by Bob Davidson January 2008
It was a blazing hot day when we went to pick up Diesel. I had filled out the 10 page application that was required by NC Rottweiler Rescue to adopt him and I had apparently met all of the requirements. I had seen pictures of him (he was beautiful) and I knew that the last couple who had fostered him had turned him back in because they could not handle him. My contact at the rescue organization said that he was too difficult for someone to handle who was not extremely qualified with difficult dogs. I remember thinking "how tough could he be; I have been trained by the best of them, Zeus!" They claimed that he was good with people but he was untested with cats and we we remembered going through months of tense times with Zeus when we brought Opal, Flora's beloved Siamese cat into our home. After keeping them apart for about 6 weeks we were finally able to somehow convince Zeus not to eat her but Flora was not sure she was ready to go through that all one more time. It was a good argument.
We had many conversations about how to proceed. My experience was that difficult big male Rottweilers required a lot of physical strength to handle. I was approaching the age of 59 and I figured this might be the last male I would be able to adopt. I am not sure that someone near 70 years old can deal with a 135 pound dog if the dog does not want to be handled. But there is just something about these big guys that is beyond compare. We create our own realities, so why not, right? So with some trepidation we agreed to meet Elaine at the kennel where Diezel was being boarded.
It was one of those sweltering 95 degree days in the south. We got to the kennel a bit early and sat outside to wait, not quite knowing what was ahead of us. Kennels are always noisy places. Lots of dogs are always barking. Here it was no different, in fact it was bedlam. Elaine arrived and we introduced ourselves. I am in awe of people who spend so much time and energy helping to rescue these animals. They brought Diezel out. Wow! He was everything I expected and more.
He was amazing. Since he was a rescue dog we really didn't know his age, but it had been estimated at between 2 and 3 years old. He was full grown and in his prime and he looked it. He had perfect markings, a nice topline, was well muscled and short muzzled, he could have been a show dog. It was hard to imagine that people throw away such beautiful dogs. But you know how it goes; people buy these cute little 6 week old puppies, but all too soon they grow up into these big dogs, who become unmanageable adults and try to take over. The owners are overwhelmed and not knowing what else to do (besides being afraid for the lives of themselves and their families), they dump them.
He seemed well mannered enough and we met. I tried to clip my collar on him, preferring it over the one that he was wearing. We struggled to adjust it while also trying to hold onto him. We were right outside of an outside kennel enclosure in which a big German Shepard was going nuts over the whole thing. Diezel seemed unfazed by all of the noise. I ended up flipping him onto his side while Elaine made the adjustment to the collar. I clipped it on him and let him up. Immediately he was out of control, virtually dragging me across the lawn. I am generally pretty good at handling big dogs but he was having none of it. I did though manage to get him to drag me toward the truck and we finally wrestled him inside. Whew, maybe not such an auspicious start! A funny thing happened on the way home though. As I was driving, Diezel, who was in the backseat of the Tundra, leaned up and started licking my face. It was quite the moment. A connection was made. The doubts melted away.
When we arrived home we brought him in the house. A lot of sniffing ensued. I am sure the house still smelled heavily of another male Rottweiler, Zeus, who had been gone only a few weeks. The cat ran and hid. After we got settled a bit she came back out. He gave her one glance and then ignored her. No attacks, no chases, no confrontations. It was encouraging. I did though dig through a box of old dog paraphernalia and find a prong collar that I had used in prior years with Zeus. I knew that it would come in handy.
Rottweilers are very smart and because of that they learn quickly. Diezel had obviously had some previous training. Within a week he was walking well on the leash and had mastered the normal commands (sit, down, stay, and halt). It was going so well we expected an easy ride. On one of our daily walks we met a neighbor who was out walking his Lab. We expected to pass by them with no problems. Flora had the leash at the moment. In a flash Diezel knocked Flora to the ground and dragged her into the ditch on the way to an attack on the other dog. I managed to get control and pull him off the other dog. It was an embarrassing moment, but no harm was done. It did though show us that there was some work to be done. In the ensuing months we worked hard to prove that we were worthy pack leaders. More than once I had to drag Diezel to the ground and force him to be submissive. He is the most powerful dog I have ever dealt with but over time he is begriming to submit. It is not as easy as Cesar Milan would like for you to believe!
Today my friend Rich came over with his dog Zoey. She a cute little 50 pound, very submissive Lab/Pit Bull mix. I thought it would be a good time to take Diezel on a training walk with another dog. Immediately when we introduced the two of them Diezel tried to force his dominance, That was OK with Zoey and it eventually turned into a loud near-dogfight and I had to pull Diezel off of her. Again I had to wrestle him to the ground. Gawd he is strong. One more time I tried to let him know who the real pack leader was. During the walk he eventually calmed down. A few more confrontations ensued but overall it went well. We walked for over an hour and threw the ball a little (something Diezel just loves) with the dogs off-leash. We plan to get together again next week for another walk. We also intend to put Diezel through some obedience training.
June 2009 - A lot has happened since the previous paragraphs were written, most of it good. Diezel is an amazing dog. I remind Flora pretty much every day how lucky we are to have him. We have had a couple of incidents. During one of them animal control got involved (and the owner of the other dog threatened to shoot us). But overall, Diezel has made steady progress. He listens well, is great on the leash, and is extremely obedient when no other dogs are around.
Last week we attended a three day Rottweiler training weekend organized by NC Rottweiler Rescue. Trainer Dan Polo put us through our paces along with about 20 other Rottweilers and their owners. Diezel was mostly good but still tried to prove his dominance over some of the other dogs. By the end of the weekend he seemed more at ease around the other dogs but it might have largly been because he was worn out. It is pretty much a Catch 22 situation in that he is not good around other dogs because he has never been around other dogs but as long as he is not good around other dogs we hesitate to take him around other dogs. By the end of the weekend he passed his CGC and Flora and I learned some new techniques. We also purchased a new muzzle that will go a long way toward making us safer around other dogs. Diezel does not like wearing it but it is worth the trouble. Using the new muzzle we took him to Petsmart this week and he did fine, even when we came around the corner face to face with a large Pit Bull. I will update this page again later.
My thanks to Peggy Rose for the wonderful Rottweiler artwork
This page coded by Bob and lasted modified 06/16/09