Reptile & Amphibian Forums

A few months ago we had to put my male Rott down due to Lymphomia, his sister who has never been away from him became very depressed, she even stopped eating. I started searching shelters for a Rott puppy as a companion for her, and found two litter mates, brother and sister Rott mixes, the shelter did not know what they were mixed with. We wanted Rotts for their loving, mellow personality that fit in so well with our life style and sice we have a lot of romm and a lot of love we took them both home.

Two months have gone by and I have the craziest, most hyper dogs I have ever seen, (I imagine it's what a Jack Russel on speed would be like), after some investigations, I now realize they are mixed with German Shorthaired Pointers. They are around six months old. My questions are:

1) How long until they mellow out (at least a little)?
2) Do they have any special health needs, requirements, diet, etc. (besides their own personal racetrack)?
3) Is there anything I should be aware of with GSP?

Thanks in advance!

Well if the pups are actually crossed with a GSP they will be very active dogs... more so than the Rottie side. They were designed to hunt and hunt for an extended period of time. They need quite a bit of activity and exercise. Many GSPs are turned into shelters and rescues because their owners were not prepared for the level of exercise that they require. I'm not totally sure if they ever mellow out but maybe as they grow older the Rottie side will take over a bit. It would be great to see them if you could post a picture or two.
-----

Bob

If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.

Thank you. Here are some pics of them, Tinky has more Rott Bone structure than Duke. It is hard to tell from these pics but Duke looks exactly like a GSP except for the markings. Tink is the one at the bottom laying down, she is about five months old in this pic. The first one of Duke is when he was five months old and the second one is from when he was three months old.

Rotties are working dogs and GSP are hunters. Nice personality traits in both. But both breeds need lots of exercise, especially when they are young. Right now both breeds, mix, are out of a job so to speak. I might try a back pack and a good hour walk, if you can, to tire that young one out. Some larger breeds or mix do not mature until they 1 to 2 years old. Obedience school is not a bad idea either. I think, hopefully with age the mellow will show though.

Good luck and let us know how things are going

Cheryl

Exercise, exercise,exercise. And a walk around the block just won't do it. Long walks and playing fetch with them will help. If you are short on time, playing fetch will help to wear them out. And they might really like going to an agility class also. With two, playing and running together in a fenced yard should help wear them out. If you don't have a fenced yard, take them to a fenced area where they can run. Good luck with them,
Reeta

Thank you. They have been doing a lot better. When my husband takes them to work they have over an acre of fenced yard to run and play in and they love to greet all the customers. Now that they are getting a little bigger we have been able to do this a lot more often and it has been a huge help. Some nights they are so tired from playing all day they come in the door and pass out, they don't even have the energy to eat.