Rottweiller/Labrador mix .....I LOVE MY DOG!!
Lately I have been reading some blogs regarding Labrotties or as I prefer to call them Rottenlabs. I happened to have such a breed mix and I have to say they are getting a bad rap!!. Like the Pit Bull, Rottweillers are labled vicious and unpredictable. I personally think it is all in how they are raised.
I Got my dog Maggie from the animal shelter some 6 years ago. At that time she was about 2. I really had no intention of getting a big dog. I wanted a lap dog. We past cage after cage of barking dogs until we saw this skinny old looking dog just quietly sitting there with barking dogs jumping all over her. She was so skinny!. I was not looking for a big dog!!. My kids and I stopped to read about the dogs in the cage and saw the TAG for Maggie. She indeed was a Rottweiller mix. The tag said that she had been thee over 7 months. She had long since overstayed her allotted amount of time. It went on to say that she was a good dog, a great dog, a sweet and well behaved dog and that she would soon be put to sleep if she wasn't adopted. All of the staff at the shelter signed it. Her time was running out. They were willing to give her away for free. So sucker that I am.....I brought her home...to my small 2 bedroom apartment.
What in the world had I done? This dog was big. How would I ever keep her in my apartment. I hadn't even considered the fact that I had a cat.
Okay, she had some psychological issues at first....She had seperation anxiety. She could not stop pressing up against me 24/7. She snapped her teeth at us and we were scared. But she never barked.
Over time and with medication she got over her anxiety. She continues to snap her teeth to this day. That is how she communicates. She rarely barks, but can. All in all she is a great apartment dog!!. She is lazy like a Rott. She prefers to lay by the front door making her occasional rounds. She is a homebody and does not leave even if the door is wide open. She will not eat until she is given permission. If you drop food on the floor she will just sit there and salivate until she is given the okay. She is getting kind of old now but still learns new tricks like playing dead or ring around the rosie.
The LAB in her makes her extremely friendly and gentle, she does not jump up on people unless asked. She has been gentle with my granddaughter since she first came home from the hospital She loves dogs and cats....They tend to be her weakness. She loves to chase and play with them,which for the most part scares other pet owners. She has been attacked by both small dogs and cats. She just sits there with her tail wagging as they bite her feet or scratch her face. I am the one who gets mad.
Maggie is one of , if not the best dog I have ever owned. She is the perfect apartment dog. She is now about 125 lbs, if not more.Its a good thing she never jumps on the furniture. She eats a whole lot of food and craps like a horse!! But her heart is just as big. I would recommend this breed to anyone. It may sound silly but I think that she still hasn't forgotten her 7 month imprisonment making her a loyal, dependable and predictable dog who lives to please her master. I would highly recommend this breed to anyone.
Lately I have been reading some blogs regarding Labrotties or as I prefer to call them Rottenlabs. I happened to have such a breed mix and I have to say they are getting a bad rap!!. Like the Pit Bull, Rottweillers are labled vicious and unpredictable. I personally think it is all in how they are raised.
I Got my dog Maggie from the animal shelter some 6 years ago. At that time she was about 2. I really had no intention of getting a big dog. I wanted a lap dog. We past cage after cage of barking dogs until we saw this skinny old looking dog just quietly sitting there with barking dogs jumping all over her. She was so skinny!. I was not looking for a big dog!!. My kids and I stopped to read about the dogs in the cage and saw the TAG for Maggie. She indeed was a Rottweiller mix. The tag said that she had been thee over 7 months. She had long since overstayed her allotted amount of time. It went on to say that she was a good dog, a great dog, a sweet and well behaved dog and that she would soon be put to sleep if she wasn't adopted. All of the staff at the shelter signed it. Her time was running out. They were willing to give her away for free. So sucker that I am.....I brought her home...to my small 2 bedroom apartment.
What in the world had I done? This dog was big. How would I ever keep her in my apartment. I hadn't even considered the fact that I had a cat.
Okay, she had some psychological issues at first....She had seperation anxiety. She could not stop pressing up against me 24/7. She snapped her teeth at us and we were scared. But she never barked.
Over time and with medication she got over her anxiety. She continues to snap her teeth to this day. That is how she communicates. She rarely barks, but can. All in all she is a great apartment dog!!. She is lazy like a Rott. She prefers to lay by the front door making her occasional rounds. She is a homebody and does not leave even if the door is wide open. She will not eat until she is given permission. If you drop food on the floor she will just sit there and salivate until she is given the okay. She is getting kind of old now but still learns new tricks like playing dead or ring around the rosie.
The LAB in her makes her extremely friendly and gentle, she does not jump up on people unless asked. She has been gentle with my granddaughter since she first came home from the hospital She loves dogs and cats....They tend to be her weakness. She loves to chase and play with them,which for the most part scares other pet owners. She has been attacked by both small dogs and cats. She just sits there with her tail wagging as they bite her feet or scratch her face. I am the one who gets mad.
Maggie is one of , if not the best dog I have ever owned. She is the perfect apartment dog. She is now about 125 lbs, if not more.Its a good thing she never jumps on the furniture. She eats a whole lot of food and craps like a horse!! But her heart is just as big. I would recommend this breed to anyone. It may sound silly but I think that she still hasn't forgotten her 7 month imprisonment making her a loyal, dependable and predictable dog who lives to please her master. I would highly recommend this breed to anyone.