Puppies without a mother?

[hydrolastic]

Hello. My wife and i have always had dogs. Two so far and both passed from old age. We are getting a 4 month old puppy from Texas. (This saturday) Half Rottweiler and half Lab. Her litter was surrendered to the rescue as rejected from the mom. I have been wondering how they are raised in this situation who feeds them and what do they feed them. Also are they emotionally scarred in any way. Is there anything we need to look out for? Oh I know I am getting one of the trump dolls they advertised for four years, So she can chew it up. Aaron

[elleng]

1. I have no real answers, EXCEPT

they will be LARGE (when fully grown.)

THANKS.

[Aussie105]

2. Take the puppy to your local vet.

For a general checkup, vaccinations if they haven't been done. And discuss desexing.

Discuss the food side of rearing him/her at the same time.

Rotty + Lab cross - I predict the pup will be boisterous and chew happy when teething, so keep shoes you like away from the pup.
Shoes you hate though . . . Watch he/she doesn't start to chew on anything wood, like your furniture, young trees in the yard.

The Rotty side will be faithful, energetic, territorial, maybe a bit clumsy, and the Lab side very affectionate and gentle.

I've spent extensive time with both breeds.
Both breeds train well. Single word commands like sit, come, gentle (if getting a bit boisterous and tending to bite), stop, leave it, work best.
One adult to do the feeding if/when on solids, the adult he/she will spend the most time with if one person works, that establishes the power hierarchy and makes training easier.

One thing for sure, it will grow up to be a strong dog with a loud alarm bark.
Start training to walk on a lead early, to train out the 'rip your arm off' pulling later when he/she is stronger.

As for earlier trauma - dogs get over that quickly at a young age, just a stable and predictable environment and lots of affection cures all quickly.

When adult - watch the Rottweiler hunting instinct, anything that moves quickly - cat, squirrel, rat, mouse - can be pounced on and killed without a second thought.

Good luck! Hope this info helps.

Just to add: Labs tend to be pigs when it comes to food, and a Rottweiler will do anything for a treat.
Perfect for training, but watch the excess weight doesn't stack on.

Take lots of photos too, they grow up quickly.

[niyad]

3. So wonderful that you are bringing such a precious baby into your life.

One comment-even as a chew toy, I would not have a representation of the murdering orange traitor** anywhere near even my pets.

[hydrolastic]

4. I am sure she will

treat the "representation of the murdering orange traitor" appropriately! i plan to video it.

[niyad]

5. Please do share!