is lacking structure. If that is the case it would be showing in other areas as well — then the issue would be that she is lacking structure and not giving up the toy would be a symptom — in that case you would want to fix the first as opposed to the latter. Over here we do it one of 3 ways: (1) just do it (most common), (2) tell her leave it (very rarely), (3) exchange it for another toy if this is part of play or training and the play/training is continuing.

[Ed]

I cycled mine between beef, chicken and turkey. One day each with Saturday or Sunday being either eggs or sardines depending on the week. Robert in one of the old YouTube videos said he cycled as well.

[Ed]

Best tool to keep him out of trouble is the crate. Leash reactivity, according to Robert, is often because when presented with a situation that the dog sees as fight-or-flight the tension on the leash, in his mind, removes his ability to get away, so he thinks he has to fight. There are several lessons, the ones that Robert is teaching a new dog, that deal with these behaviors. Main thing until you get things under control at home is the crate. I would not let the possibility of failure exist as it relates to visitors or kids. That means crate. A bad experience with either could set things up for a lot of work, which maybe fixable or could spiral out of control. I would not risk having him able to interact with visitors or kids till he has proven himself in other areas. You could lose your dog because a visitor or a kid does something stupid, like slapping your dog on the face as it happened to mine. You got this, don’t worry!!

[Ed]

I would start small and have him do some of her obedience training. When he is doing it, he would praise her during training almost as she can no no wrong, no corrections when he is training her, just ignore the bad behavior. Accept bad form, you can fix it later. A lot of patience. Very short sessions, may be a minute long. I do not think it is uncommon to have ecollar corrections to be miss-associated with places/people instead of behavior. I’m sure there is a good explanation for that.

[Ed]

That is cool. Perhaps other owners will jump in. From the description it seems that the behavior is normal. If I put my face in front of my puppy he will take little nips at it. He will chew up my hands, clothing, everything. It is a 11-week rottie. The approach I’m taking for mouthing is to bear it and/or redirect by offering an alternate toy, rag , or bone. No corrections other than redirection as I want a confident puppy and eventually a confident dog. You are everything you puppy has, and he is trying to engage with you in the only way he knows. Knowing that it is normal takes away the pain and the frustration.

[Ed]

My suggestion would be to check out her channel https://youtube.com/c/MaligatorMom to get a better idea of what is ahead. She is also on this site. That behavior is within the range of what you expect for a mal, meaning there may be easier dogs, but quite likely there is nothing wrong with the one you got. You could watch the videos in her channel that deal with the more challenging parts, as opposed to just the accomplishments… I think she has 4 of these dogs, so obviously she is not a normal person. Being that she is only 9 weeks you have a decision ahead of you, do you return the puppy or do you gear up for what is ahead.