by E.MIfsud
(Malta)
I have a 3 year old rottweiler bitch who has been neutered. She is very good and has a lovely temperament even when we have people over who she does not know.
Recently I have been thinking of expanding the dog family and getting a golden retriever puppy. The reason for this choice is because this breed is very good with kids and being I do not have any yet, I thought both could influence each other and the rotty can learn from the golden when it comes to kids.
I am just now worried whether it is a good idea to get another dog as today someone informed me that the rottie will not accept another dog in the house now. Do you think this could be true?
I know the induction period of the pup will be a careful one but do you think that in the long run the rottie will always be jealous of another dog and can harm it? In summer I adopted 2 stray kittens and after a few weeks she was fine with the kittens and they now play together.
What do you recommend? Shall I get another puppy?
Hi
There are two parts to my answer here, and the first is that it’s not necessary to get another dog in order to help your Rottweiler learn how to be good with children.
A Rottie with a sound temperament (which it seems your girl has) is no more, or less, likely to be good with children than any other breed. They’re highly intelligent dogs and if introduced properly to a baby/child and taught how to behave around them, then they are generally excellent family dogs. Of course they’re big and sometimes clumsy, so you always need to supervise when Rotties and children are interacting as it’s possible for a small child to be knocked over or hurt accidentally during play. But this is true of all large, or extra-large, breeds.
Secondly however, is the question about adding another dog to the family. In all the years I’ve owned Rottweilers and other breeds, I’ve never seen a well-bred and stable Rottie resent a new puppy in the house. Of course the first few days, or week or two, are a bit of an adjustment period and you need to give them a chance to get to know each other and the older dog needs to learn that there is now a new family member, and some new rules. Again this is no different to introducing a new puppy into any family who already has a dog or dogs living with them. Check out my Introducing A New Puppy page for lots of tips and advice on this.
I would definitely recommend getting a male puppy though, as the potential for conflict once the pup matures is much greater with two dogs of the same sex. Apart from that, the size or breed of the new pup shouldn’t really matter.
Hope this helps, best of luck with whatever you decide to do.