Chickens, pig and an overaggressive rottweiler

[vancheese]

Dear nice people

I live on a farm in Hungary and I've threes dogs and recently got 2 pigs and chickens. The beagle and German shepherd are fine with the animals but the rottweiler
went bizzare and became too excited/aggressive and started to bark/growl at the animals. If the animals are put away in their rooms, the rotty tries to break into the rooms! This situation is not good for either sets of animals so I would appreciate some advice/wisdom about what to do.
My initial thoughts are:

1)To make sure that the rotty is always separated by two fences from the livestock animals and she can't see them
2) Regular walk
3) make a running chain for the rotty whilst the other two dogs are free in a fenced area
4) Use an electric fence to keep the rotty away from the fence

Cheers for any help

Andy

[Mrs H]

Its so hard Andy to know what to do for the best, if the Rotty is being aggressive then for the safety of the other animals I would make sure he can't see them, if he wants them then 2 fences aren't going to stop him. Also having him chained while his mates run free will probably make him very frustrated and therefore more aggressive. Essentially if this situation doesn't improve you will have to get rid of one of them to ensure they are all safe.
Goodluck and please let us know how it all pans out. X

[vancheese]

The rotty seems a lot calmer now - The separation of the animals by a fence seems to do the trick. If she sees nothings she is ok!
We'll have to see what happens with time and if the worse case scenario occurs, we've lined up a nice home for the rotty

[MKG]

You know, I've seen this zillions of times and I'm convinced that it's as simple as ... if someone else suddenly appeared in your home, you'd be unsettled too. Sounds like things are calming down now, which is good, but pet owners (with the best intentions in mind) do sometimes challenge their pets with strange situations. The rott probably thought it was doing its job - protecting you from strangers.

OH's son doesn't like our poodle because he (the poodle) barks whenever said son looms over the horizon. Actually, I've had a word with the poodle and I know that he does it to wind everyone up (I swear he giggled when we discussed it). But seriously, the poodle barks because he actually likes OH's son (he thinks that having his ears pulled is a game). Misinterpretations are funny things.

Mike

[vancheese]

All advice here is true. The only issue is that is you make a mistake with a rottweiler is that it could be fatal or result in serious injury.

[Mrs H]

Mike ur post really made me laugh, I swear when I talk to the mutts that they giggle sometimes!!! Its so true what u sayed about them getting used to new friends.
Vancheese I just gotta say that its the same with any breed of dog. I don't own any so called dangerous breeds but I do believe all dogs have the potential to inflict fatal injuries. They all originate from the same mould so to speak and it annoys me when people label certain breeds, it very much depends on how they have been trained. Sorry to rant but its a bit of a pet hate. Xx

[vancheese]

I agree with Mrs H, The number of people who are shocked when their poodle (a rather aggressive breed) kills/attacks something is rather high!
The point is that if my beagle goes a bit crazy, my wife wouldn't worry and she would control it, the 35kg+ rotty would be a different story!

All three of our dogs we've had from puppies and the non-rotty ones ignore other animals, the rotty doesn't! :S

[Mrs H]

I agree with Mrs H, The number of people who are shocked when their poodle (a rather aggressive breed) kills/attacks something is rather high!
The point is that if my beagle goes a bit crazy, my wife wouldn't worry and she would control it, the 35kg+ rotty would be a different story!

All three of our dogs we've had from puppies and the non-rotty ones ignore other animals, the rotty doesn't! :S

That's really interesting about the Rotti, they must be very curious by nature. Agreed with the weight issue, I recently had a lab/springer pull me off my feet while it was trying to retrieve, it was an 18mth old with too much energy who had never been taught any manners!!
Sorry my rant wasn't aimed at u it was more a general rant as u rightly say people seem shocked when poodles etc attack but yet they r accepted as a domestic suitable breed, society is bizarre!! X

[MKG]

Poodles? Aggressive?

Our standard ignores rabbits (even when he's standing next to them). They ignore him too. He stares at frogs, but that's about it. Voles are safe as houses. No bird need protect its feathers. Etc. etc. etc.

Maybe we're lucky with this poodle - but he really is just a great big softy.

Mike

[MuddyWitch]

Whilst i heartily agree that it's 'The Deed Not The Breed' you have to take into account WHY we humans breed dogs; it's for specific traits. Some dogs were selectively bred to hunt, others to retrieve, others to guard etc. Now, there will ALWAYS be a greyhound (my big daft Orion) who can't run (he lolops!), a poodle who isn't a hunter, a collie who doesn't round things up, but on the whole dogs will show their breed traits one way or an other.

I'm not an expert on Rotties, but I have several friends with these magnificent beasts and am reliably informed they make great guard dogs and are fiercy loyal. Therefore I think Mike is spot on (as usual, but don't tell him; it'll go to his head )

MW

[vancheese]

I would agree with MW's rotty comments! Our rotty is amazing loving,compassionate, loyal and fun. Unfortunately she is a bit too loyal/territorial with other animals.

Current plan is to use an electric fence and a spacer field to separate the dogs from the other animals so the dogs can do what they do best and the animals and us can live in peace!