ROTTWEILER PUPPIES FOR SALE

SO YOU WANT A ROTTWEILER?

Are You Sure You Want a Puppy?

Puppies are cute, cuddly and lots of fun, but they are also lots and lots of work! Housebreaking a puppy takes time, patience and consistency, and each dog has its own timetable for learning. If you work full-time, housebreaking a puppy might be difficult to accomplish with a puppy that needs to go outside every few hours.

Rottweiler puppies need to chew. Many are voracious chewers throughout their entire lives. Puppies don't know that your table legs and shoes are not chew toys until you teach them. However, even with the most watchful owner, every household will have casualties of puppyhood. Did I mention that rottweiler puppies chew A LOT? Spending $50 or more a month just on chew toys is not unreasonable.

Puppies are expensive. They require regular trips to the veterinarian for vaccinations, worming and necessary puppy health care. This continues on into adulthood. Flea preventative, heart worm preventative, worming and veterinary procedures all cost twice as much for a large breed dog.

Rottweiler puppies also require training and extensive socialization, beginning with puppy kindergarten and basic obedience training. These both take a commitment of time and money on the part of an owner to ensure a happy, well trained and well adjusted adult dog. The commitment does not stop when the puppy grows up either. Rottweilers are a working breed, and do not do well as yard dogs or couch potatoes. They not only NEED daily interaction with their families, but a job to do to keep them happy, well adjusted canines. A tired rottweiler is a happy rottweiler!

Some of the questions your family should first resolve include:

• Who will feed and walk the dog everyday?
• Do you have the time and desire to train a dog?
• Can you afford the cost of food, grooming and vet bills?
• What happens to your dog when you go on vacation? When you go to work?
• Can your home accommodate a large breed dog?
• How does the breed you've selected fit your lifestyle and home?
• Are you willing to spay/neuter your dog to ensure no unplanned litters?
• Are you prepared for a 8-10 year commitment to a dog?

Are You Sure You Are Ready For a Dog?

Even if you are ready for a puppy, are you sure you are ready for a dog? Rottweilers grow up to be 75 to 100+ pounds as an adult dog. A large breed dog does not fit every home or lifestyle, and this must be thoughtfully considered.

A dog depends on its master to be its loyal protector and companion for the duration of its life, not just until it is no longer convenient. A visit to the local animal shelter or humane society will impress on anyone what happens to man's best friend when acquired in haste. Thousands of dogs are needlessly euthanized each year because their owners thought they were ready for a dog, but actually weren't. The addition of a dog to your family is a decision that should be given a great deal of consideration and thought, and should never be done on a whim or given as a surprise gift to someone.

You must carefully consider the care, training, attention, daily exercise and interaction that is required with a dog, in addition to considering the costs of feeding, grooming and veterinary care.

Rottweilers are more expensive than the average dog to own. They require a high quality diet in order to thrive. Veterinary care and medications are more expensive. There are conditions that the breed is prone to that can be costly if your dog is unfortunate enough to be afflicted. They play hard, which can result in injuries. They eat a lot. Keep in mind, what goes in, also comes out the other end. Like most things in life, having a dog has both good points and bad points. Playing ball with your dog in the park is fun, scooping poop is not.

They also come with a great deal of responsibility on the part of their owners. This breed gets a lot of bad publicity because of well intentioned but irresponsible owners, and the entire breed suffers as a result. Some cities across the country have enacted breed bans that don't allow you to own a rottweiler. Some insurance companies discriminate and won't insure you, or will drop you if they add rottweilers to their banned breeds list. If they do insure you, they may charge a higher premium because you own a rottweiler. If you rent, landlords face these same issues and probably won't rent to you if you own a rottweiler.

Rottweiler owners have a much higher that average responsibility to properly train and socialize their dogs, to give it proper care and leadership, and to make their dogs a part of their daily life. People who meet our dogs will often tell me they'd like one just like them, without considering how much time and effort has gone into making them this way. Our dogs get daily training and exercise every day of their lives. We go to classes two to four nights a week, plus we work on training every day at home. We go for walks, we play games, we play ball in the yard. Our dogs are part of our family. They live with us in our house, sleep with us in our room, go with us when we go on vacations. Rottweilers must be part of their human families in order to thrive, which usually means the dog lives in the house. If you must have an immaculate house, a rottweiler is most definitely not for you. Rottweilers shed, and they shed a lot. Everyday, not just twice a year. They track in grass and mud, they slobber and drool.

As a rottweiler owner, you must be willing to do extra homework to understand the temperament of a working breed (no, they are not humans in fur coats), and to be your dog's protector. They are an intelligent breed with an independent mind. They require consistent, fair and patient leadership, and if you are not able to provide it, the dog will take over. Not everyone is cut out to own a working breed. In fact, quite the opposite is true.

Working breeds require mental stimulation in the form of a job to do or they get bored. They have been bred for generations to work with man and to be companions. Despite the fact that their "jobs" have changed as society has evolved, it doesn't change the drives of a working dog. A bored rottweiler is a dog that gets into trouble. They chew, they dig, they bark. They will annihilate your house or yard. They do not like to be left alone for long periods of time and require human companionship. That is what they were bred to do. They require mental stimulation in the form of a job, training or games, and they require physical exercise to keep them lean and healthy. A tired rottweiler is a good rottweiler. :)

A large yard with a six foot fence is a necessity. Some sunshine and fresh air is good for a dog, but roaming the neighborhood is not. Aside from the obvious reasons, many people are deathly afraid of rottweilers for no other reason than all the bad press the breed gets. Containing your dog is not only responsible, it protects your dog from harm. A six foot privacy fence anchored in concrete with locked gates is ideal. Any less than this and you risk escape. Padlocks on your gates help protect your dog from theft, and from unwelcome guests. Rottweilers and pit bulls are often targeted for dog fighting rings, and it is not unheard of to have one stolen from your backyard. Like most dogs, rottweilers are territorial. While this might be one of your reasons for wanting a rottweiler, this is often how disasters happen that we read about in the press.

Rottweilers are not a long lived breed. Eight to ten years is average. An 11 or 12 year old rottweiler is, unfortunately, not as common. It is hard on your heart to bring these magnificent creatures into your life, only to lose them after such a short time. The breed is highly prone to cancer, osteo sarcoma in particular. It even occurs in the young dogs sometimes. It is not something any of us like to think about, but it's a fact that rottweilers are not a long lived breed.

Still sounds like the dog for you? Then you may be well suited to owning a rottweiler. If not, please consider another breed. Not everyone who wants a rottweiler is up to what it takes to own one, and not everyone who wants one should own one.