Rottweiler Articles – Page 2

Rottweil Xpress / February 1991

There are many factors that affect the temperament of young pups, but most important are health, heredity and environment. A happy, healthy pup with a good genetic background and a knowledgeable owner is what we all strive for. I see in dog magazines where breeders advertise “Our puppies are hand-raised in our home.” This is definitely an asset towards the puppies’ development, but if the parents don’t have stable temperaments and high courage you usually cannot expect the puppies to have it.

In Germany they have the ZTP which is the Breed Test which a dog must pass before it is allowed to be used for breeding. In America, some clubs are now offering this test. Not only is the conformation evaluated, but the temperament and courage are tested as well. Here in America, we still do not require these tests prior to breeding and registration – at the moment the registry organizations don’t really enforce much of anything as far as breeding suitability. Many Clubs have standards which are suggested as far as conformation, temperament, and hip ratings, but they are not strongly enforced. So now it is up to you as the potential buyer of a puppy to do your research.

Here are some suggestions to help you make your final decision:

1. Study the parents’ bloodlines. Make sure they have some kind of breed test, Schutzhund or Obedience titles. In America there is a standard all-breed test which is performed by the American Temperament Test Society. When a dog passes this test it receives a TT title. It is still not as advanced as the Ztp or the Korung in Germany but it is definitely a step in the right direction.

2. It at all possible, get to meet the parents of the puppy. They should be stable around people but yet they must have the temperament to work, and protect the family. It is good to have the parents of the puppy be friendly, but don’t let them fool you. A friendly dog must also have the temperament and the intelligence it takes to fulfill its duty as a Rottweiler. The parents must have high courage and working ability.

3. See how the pups are raised. If possible, try to view the whelping or puppy room. If it is clean, bright, and organized, it is a good indication that the pups are being raised well. If not, you might start to wonder; a dirty environment promotes diseases which might not allow the pup to develop to its potential.

4. The mother should look and be healthy. She should be fed a healthy diet, and given a wide variety of foods. Many people tell me that their females pose coat or coloring when they have puppies. In my experience, this need not be the case if the dam is receiving adequate nutrition In turn, if the mother looks good, the pups will look good – the puppies depend on the mother for proper nutrition. Some commercial dog foods may not have enough nutrition for mother and pups. We cook special foods and give extra supplements – this way the mother and the puppies are in good condition throughout the whole weaning process.

5. Check the medical records. Make sure the breeder understands the proper schedule for vaccinations and worming, and does not expose the puppies to the outside world until they are properly vaccinated.

6. Determine the breeding program plan. Make sure the breeder properly researched the pedigree, genetics, and phenotype of the two parents. Ask many questions as to why they decided to breed the two dogs. Ask the breeder what each parent has to contribute to the puppies to make them as good – if not better – than the parents.

7. Try for an evaluation of the parents. Ask the breeder for an honest and objective critique of the sire and dam. Remember – there is no perfect dog: they all have their faults. The breeder must choose a sire and dam whose phenotype (physical attributes) and genotype (genetic make-up) most greatly complement each other. Most breeders will happily tell you why.

8. Do a little temperament test. Perform little tests to determine the temperament of the pups. There are many books on the market and theories as to the process for testing the temperament of the puppy. Make sure the puppy is not shy of people. Check the playfulness of the puppy, and its reaction to different sounds, toys, and other objects. Observe how the pup plays with its littermates, and note which is the most outgoing puppy.

9. Evaluate the conformation. Check the conformation of the puppies; the stance, topline, head type, ear set, feet position, bite, eye color, shape, etcetera. Many of the attributes that will be there at maturity are apparent in the young puppy.

The most important thing of all is this: Get to know and trust your breeder. A conscientious breeder is the best bet for success with your pup. The breeder should have a good reputation, and stand behind contracts and agreements. Everybody has a detractor: listen to as many opinions as you can, but use your own good judgment as to what to believe.

Remember – your puppy will be with you for many years, so take your time in choosing. Be patient and make the right choice.

Good luck with your new pup! Until next month, rrrrrrrring!

Article Written by Evie Lynn

Rottweil Xpress / February 1991

There are many factors that affect the temperament of young pups, but most important are health, heredity and environment. A happy, healthy pup with a good genetic background and a knowledgeable owner is what we all strive for. I see in dog magazines where breeders advertise “Our puppies are hand-raised in our home.” This is definitely an asset towards the puppies’ development, but if the parents don’t have stable temperaments and high courage you usually cannot expect the puppies to have it.

In Germany they have the ZTP which is the Breed Test which a dog must pass before it is allowed to be used for breeding. In America, some clubs are now offering this test. Not only is the conformation evaluated, but the temperament and courage are tested as well. Here in America, we still do not require these tests prior to breeding and registration – at the moment the registry organizations don’t really enforce much of anything as far as breeding suitability. Many Clubs have standards which are suggested as far as conformation, temperament, and hip ratings, but they are not strongly enforced. So now it is up to you as the potential buyer of a puppy to do your research.

Here are some suggestions to help you make your final decision:

1. Study the parents’ bloodlines. Make sure they have some kind of breed test, Schutzhund or Obedience titles. In America there is a standard all-breed test which is performed by the American Temperament Test Society. When a dog passes this test it receives a TT title. It is still not as advanced as the Ztp or the Korung in Germany but it is definitely a step in the right direction.

2. It at all possible, get to meet the parents of the puppy. They should be stable around people but yet they must have the temperament to work, and protect the family. It is good to have the parents of the puppy be friendly, but don’t let them fool you. A friendly dog must also have the temperament and the intelligence it takes to fulfill its duty as a Rottweiler. The parents must have high courage and working ability.

3. See how the pups are raised. If possible, try to view the whelping or puppy room. If it is clean, bright, and organized, it is a good indication that the pups are being raised well. If not, you might start to wonder; a dirty environment promotes diseases which might not allow the pup to develop to its potential.

4. The mother should look and be healthy. She should be fed a healthy diet, and given a wide variety of foods. Many people tell me that their females pose coat or coloring when they have puppies. In my experience, this need not be the case if the dam is receiving adequate nutrition In turn, if the mother looks good, the pups will look good – the puppies depend on the mother for proper nutrition. Some commercial dog foods may not have enough nutrition for mother and pups. We cook special foods and give extra supplements – this way the mother and the puppies are in good condition throughout the whole weaning process.

5. Check the medical records. Make sure the breeder understands the proper schedule for vaccinations and worming, and does not expose the puppies to the outside world until they are properly vaccinated.

6. Determine the breeding program plan. Make sure the breeder properly researched the pedigree, genetics, and phenotype of the two parents. Ask many questions as to why they decided to breed the two dogs. Ask the breeder what each parent has to contribute to the puppies to make them as good – if not better – than the parents.

7. Try for an evaluation of the parents. Ask the breeder for an honest and objective critique of the sire and dam. Remember – there is no perfect dog: they all have their faults. The breeder must choose a sire and dam whose phenotype (physical attributes) and genotype (genetic make-up) most greatly complement each other. Most breeders will happily tell you why.

8. Do a little temperament test. Perform little tests to determine the temperament of the pups. There are many books on the market and theories as to the process for testing the temperament of the puppy. Make sure the puppy is not shy of people. Check the playfulness of the puppy, and its reaction to different sounds, toys, and other objects. Observe how the pup plays with its littermates, and note which is the most outgoing puppy.

9. Evaluate the conformation. Check the conformation of the puppies; the stance, topline, head type, ear set, feet position, bite, eye color, shape, etcetera. Many of the attributes that will be there at maturity are apparent in the young puppy.

The most important thing of all is this: Get to know and trust your breeder. A conscientious breeder is the best bet for success with your pup. The breeder should have a good reputation, and stand behind contracts and agreements. Everybody has a detractor: listen to as many opinions as you can, but use your own good judgment as to what to believe.

Remember – your puppy will be with you for many years, so take your time in choosing. Be patient and make the right choice.

Good luck with your new pup! Until next month, rrrrrrrring!

Rottweil Xpress / August 1990

First, don’t panic! Dogs are not machines and you cannot simply push a button to start the birthing process. Secondly, although the gestation period of nine weeks is well known, I know very few bitches who can count up to 63!

A wise thing to do before this point is to make sure the female is actually pregnant. At about 25 days after breeding we take our females to the vet to be palpated. The vet is able to feel the small, marble-like string of puppies in the uterus. (Not every vet is capable of doing this and you must find one that has had experience.) Do not try to palpate the bitch yourself; if not done properly you could inflict damage on the whelps. In our area, which has a very large number of veterinarians, only one is capable of successfully palpating a bitch.

At about 50 days the bones calcify; at this point the bitch can be X-rayed and the puppies will show up. This will not only assure you of the pregnancy, but will also give you a good idea of the number of pups to expect. If you have done the above and are positive you have a real pregnancy on your hands, you will now be ready to play the waiting game.

Make sure the whelping box is in a quite place, and that it is large enough for the female to stretch out and be comfortable. It is important to keep a close watch on the mother-to-be. She will behave differently when people are around or when n room. If you are able to watch her without her knowing you are doing so, you will get a true picture of what is going on. We use a two-way mirror for this purpose, and it works very well.

The first indication of impending birth is uterine contraction, or labor pains. These contractions are not always visible and may go unnoticed, so keep a sharp eye on her. This stage can continue for up to twelve hours. She may become restless and nervous; she may shiver and pant, pace a lot and even vomit. But barring complications you can soon expect a pup to appear. (For the purposes of this article I refer to a simple whelping; not all of them are!)

In a normal birth the pup will appear head first, still enveloped in the ‘birth sack’. Contractions will force the puppy out of the birth canal, followed by the umbilical cord. If the female does not break the sack, you must do so, as the oxygen supply to the pup is now cut off. Remove the puppy from the ‘sack’, and make sure the puppy is breathing and that all the mucous is cleared from the pup’s mouth and nose. Once you are assured that the air passages are clear and the pup is breathing on its own, you can allow mother to clean the pup and give it its first meal.

Different mothers deliver in different positions. She may lay on her side to give birth; she may move around and she may deliver in a squatting position. Let her do what is most comfortable for her. Don’t do anything to make her uneasy and definitely keep her as quiet as possible.

Again, barring complications, she should deliver a pup once every 15 to 60 minutes. If more than an hour passes in between pups, you may be facing trouble. This is when you consult a veterinarian. Do remember that veterinarians are not breeders and not all are familiar with each and every breed. The veterinarian you choose should be open-minded and be willing to listen to other veterinarians and breeders. The most reliable people from whom to collect information are consistent breeders who monitor and whelpings.

After every puppy is delivered we usually have an X-ray taken to make sure the bitch has passed all the placenta and that there are no more puppies left. She is given an oxytocin shot, an antibiotic douche to prevent any vaginal infection, and is put on antibiotics as routine precaution.

Always remember that the mother needs to be watched and cared for just as much as the newborn pups.

Until next month, rrrrrrrring!

Article Written by Evie Lynn

Rottweil Xpress / September 1991

Many new puppy owners have questions about how best to prepare to bring home their new family member.
The first thing a new owner should realize is that the new puppy is very fragile – it’s almost like bringing home a new human baby. The puppy is now being exposed to a new environment and a new way of life. Therefore he is under a great deal of stress. When the stress level is up the immune level is decreased which means he is more susceptible to infections and diseases. Therefore, keeping the stress level to a minimum is of utmost importance.
Most new owners want to bathe the new puppy the first day he arrives. This is another form of unnecessary stress. It is recommended not to bathe the puppy until about one week after he has settled in. If the puppy is soiled from a flight a slight cleaning with a damp wash cloth is sufficient. You can make him smell cleaner by applying a little baby powder.
Read More →

Rottweil Xpress / May 1990

As far as brucellosis testing, if the bitch has not been bred to another male, chances are brucella cannot be contracted any other way.
Cultures are definitely a must. Many people wait until their bitch is in heat before they do a culture – a mistake, in some cases, for to receive the results from the lab can take quite a few days and if the bitch registered an infection, chances are it could not be cleared up by the time she is ready to be bred.
Read More →

Rottweil Xpress / April 1990

That sounded very similar to what I had gone through in the past, until a woman came to visit us with a bitch to breed. She stayed at our house for a few days and every day she watched me run from room to room in the house cleaning up after the puppies in the whelping box. She continued to tell me about a facility she designed for whelping her puppies. Of course, with my stubbornness I continued to run from room to room in our house cleaning up after each litter. I knew there had to be an easier way.. .maybe her system would work.
Sometime later I called her up and asked her about the whelping box she had described to me. It was designed with hinges so it could fold up and be stored when not in use. The whelping box was basically divided into two parts with an opening between the two. The first part is designed for her to whelp her puppies comfortably; as they would get older they would crawl through the hole and go potty on the other side.
Read More →

Rottweil Xpress / February 1990

After a few minutes I was able to calm him down. I found out that the puppy was a three-week-old male suffering from severe seizures. They had just weaned him today with a mixture of condensed cow’s milk. The puppy would not eat from the mother and now the mother was continually pushing the puppy away from her. Boy, did this ring a bell in my head. This same thing happened to us last October. Our litter was progressing perfectly – almost too perfectly. The puppies looked great. They were gaining weight every day; everything seemed fine. Then we started to wean them at about three and one-half weeks of age. We don’t just all of a sudden take the puppies away from the mother. Rather, we do it slowly by building a little box in front of the kennel which allows the puppies access to the food in it but the mother cannot get to the food. Then, slowly, as the puppies desire, they wean themselves away from the mother. We have found that this creates a stress-free weaning process. But what happened in this particular situation is that one of the male puppies in our litter on his first day with supplemented food ate too much food too quickly and ended up with colic. The gas from undigested food began to build up in his little stomach and he began to panic. He ran all over the whelping box in circles, crying, then screaming. We tried to hold him but it did no good.
Read More →

Rottweil Xpress / January 1990

An incident happened when a female bred to our male had puppies. The owners took their puppies to their local vet to remove the dewclaws and dock the tails. When they got the puppies home they noticed the veterinarian had removed both front and back dewclaws, when they only wanted the back ones removed. They also noticed that the tails were much longer than they should be. They brought the puppies over for us to look at. I was astonished at the length of the tails. This was a veterinarian that was so sure of herself that she felt she knew what she was doing. The puppies again had to go through the stress of having their tails docked closer – finally, the correct way.
When you take the puppies in to the vet, it is advisable to bring pictures of how you would like the tails done. If possible bring in an adult so the vet can feel how close the tail was docked.
We prefer our tails to be docked very close, with almost no stump to show. Our veterinarian not only sews the tail but also uses skin glue to prevent it from reopening and becoming infected. Some mothers will clean the tails often. You must watch this to make sure she doesn’t remove the suture, or it becomes infected.
Read More →

Rottweil Xpress / December 1989

Make sure she gets quite a bit to eat. Do remember she must feed all those puppies. She should now be on puppy food. Supplement it with meat and a milk substitute like Unilac, Esbilac, or goat’s milk.
A good mother will now be spending a lot of time in the whelping box. You should have your record book open to the first day. Each puppy should be listed: male or female, and the color of the collar around its neck. Do make sure you keep track of the collars so they do not fall off or get too tight on the pups. If you have a consistent litter, the collars are all that will distinguish one pup from another.
Read More →