by Kyle
(Harrisburg, PA)
I am wondering if I should expect any changes in behavior in my rottweiler.
My wife is pregnant with our first child and we have a seven year old rottie.
What should I expect from my rottie in regards to the pregnancy, and the eventual addition of our child?
Hi Kyle
First of all, congratulations on the upcoming new addition 🙂
As for how your Rottweiler will behave, a lot depends on her individual personality, but I wouldn’t be expecting any great change.
Dogs are very intuitive so she may become extra protective of and/or gentle towards, your wife or nothing at all may change. If there is excitement or anxiety around the home she’ll pick up on that, but won’t understand what all the fuss is about! So don’t let her get anxious, give her plenty of attention and so on just as always.
Rottweilers are usually great with children, especially if they’ve been raised with them. As your Rottie is a mature adult, and this is your first child, she may not be sure what the baby is, so introduce them slowly and always supervise any interactions. This is NOT because she’s a Rottweiler and therefore could hurt your baby, or be ‘aggressive’ etc. etc., but is simply common sense when introducing ANY dog to a new baby, regardless of breed or size.
As I said above, dogs are very intuitive and they ‘feel’ their human’s emotions, so don’t anticipate trouble or be worried or anxious about this. If you do, your Rottie will know that ‘something’s up’ but she’ll have no idea what it is and that will upset her.
Keep as much as possible to her regular routine, treat her the same way as you always have, and allow her to get to know your baby in her own time. I’ve raised my 6 children with Rottweilers and other dogs always in the home and have never had any issues. There’s no reason to think that your experience will be any different.
Best of luck with everything.
