Thanks Julie. We all know how aggressive and dominant those Rotties can be . Without seeing the behavior or the environment in which the behavior is taking place, it's very difficult to assess what the real issue is. It could be that the puppy is a true dominant and it could be true that there is no real alpha in the household. Or both. Or neither .

We start socializing our puppies with kids when they are 3 weeks old and they learn that by the time they are ready to go into homes, the kids are not pack members but authority figures just like mom and dad. And we teach the kids in homes where our pups are going how to be leaders and not simply members of the pack. Sometimes that part is harder than training the puppies. Sometimes, in homes that have a super-alpha adult, the pups just don't relate to anybody but that person and it's difficult to "pass the baton" to anybody else.

We usually suggest that the pup start basic obedience training in a structured environment and with the members of the household who have to establish dominance. That process -- over 6 weeks or so -- usually gets the kids to understand how to get the puppy to obey and gets the puppy to understand that it is his job to obey them. Find a good puppy obedience class in your area and sign up. Get the kids to be the "trainers" of the puppy in that class. In time, the puppy will understand his/her role with those family members.

Of course, Rotties are much more difficult than any other breed when it comes to aggression and dominance as Julie knows. So, we just give them MilkBones and hope they obey us when they get to be 135 lbs. Like Sundance last year at Halloween with a small child he'd never met before .



Enjoy and good luck.

Jim