2 questions on rotties

Question
--Our male was already fixed when we adopted him. We want to bred our female so we can keep one or 2 of the pups-We just cant get enough of them!  I had heard before about waiting but I wanted a 2nd opinion.  Our male has been acting like this for abt a week now.  We have been rewarding him when he does walk by with treats and praise.  I have also let him check out the area by smelling the parts he will and telling him good boy.  
Our female potty problems... We have spent hundreds of $$ on natures miricle and evrything else on the shelves.  we TRY our best to keep a constant eye on the little girl but she is still sneeky.  I have to admit she is getting better but we still have our slip ups.  Do you think it has someting to do with her not being fixed yet? Or is a female generally harder to train?  ----------------------
Followup To
Question -
Hi I have 2 Rotties.  Male that is 3 and female that is 1.  My male we adopted 1yr ago and he has been doing very good except for the last few days.  He will not walk by our neighbors house, now our neighbor is a landscaper but hasnt done anything different to his yard.  He acts very scared and pulls the opposite way. He is 140lbs and is in pretty good shape but acts so funny when in a certain area.  Any idea's why?  we thought mabie landscaper put somethnig in his yard so dogs are not attracted to the yard but i asked him and nothing is different.
now with my 1 yr old female she is a total different story.  she turned 1 in december and is now in her 2nd heat. We want to breed her but I think she is still not ready to be a mommy. She still goes pee in the house but only in spots where her scent is already.  I know to get her to stop we will prob have to rip up the carpet in that area but now that she is on her period again its a mess... she will not keep the doggie dipers on and I think she is still to hyper to be bread.  As soon as she is pregnate we want her fixed( only want 1 litter from her) But what to do in the mean time?  Do you think we should wait to breed her?  any advice is greatly appreciated
thank you again


Answer -
Hello, Joelene. Generally, rottweilers are not bred until they are at least 2 years old, because x-rays, CERF eye examinations, and other tests to determine whether or not a dog is a carrier of any genetic problems like hip displasia or eye diseases are not 100% accurate until then. May I inquire as to why you would like to breed your female, just out of curiosity? I definately would not recommend breeding your male because of his apparent issues with your neighbor's yard for no reason. Rottweilers should be confident, not shy or afraid of anything. Shyness is not a trait that should be passed on any more than hip displasia is. I would recommend he be neutered ASAP so an accident will not happen. Has he acted this way towards your neighbor's yard since you got him, or is this behavior something new? If it's new, how long ago did it start, and what all have you been doing to fix the problem??

To help with your female's housebreaking issue, I would recommend thoroughly cleaning the areas that she has already pottied on with an enzymatic cleaner like Nature's Miracle, and keep a close eye on her so that you can catch her in the act and immediately take her outside. When you cannot watch her, she needs to be in a crate - and DEFINATELY keep your male away from her.

Please get back to me with the answers to the questions I've asked and I'll do my best to help you!

Kristen


Answer
Your female's potty problems could very well stem from the fact that she is not spayed yet - you're right. She could be 'marking' or she could have something wrong with her that's causing her to have accidents. Have you had her checked for a UTI or bladder infection? Either of those can cause housebreaking accidents. It's good that your male is already neutered, or you really WOULD be having a lot to deal with with him trying to get to your female! Make sure not to leave her outside unattended for ANY length of time because neighborhood dogs may breed her. Dogs can be very creative when trying to get to a female in heat, and can even breed through fences if they cannot climb or dig over them. Do not let her out of your sight for a second! ;^)

If the Nature's Miracle isn't working, then the scent is probably down in the padding and you're right; the only way to get rid of it is to pull up the old stuff, thoroughly clean the subfloor, and replace it with new carpet or something a little easier to clean like laminate, hardwood, vinyl tile, or linoleum. Crating her when you are not at home to watch her, and keeping her confined to the room you are in via the use of baby gates is another solution that should help.



I don't know how much you know about breeding, so I'm going to give you some informative links. :^)

Before you can even begin to think of breeding, you need to make sure that both the sire and dam conform to the Rottweiler breed standard (see http://www.akc.org/breeds/rottweiler/index.cfm). Breeding is not cheap. At first, it may seem like a nice way to make a little money, but you're lucky if you even break even.

http://www.thepetprofessor.com/articles/article.aspx?id=218
http://www.rottie-l.org/b4breeding.html
http://www.wonderpuppy.net/breeding.htm#breeding
http://www.canismajor.com/dog/hvpup1.html


If the costs aren't enough to make you think twice about breeding, think of the thousands of dogs (many purebred) that are put to sleep every day in this country. Look at the number of rottweilers in shelters and rescue groups that need a home. By bringing more into the world, you are almost certainly condemning at least twice that many to death. Why do I say twice that many? Well, because say someone buys a puppy from you, instead of getting one from the shelter. Not only will that particular shelter puppy die, but the one waiting in the wings for the cage that puppy was in will also die, before they even have a chance to be put up for adoption. Go to http://www.yahoo.com or http://www.google.com and do a search to see how many Rottweiler rescues there are - and every one of them is full to the brim. On http://www.petfinder.com, there are more than 3,000 rotties and rottie mixes in need of a home. :^(


http://www.dogplay.com/Breeding/ethics.html
http://www.woodhavenlabs.com/breeding/breeder3.html


Now, here are some reasons to go ahead and spay your female:

http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/why_you_should_spay_or_neuter_your_pet.html
http://www.thepetcenter.com/sur/pyo.html
http://www.canismajor.com/dog/spayneut.html
http://www.doghause.com/spay.asp


If you're wanting to breed simply because you want to keep a couple of puppies, I highly recommend going to a Rottweiler breed rescue and letting them know what you want, instead of putting your female through the stress (both physical and mental) of becoming pregnant and having a litter. Often, breed rescues go in and pull pregnant dogs, or dogs that have just whelped a litter, from shelters that would have euthanized them had the rescue not stepped in and saved them.  The AKC even has a list of Rottweiler rescues at http://www.akc.org/breeds/rescue.cfm#622. Rather than trying to breed your dog, I think it would be much more fulfilling to adopt a puppy (or puppies!) that needs you.   

I'm not against breeding, but I am against breeding for the wrong reasons. No doubt your girl is a wonderful dog, but honestly, I do not think she needs to be bred. I think she could be a much happier, healthier pet as a spayed female.

Please feel free to let me know if there's anything else I can help you with, and good luck.

Kristen