We have a 5 yr old male staying with us. I can’t tell you about his circumstances, his name, or show you pictures cause right now, he doesn’t belong to us. But I will share what life is like with a frightened 90 lb Rottweiler.
It’s sad most days. Things that we usually take for granted scare this boy. He isn’t aggressive at all, but rather trys to run and hide. Sounds like a dishwasher or washing machine used to make him either hit the floor, or become so stressed that he would pant and pace for the longest time. Flags waving, things blowing in the wind, all of these startle and stress this boy. And he doesn’t recover quickly.
After being with us for over a month, I still can’t bath him. His fear takes over and he needs to run away. He came to us with very little training and I’m finding it hard to get him to co-operate some days. Its like the fear is a transit thing. One day he will be somewhat ok, the next he is scared out of his mind. Even simple things like opening the plastic containers for our cookies makes him run out of the room
Jim and I were doing some little reno’s in the back yard on the weekend and this poor boy couldn’t stand and watch. It’s like he has never experienced life. Hammering makes him run, cleaning house makes him want to hide, pulling weeds is enough to make him run upstairs and not want to come down again. We will most likely never know this sweet boys history. And it doesn’t really matter I guess. What matters is that he is here and safe for now. And we are going to do everything in our power to make him more confident.
He is a magnificent animal. He is loving to the point of being a pest, always wanting to have your hands on him. We have taught him that his crate is a safe place and he goes there willingly when we have to work but when we are home, he is right by our sides.
I’m hoping that soon he will become part of West Coast Rottweiler Rescue. I pray that the right family will step up for him. He needs so very much to be loved and to be made to feel safe.

No we haven’t gone away

We are still around and still active.

But I will say losing Bear took the wind out of my sails. And there was another loss right around the same time. Too be very honest, my heart just wasn’t into posting on the blog.
Anyways, back to the dogs. A young boy came into care the same day we lost Bear. I put out a call for a foster home and one showed up right away for him. Usually I would have preferred to have him in our home, but with everything going on, it wasn’t the right time or place.
Laurie took little Harley into her home and kept him till we found just the right placement for him. There were lots of people wanting to adopt him but he needed that special family that would give him everything he deserved. And they did show up. What a wonderful thing to place a young dog in a young family and know they will do everything they can to make him the best dog ever.
We were asked by a local shelter to take in a special case. We have done just that but until all the facts around this dog are settled, I won’t post about him. Suffice to say that the mystery man will be seen around pretty soon I hope.
Earlier this month we celebrated a very special day. Our little min am esk/pap cross turned 10 yrs old. Jim thought we should post about her because without her, there would be no Rottweiler Rescue.

Sashka came to us when she was about 1 ½. I knew nothing about rescue, I only knew that I wanted a dog and Jim said it had to be small. LOL. Sashka was advertised in the buy and sell. The ad said she was a lovely young dog with great manners, well socialized, good with kids, yada, yada, yada. The only reason they were looking for a home for her was allergies. Nothing could have been farther from the truth. The woman said she would bring the dog down on her next trip to the coast and we meet in a MacDonald’s parking lot. My first sight of Sash was her being dragged out of a crate that she had spent 10 hrs in with a very large Bassett hound. She was so very dirty and scared out of her mind. She cowered and shook and would not look at anyone. If I had been smart I would have turned around and walked away. But………………… I loaded her in the car and took her home.
Sashka was frightened by everything and everyone. She was of course, not housetrained at all. Traffic scared her, a leash was clearly not something she had ever experienced, and people made her run in the opposite direction. Strange dogs were even worse. Either she charged at them barking or she tried to run. The only way to comfort her seemed to be to sit and pet her. And only I could do that. She would not go to him willingly for almost 6 months.

Sashka could also not stand to be by herself for any length of time. I have the most wonderful neighbors but even they became tired of listening to her bark all day long. We tried more exercise but that didn’t seem to help. I took her to a daycare but she kept getting loose. She was just too fearful to be anywhere that I wasn’t. After talking to a dear friend, we decided to try fostering. We went to our local spca and told them we would like to help an older calm dog. I was very upfront with them about what I could and couldn’t manage. LOL
They first introduced us to a Dalmatian. That introduction didn’t go very well. LOL Both dogs charged at each other trying to kill one another. Next came a sweet older German shepherd cross. Nope, that didn’t go well either. Seems Sashka kept charging and barking and certainly not showing her best side. The shelter staff asked if they could try one more and I said sure. What did I have to loose.
Out came one of the largest and oldest Rottweiler’s I had ever seen. This was not a breed I knew anything about nor was it a breed I really wanted to learn about. I had bought into all the hype about how viscous they were and how they would turn on us one day. I was shaking my head no even before they got up to the playground. But Sash had a different idea. The barking and charging weren’t as intense. And this old boy just ignored her. She settled quickly and the shelter attendant convinced me we should put them in the same run.
While I watched closely, Sashka approached this old smelly boy, sniffed him quickly and walked away. He followed her, gave her one sniff and then went and lied down. Sashka went to him again and after a moment she licked his grey muzzle and lied down next to him.
And so began our journey. Old Man Luke was a wonderful example of a well tempered Rottweiler. He was patient, loving with those he knew, stoic, and a clown. We knew his age was 12 because he had been in so many shelters and we could trace his tattoo. While his journey with us only lasted about 18 months, he showed me what it was to be loved by a rottie.
Sashka is still my little princess. I love her to bits. And I will be forever grateful that she introduced me to this wonderful breed.
In honor of her 10th birthday we have decided that when people ask what breed she is we are going to tell people she is a “rare northern miniature longhaired bi-colored Rottweiler. Her heart is certainly big enough

Mr. Bear:

You were the saddest looking dog that I had ever seen. The shelter was no place for you and they couldn’t let you stay there. I had promised Jim at least a couple of weeks off before the next foster was to come in, but you couldn’t wait. And I couldn’t let you. So home you came with me.

Right from the start we knew our hearts were in big trouble. You didn’t care about much except food and being warm. You were hesitant to come for attention, almost as if you didn’t trust that it was all real. But once you knew it was real, you were an absolute love bug, always looking for attention, playing the clown and looking at us with such sweet old eyes.
We tried to find out exactly what was wrong with you but both Kevin and the neurologist both said that whatever it was, it most likely couldn’t be fixed. We didn’t want to keep putting you thru test after test and you weren’t in pain so we left you alone. Instead we tried to make your life as much fun as possible. It took trying a couple of things but swimming was your fav. Every week as we drove out to the pool, you would get more and more excited the closer we got.
I miss you already. I miss you welcoming me at the door with that silly dirty yellow duck, I miss stumbling over you in the kitchen at dinner time, I miss that sweet look on your face. I miss the little nibbles on my ear. I even miss having to wipe the food off your nose after you had eaten.
5 months was not long enough. Rest sweetly old man.

What a month we have had.

First a Bear update. I really wish this boy could talk. We need to know what it is that he needs. He continues to eat well. Sometimes too well. And I’m not sure but I think that Bear and Sashka are in cahoots. Bear has started to become a thief. First it was the treats in a closet. Not once, not twice but 4 times. All the treats are in boxes hidden away but somehow he has managed to dig around till he finds them. And in the process he usually chews up something else. Then it was the bacon bits. How he managed to get them off the centre of the table is beyond me. He shouldn’t be able to reach that far. And finally, the eggs. I came home to find the destroyed egg carton and 2 tiny tiny pieces of shell. No mess from the yolk, no stickiness, just the destruction. “Someone” left the carton with 4 eggs on the kitchen counter. I tried to get Bear to take some cheese off the counter but he couldn’t reach it. So how did he get the eggs? Personally I think Sashka is helping him. So his appetite is good. But his health continues to mystify me. Some days I can get that slow old dog to actually run. But other days, it seems like he almost can’t stand. I really wish the old guy would let me know exactly what he wants. We would do almost anything to help him.

And West Coast Rottweiler Rescue welcomes in George. He is a sweet 2 yr old boy from a reserve on Vancouver Island. He is so unsure of city life. All the activity makes him kinda nervous but he is quick to recover. George is with our new foster family and they are already in love with this boy. He is very good with the resident female rottie and even plays nicely with the resident chihuahua. He has been to the local dog park and had a blast. George is paying way too much attention to the cat but is starting to learn not to chase. Our wish for George would be to find a family with another dog that will show George all he needs to know. George would be suited to an active lifestyle and even though he knows some commands, obedience classes are needed to guide him to be the best that he can be.

So that’s the good news. Now I am going to rant.

WCRR now has a policy that we will NOT take owner surrender dogs. And now it is written in stone. And here are the reasons why.
Ruby. He owners contacted us asking that we take her. I said no, I don’t have the room. After talking to them and listening to Ruby’s owner cry about how they so wanted to keep her but couldn’t find a place to live, I said I would post her on a rescue site to see if anyone else could help. And someone did. Waverlea stepped up to the plate and offered to take Ruby in until her family could change their living conditions. And WCRR agreed to help with any vet bills should we be needed. We told Ruby’s owners that we needed paperwork stating we had permission to care for her. A plan was set out, and soon folks had leads on homes for Ruby’s owners. But suddenly they wouldn’t return our calls or answer our emails. It was like they had forgotten all about this sweet old girl. Finally after several weeks I sent them an email informing them that because we had no paperwork saying we were caring for Ruby we would have to take Ruby to the spca and declare her an abandoned animal. Finally they sent us a surrender form and Ruby became a member of West Coast Rottweiler Rescue. And no sooner had that been done, then Ruby started to show signs of illness. Waverlea was wonderful and continued to care for Ruby. There really isn’t much in life that is harder than giving your heart to a dog that you know will die soon. Just a few short months after Waverlea promised to care for Ruby she had to let her go. Today our hearts break as Waverlea did the right thing and held Ruby one last time. They say that dogs live in the now and I hope that is true. I hope that Ruby didn’t remember that those other people ran away when she needed them the most. I pray that the only thing she knew was Waverlea loved her.

And then there was Bailey. Bailey was a young girl. Her owner told me that she was moving to South America and couldn’t take her girl. It was a sad sad story and again, I fell for it and tried to help. I knew of a nice man that had lost his rottie boy and was looking to bring another dog into his life. Geoff was patient and wanted to wait for just the right dog. He wasn’t up for adopting an older dog, only because his heart truly broke when he lost his boy. So this seemed like a good match. Bailey was young (3 yrs old) and her owner said there were no health problems. But there must have been something. 2 weeks after coming to Geoff and his wife, Bailey stopped eating. She was taken to the vets, tests were done, but no one could pinpoint anything. Just a short 8 weeks after stealing Geoff’s heart, Bailey started to hemorrhage and had to be put down. Again, a wonderful dog, abandoned by those she trusted and left with strangers who opened their hearts only to have it broken.

These dogs deserved to be with their families. The ones they lived with and loved for years. The ones that they trusted. But instead, both these dogs were left behind. Both with medical problems that were not disclosed.

When we started West Coast Rottweiler Rescue we decided that we would focus on shelter dogs. Those dogs that, without our help, would most likely lose their lives. Those are the ones that need our help. Dogs like Ruby and Bailey had owners. Those owners wouldn’t take their dogs to a shelter. Oh noooooooooooo, they apparently loved those dogs too much for that. But instead they dumped those dogs trusting that someone else would do the right thing. Well folks, I’m sorry but shame on you. You should have been the ones to help them. You should have been the ones to hold them as they passed. And you should have been honest with us. Next time please get yourself a stuff animal.
Rant finished

All About Bear

I have been remiss in updating this blog about Bear. He continues to do really well and while he isn’t getting any stronger, he doesn’t seem to be getting any weaker.
Bear loves people. And he has bonded very strongly to both Jim and I. He insists on following me everywhere and does show signs of separation anxiety when I leave. It only consists of whining for a short time but it is something to watch for.
Mr. Bear got his first visit to a dog park. For the most part it went well. When he was in the main area he greeted all the dogs well. It was only once he had been there awhile and was walking thru the trails that he ran into problems. Both times it was with young unneutered males. Perhaps he didn’t appreciate them coming up to him in such a bouncy manner. Perhaps he was tired from all the exercise (20 minutes). Perhaps he will never like unneutered males. But the dog park is not a place to bring Bear on a regular basis. He simply can not keep up to the other dogs and becomes tired quickly.
Bear’s health continues to be a mystery to us. While there are tests we could do, no matter what the results are, the outlook is dim. None of what we “think” is going on could be changed. And sedating him again worries me. He had a hard time recovering from the sedation last time we x-rayed his hips.
This boy proves time and time again that he has a wonderful temperament. With all the tests we have done, all the poking and prodding by strangers, he has always just stood by and let us do what we had to. He is great with Sashka and she is clearly taken with him. He is calm when people come over, greets them at the door and quickly settles with no problems. He certainly isn’t a guard dog but few people would chance walking in unannounced simply because of his size. Bear would do well in almost any type of home. But his new family would need to be aware of his limitations. Stairs will soon become a problem, slippery floors are a hazard for him and his weight must be watched. And Bear must be surrounded by plush squeaky toys. While he loves us, adores Sashka, really likes visitors, his favorite thing in the whole world is his toys. Bear will surround his dog bed with the toys he loves the most. He doesn’t destroy them, but rather, chews gently on them, making them his own.
We feed our animals a raw diet and because he is doing so well on this, I would like to see it continue. Bear is on supplements such as Salmon Oil and glucosamine. Treats are kept to a minimum in order to control his weight and short walks a couple of times a day is all this boy wants. As much as we love having Bear with us, he can certainly go into an adoption or foster home. If having a gentle quiet senior spending his time lying at your feet and enjoying your company is what you are looking for please let us know.

A sad anniversary

January 4, 2001 was the day we lost our first Rottweiler. Old Man Luke was the first Rottweiler that ever lived with us. And here is his story.
Sashka had lived with us for about 6 months. Every time we left the house, Sashka barked, howled, cried, pee’d and pooped in the house. Nothing helped her. I contacted the shelter in Delta about fostering a dog and they said, bring Sash out and let her meet a couple of the older dogs they had in care.
The first one was a Dalmatian. This guy was spun out and Sashka hated him. Then came out a shepherd. We couldn’t even get them in the same run. Then they brought out this big old Rottweiler. My first reaction was NO WAY!!!! I was scared of rotties. All I had ever heard about them was the bad stuff. They were people eaters. They would kill my little dog. Rottweilers would turn on you with no notice. They could not be trusted.
The shelter girls told me to trust them. Luke was calm and good natured. We let the dogs sniff thru the runs and for once Sashka was pretty calm. Then we put them in the runs together. After only a moment of sniffing, Luke went and lay down. Sashka went to him, gently licked his face and sat next to him. The bond was that quick. And we brought him home to foster.
Old Man Luke was 12 when we brought him home. He had been thru 5 homes that we were able to trace thru his tattoo. He certainly wasn’t the prettiest example of a Rottweiler. And he wasn’t always the nicest dog but he showed me a side of rottweilers that I had never imagined. Luke loved unconditionally. He loved Jim and I and he adored Sashka. He was protective but was willing to stand back and let us handle any situation. He was amazing with children but standoffish with adults. Some dogs he liked and some he didn’t but he was always appropriate when telling them off.
We eventually adopted Old Man Luke so we could provide the kind of care we thought he needed. Lots of love, good food and gentle exercise and he started to bloom. There was nothing he liked better than a good game of tug. And of course, food. He would eat anything anytime. There were things he didn’t like. He hated walking in the rain and would actually just lie down so you couldn’t get him to go any further unless you were turning towards home.
Luke lived with us for a year and a half before he let me know that he had had enough. On January 4, 2001, we held him gently while our vet helped him pass.
Old Man Luke taught me so much about this wonderful breed. And since that time there has never been another breed that we have wanted to share our life with. To this day, Sashka tends to dislike most dogs but bring a well mannered Rottweiler into our home and she thrives. We have always looked for the rotties that would have a hard time finding a home. The older ones, the ones with physical challenges, the ones no one wanted. Old Man Luke was the first and without him teaching me about this breed, WCRR would most likely not exist.
Run free my dear friend. We will meet again

Why training is so important.

We all love our animals. We all trust them. We all want what is best for them. But love and trust is never enough.
Dogs are hunters. It is in their genes. Even my sweet little diva dog Sashka has the urge to hunt. Last summer when we were at the lake and sitting around the camp fire, Sashka spotted a mouse. She chased it, cornered it, and was going to kill it if I hadn’t stepped in. But Sashka and I have gone thru training and when I say “Leave It!” you better believe she understands. But like any dog, if I don’t watch she is likely to try again.
So one of our adopters called this morning quite upset. The dog she adopted had killed a chicken and she wanted to know what she could do to make sure it never happened again. Training, training, training. I can’t impress enough that ALL dogs need training. Not just one set of puppy classes, but ongoing training. They are never too young or too old. And until you can be sure that that dog is not going to harm another animal, please supervise. No. Let me rephrase that. YOU MUST SUPERVISE.
This wasn’t the dog’s fault. This was the fault of humans. When you adopt a young animal, you are getting a clean slate. YOU get to decide how that dog will live, what experiences it will have and how its life will unfold. This isn’t an undertaking that anyone should take lightly. You are responsible for a life. And when something like this happens, when a young dog kills another animal, be it a mouse, a chicken, a cat, dog or human, WE as pet owners are responsible.