Owning a dog is a big commitment. A healthy large breed dog can live 10+ years. Make sure that you are willing to dedicate the next decade of your life to this dog. There is considerable expense involved as well. A good quality feed will run you about $65.00+ a month. Your puppy will need to complete his immunizations, and then need yearly vet exams. If your home is not fenced and you do not plan on installing a fence or adding an underground containment system, you need to make the commitment to take daily walks of at least 20 minutes with your dog rain or shine in hot and freezing weather.
There is nothing more charming than an adorable little fuzzy Rottweiler puppy. But s/he will not stay little very long at all. He will accomplish most of his/her physical growing in the first 24 months of life. Then s/he will be a very large dog that is not always cognizant of his/her size. S/he will try to crawl in your lap as though they were still a 15 pound puppy, and I have had my feet stepped on plenty enough times barefoot to tell you exactly what 124 pounds feels like!
Another common factor for destructive behavior is boredom. Just like leaving a child alone without any constructive activities, a dog that does not get enough exercise will decide to entertain himself. This could mean finding out exactly what the inside of your sofa is made of or whether or not it really is possible to dig to China. If your dog is exhibiting destructive behavior is it more than likely due to separation anxiety or boredom, both which can be corrected with increased activity and giving your dog a job. Rottweilers are working dogs and need to feel like they have a purpose. Even if it is as simple as bringing you the paper or carrying his own food and water in a dog backpack when he goes on a walk.
As you may know, for centuries, the Rottweilers’ main job was that of a herding dog. Although the Rottweiler has had no need to perform these tasks for many generations, it is still hardwired into their genes. Many Rottweilers have a high “prey drive” which is simply the desire to chase moving objects. Sometimes this is also referred to as “high ball drive” or just “high drive.” When you have a pup or dog with higher drive, THIS DOES NOT MEAN THEY HAVE A GREATER DESIRE TO CATCH/CHASE/HARM small animals, HOWEVER, if they are not trained and socialized it can lead to this habit. Just as a bored child simply needs a constructive outlet, it is the same with a drivey puppy. Teach it to play ball or Frisbee, etc. and not only will you have a highly focused, hard working dog, but you will also have a dog that has learned that not all moving objects are for chasing, just the ones s/he has been taught to chase- like teaching your budding little human Piccaso that not all surfaces need to be colored on, just those designated. By socializing your pup at a young age with small dogs, cats, and any other small animal you have access to, you also teach the dog that these are other members of the pack and not toys. Just like a cat that catches mice and birds for sport (the cat does not sit there blood thirsty waiting on its next kill, it just feels compelled to chase and catch the moving objects) a dog also chases for sport. They do not “hate” cats, squirrels, etc. but rather see them as great fun. But with proper socialization at a young age, you teach the dog that kongs, balls, etc are toys, not kitties! Another necessary trait was the ability to herd which was accomplished by “bumping” into the ones that got away, or herding them to a desired location. For some Rottweilers more than others these character traits are stronger and must be corrected when used with humans in order for them to be safe and gentle with small children or the elderly. If you have a Rottweiler with a very strong herding instinct, another great option for him/her is to provide them with an outlet for this activity. Look for a local herding/working club and give your dog a chance to learn herding and work! S/he can herd ducks, goats, sheep, cows, pigs, etc. This is a working breed, thus, a working Rottweiler is always a happy Rottweiler. A Rottweiler puppy must be taught proper etiquette from the beginning. Again, just like teaching a child that we do not jump and tackle grandma for hugs the same way we do daddy or that baby brother is not a couch, bed, or trampoline!
Rottweilers are often purchased for this specific task only for the owner to realize too late the responsibility both morally and legally. Again, just as with dominance and aggression, the degree of protectiveness varies with each individual dog and is impacted greatly by the owner and training. Without proper training and socializing, your Rottweiler might not be able to distinguish between a boisterous bear hug and an actual attack. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of socializing and correct training from the beginning to help your puppy understand what is acceptable behavior. Although a Rottweiler will rarely bite without provocation or warning, often, just being cornered by one can be a very unnerving experience. I already know that Diesel will not hesitate in the protection of his children, so because of this, I usually put him up when a repair man will be over and in the area where “his” children are playing. He is supposed to make an intruder feel uncomfortable, that is his job. But that does not mean I need to force the cable guy to have a 120 pound Rottweiler follow him all over the house. Sometimes there is as much common sense involved as actual training.
UPDATE CLARIFICATION:
I do NOT recommend putting your Rottweiler up EVERY TIME you have a visitor. Without training, discipline and socializing, your dog will never learn what is expected of him. Putting a dog up that was never taught as a puppy not to jump on people will not correct the behavior of jumping on people. He does not go to the back bedroom where he is “put up” and write 100 times, “I will not jump on people.” He will never auto-magically learn to sit and ask politely to be petted. Poor social skills must be addressed to be corrected. However, if your dog is not lacking is social skills or training and is simply doing his “job” of keeping a close eye on a repairman that is wondering around the house, then putting the dog up will give peace of mind to the poor repair man.
As I mentioned before, character traits vary from dog to dog, and what is an excellent temperament for a family with small children and cats will be different than the temperament the military would prefer. These dogs, however, might be siblings or even littermates. At Guardian Rottweilers, our puppies are handled regularly by all our children and family members from the time they are born. They are further socialized with all our other pets to include all other adult Rotties, goats, peacock, ducks, geese, turkeys, chickens, ferrets, kitties and even a bearded dragon from the time they are four weeks. Because of our interaction with our puppies, we can start to see personalities, and try to help guide you to the perfect puppy for your situation. NO BREEDER CAN GUARANTEE WHAT A PUPPY WILL LOOK LIKE OR ACT LIKE AS AN ADULT. That having been said, we can start to see personality develop as early as four weeks. Although strong bloodlines and good breeding have an influence on your puppy, THE SINGLE GREATEST DETERMINING FACTOR IN HOW YOUR DOG WILL BEHAVE AS AN ADULT IS YOU. We carefully scrutinize our breedings and placement of our pups, but we can not take credit for all of our success stories. These dogs have all been raised with love, affection, patience, and most importantly, discipline. Or as Cesar says “exercise, discipline affection!”
Owning a Rottweiler carries a lot of responsibility and requires a big commitment of time and patience, but can bring rewards that could never be measured. I still firmly believe that a good Rottweiler, well bred and raised properly, is the best companion available while on earth. I have had the opportunity and pleasure to work with many dogs breeds, and none compare to the Rottie. They are funny, intelligent, affectionate, loyal, and of course adorable. They love unconditionally and will lay down their life in protection of their family without hesitation. At least 80% of our customers are previous Rottweiler owners, because as one gentleman put “once you have owned a Rottweiler, everything else is just a dog.”
PLEASE READ BEFORE CONTACTING US ABOUT GETTING ON THE WAITING LIST:
It is and always has been the Guardian Rottweiler policy to not offer refunds, of any amount. All sales are final, so please take this into consideration prior to contacting us. A Rottweiler is not an “impulse buy” nor is he disposable. S/he is not a fleeting decision. S/he will become a part of your family and love you unconditionally from the moment they meets you. Your Rottweiler will lay down his/her life for you and everyone in your family with unwavering loyalty. Purchasing your Rottweiler is only a drop in the bucket of the expense that will be required to raise one correctly. You will need quality food, excellent vet care, training, toys, etc. on a regular basis, and you must also be financially prepared in the event of illness or injury to adequately care for your new family member. If you are not yet ready to make the commitment, then please take whatever time you need to make sure your finances, household, job, time, etc. are optimal to do right by your new family member.
4) We will not ever make any guarantees on puppy availability or timeline. This is simply not possible. Not every breeding results in a pregnancy and whelping and raising pups is not without risk. Even if there is a plethora of pups available, it does not guarantee that the puppy you are looking for is one of them. You could want a female and the mom gives us a litter of all boys; you could want a show quality and the litter produces only pet puppies; the pedigree could be a Who’s Who for working dogs, and the litter might still produce a non-working pup with lower drive. Producing greatness takes a lot of hard work, dedication, and patience; waiting for that same greatness is equally a game of patience. If you do not understand this, and instead are looking for a mass-produced, poorly bred, always available and dirt cheap puppy, then we are not the breeder for you.
5) Pet quality pups START at $1000. This does not mean that every litter will have pet puppies or that every pet will be $1000. Pet pups range in price from $1000-$1900, depending on the fault(s) that make him/her a pet.
6) Show pups START at $2000. This does not mean that every litter will have a show quality puppy or that every show quality pup will be $2000. There is not really a ceiling on show quality pups as their quality dictates the price. You are never obligated to buy a puppy that is not the sex, quality, character, drive, breeding or price that you are looking for. Your deposit does not expire and does not restrict you to any particular puppy or litter. So if all we have are females in that litter and you want a male, you are not obligated to take a female, you may if you want to, but you are equally as welcome to wait for a male in the next litter. If you want a show puppy and there are only pets left when we get to you, then you do not have to take a pet puppy, you are welcome to wait for the next litter for your perfect show quality puppy. And if your budget is $1200, but the only pet puppy is $1500, you do not have to purchase her/him just because s/he is available. When you do get your puppy from us, we want to be every thing you ever wanted and then some.
Before deposits are placed, it is your responsibility to check with your landlord or lease holder to make sure Rottweilers are permitted on your property if you rent. It is also your responsibility to check with all roommates or family members that will be living with the puppy/dog. It is also your responsibility to be sure your insurance, location, HOA, job, etc. does not have any breed restrictions. It is also your responsibility to make sure that no one who will be living with the dog is allergic, has a big dog phobia, or any other issues that would prevent him form living in your home. Guardian Rottweilers are not sold as “outside dogs” and are intended to become members of the family. None of the preceding circumstances or any other circumstances, whether known or unforeseen, will constitute a reason for a refund. No monetary refunds will be issued, ever. In the event you are ever unable to property care for or maintain ownership of your Guardian Rottweiler, we will always take one of our babies back, no matter what, however, refunds will not be issued, under any circumstances. If your circumstances prevent you from keeping the dog at the moment, but could possibility permit proper care down the road, consideration will be given towards allowing your deposit/payment to remain with Guardian Rottweilers for future use. This decision will be made on a case by case basis and at the sole discretion of Guardian Rottweilers. Guardian Rottweilers also reserves the right to cancel any sale at any time at our discretion.
Using the absolute best bloodlines available in the world, carefully choosing each breeding pair, ensuring only the healthiest representatives of the breed are considered when breeding, and specifically breeding for character consistently produces the quality that Guardian Rottweilers has become known worldwide for producing. When you purchase from a breeder that has put their entire life into hungering after knowledge to better themselves as a breeder and to better this breed, a breeder that has traveled the world learning directly from world class breeders, trainers, handlers, medical experts, nutritionist, behaviorists, and those that literally wrote the books on this breed, you are buying access to their knowledge and experience as well as the superior quality of dog they can both produce and raise because of the volume of knowledge accumulated. You are also able to take advantage of this knowledge and experience when it comes time to evaluate puppies, apply the breed standards, expected growth and development based on bloodline knowledge, expert evaluation of character and temperament, and accurate assessment of the puppy both physically and mentally. When you buy from a caring, dedicated breeder, you are getting a puppy that has had round the clock care and nurturing from the moment s/he was conceived, with early neurological stimulation that is paramount in both the development as well as initiating the human bonding process so that we are just as much an integral part of their life and pack as their own mother. There is always a waiting list for our puppies, since the very first litter I had from Diesel more than 2 decades ago. The sooner you get on the waiting list, the higher your priority for picking. It is very rare for us to have puppies that are still available by the time they are ready to go home that did not go to someone on the waiting list. After they are born, it will be 8 weeks until they go home. During those 8 weeks, we will be contacted daily from people all around the world looking for a Guardian Rottweiler. Therefore, by the time the pups are old enough to go home, there is a good possibility that there are already enough people on the waiting list for that litter. If you are looking for fast food style in quality, price, or time, where you order a cheaply bred, mass produced puppy off the value menu and then pull around to the side of the building to pick it up, then we will not be the correct breeder for you. However, if you understand that finding the perfect puppy for your family and your situation is worth the wait, then it will be my pleasure to schedule an interview with you.
PLEASE UNDERSTAND BEFORE COMING OUT TO LOOK AT PUPPIES:
You will more than likely not be picking up a puppy. It is very rare for us to have puppies available at the time they are old enough to go home- they almost always are already spoken for by the families on the wait list at that time. On average, our wait list is 2-4 litters long before you find the exact puppy you are looking for- sex, character, drive, temperament, head type, conformation, quality, etc.
YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO HOLD/PET/INTERACT WITH OUR PUPPIES
If you come out to the property meanwhile we have newborn puppies on the ground or expectant moms, you will not be able to get the full tour. For the safety of our moms and pups, we cannot have unnecessary traffic in the nursery or puppy play areas. You will still be able to meet with and interact with other adult and youth dogs so that you have a good idea of the character, size and overall conformation we strive for and produce in our breeding program. If we have pups available when you come, depending on their age, you may be permitted to get a peek at them, but you will not be able to interact with them unless they are fully vaccinated, or you are picking your puppy up to go home. I understand that holding and playing with puppies is the absolute best thing on earth. However, if you are waiting on one of these puppies to go home with your family, I am sure you also would not want a parade of people with the potential for a plethora of pathogens handling your new family member meanwhile s/he is still young and immunocompromised and run the risk of your baby coming home to you with a potentially deadly disease. When we first started breeding more than 2 decades ago, we did not have such policies in place. We permitted everyone who came to visit to hold and interact with our puppies- after all, it is our favorite thing to do here too. Unfortunately, some of our puppies paid for that luxury with their lives.
We welcome visitors by appointment only to ROTTIEOPOLIS. We ask that if you will come out to visit our Rotties that you DO NOT visit other kennels/breeders prior to coming to our home. Not all breeders are as careful and sanitary with the living conditions or as thorough on deworming and vaccinations and we must be very careful with what is tracked into our newborn puppies and moms.
