ok, the research for our next dog continues. [we will be in the market for another dog in probably 1-2 years from now, and figured we'd start researching several breeds right away so we can know what we want when that time comes.]
my husband has been saying for a long time that he wants a rottie. he has never had one [his family had brussells griff, a pom cross, and a doberman over the course of his childhood]. i had one several years ago, LOVED her, but in discussing the possibility of getting one, i realized i have some unresolved fears because of what went wrong. here's what happened, to the best of my knowledge/memory. it was my parents that handled most of the decision making and vet discussions, so i could be mistaken on a few details.
my parents had been the victim of their own ignorance and a bad breeder [got a purebred shar pei with severe genetic health problems]. that, coupled with the thought of getting a powerful 100+ pound dog with children in the house, really caused them to want to educate themselves before purchasing. i remember them going through a huge process finding a breeder, etc. they checked the background, health records, etc. i remember going to the breeder's house. she only had one bitch and they were a well-to-do family and the dogs were raised with the family. the pups came from working lines, and either the sire or the grandsire was super-multi-titled [he was even one or two of the rott books we were reading]. we spent time going to schutzhund trials and obedience/agility trials, meeting and talking with people, etc.
our girl was wonderful. she excelled in her training and worked right into our family. she was perfectly reliable off lead and with children, etc. then, she had her second heat just around 12 months of age and everything changed. she suddenly had these drastic agressive mood swings [example: my baby sister once walked by her crate, which the dog was in, as she has done the dog's whole life, and the dog lunged at her and was tearing at the bars to get out], she would be fine one minute and then completely insane the next. we knew it was really bad when she started going after me and mom, who she worshipped. i remember my parents saying the vets diagnosis was a chemical imbalance that can occur in otherwise healthy dogs around this age. with my knowledge now, i am guessing it was autoimmune thyroiditis or hyperthyroid. between my parents and the vet, it was decided to put her to sleep. i don't know if her problem was so severe that meds wouldn't be reliable enough to completely rule out sudden aggression, or what. but it was basically decided that she would be a danger. they said that if she was a small breed, they would have given her treatment and kept her, but because she was over 110 pounds at 12 months, it wasn't a risk worth taking.
anyhow, the whole thing traumatized me enough that it was about 10 years before i allowed myself to love a dog [i avoided any dogs my family got after that] and as you guys know, it's only been recently that i got myself sylvie.
i remember passionately loving everything about rotts, but have to admit i am frightened by this experience. has anyone dealt with this before, particularly in rotts? any advice for addressing this? and i think i need to be reminded why i fell in love with this breed.
my husband has been saying for a long time that he wants a rottie. he has never had one [his family had brussells griff, a pom cross, and a doberman over the course of his childhood]. i had one several years ago, LOVED her, but in discussing the possibility of getting one, i realized i have some unresolved fears because of what went wrong. here's what happened, to the best of my knowledge/memory. it was my parents that handled most of the decision making and vet discussions, so i could be mistaken on a few details.
my parents had been the victim of their own ignorance and a bad breeder [got a purebred shar pei with severe genetic health problems]. that, coupled with the thought of getting a powerful 100+ pound dog with children in the house, really caused them to want to educate themselves before purchasing. i remember them going through a huge process finding a breeder, etc. they checked the background, health records, etc. i remember going to the breeder's house. she only had one bitch and they were a well-to-do family and the dogs were raised with the family. the pups came from working lines, and either the sire or the grandsire was super-multi-titled [he was even one or two of the rott books we were reading]. we spent time going to schutzhund trials and obedience/agility trials, meeting and talking with people, etc.
our girl was wonderful. she excelled in her training and worked right into our family. she was perfectly reliable off lead and with children, etc. then, she had her second heat just around 12 months of age and everything changed. she suddenly had these drastic agressive mood swings [example: my baby sister once walked by her crate, which the dog was in, as she has done the dog's whole life, and the dog lunged at her and was tearing at the bars to get out], she would be fine one minute and then completely insane the next. we knew it was really bad when she started going after me and mom, who she worshipped. i remember my parents saying the vets diagnosis was a chemical imbalance that can occur in otherwise healthy dogs around this age. with my knowledge now, i am guessing it was autoimmune thyroiditis or hyperthyroid. between my parents and the vet, it was decided to put her to sleep. i don't know if her problem was so severe that meds wouldn't be reliable enough to completely rule out sudden aggression, or what. but it was basically decided that she would be a danger. they said that if she was a small breed, they would have given her treatment and kept her, but because she was over 110 pounds at 12 months, it wasn't a risk worth taking.
anyhow, the whole thing traumatized me enough that it was about 10 years before i allowed myself to love a dog [i avoided any dogs my family got after that] and as you guys know, it's only been recently that i got myself sylvie.
i remember passionately loving everything about rotts, but have to admit i am frightened by this experience. has anyone dealt with this before, particularly in rotts? any advice for addressing this? and i think i need to be reminded why i fell in love with this breed.
