Should I get a Rottweiler? Are they good for first-time owners?

This is a Rottweiler, a breed that needs an experienced owner as it is a very powerful dog. You should familiarise yourself with this dog before you agree to take it, as in order to be safe he needs to be well trained and have a nice disposition. This is not a dog for a beginner dog owner.

I do not recommend a Rottweiler or Bullmastif for a first time dog owner. These are very strong willed dogs, and are not ones that should ever be owned by someone who has no experience with dogs. A great family friendly dog is a Golden Retriever. While they aren't a guarding breed, you need to know that the typical guarding breeds are not suitable at all for first time owners. They can be aggressive if not trained and handled correctly, and that is not safe at all for your kids. A Golden Retriever is very smart, friendly to the family, but they do bark and can look after a family. I also don't recommend keeping a dog outdoors all the time. Best of luck, I hope this helps.

Rottweilers, as a breed, can be very good pets - some are aggressive, but many are friendly and easy-going. I'm not sure if there was something about your puppy in particular that may have concerned your vet, such as signs of aggression or extreme fearfulness during the visit - if so, early referral to a veterinary behavior specialist would be the best option to determine if there is a problem and start working on it early in life. If the puppy is acting normal (friendly and curious, not overly anxious or aggressive towards anyone), there is no particular reason at this stage to think that he won't be a good pet when he's older.

This depends very much on the individual dog, some are very bonded to a single owner but most are very adaptable. I recommend you visit the dog with the owner initially and if you are happy then take him walking without the owner if possible to see how he reacts.

No it should be fine. I would just make sure you get him all of his vaccines and make sure he is socialized and trained properly. It is best to socialize them with other people and dogs when they are young, but you don't want to take the to a public park where you don't know the vaccine history of the other dogs. It is best to take them to a friend's house that has a healthy, fully vaccinated dog to help with socialization. I hope this helps!

Hi there. I do not recommend this breed for anyone who is not an experienced dog owner, as in my experience they are often aggressive and difficult to manage even with good training and socialization. If your mom wants a dog for companionship, I would recommend a Labrador Retriever or Golden Retriever - both of these breeds are wonderful companion dogs, and are much less likely to have serious behavior issues to manage.

Unfortunately, it's relatively common for behavior issues like this to develop between 1 and 2 years of age - this is the period when dogs reach social maturity. Often, they may have been fearful or nervous about many things when they were puppies, but don't start to act out aggressively until they are a bit older. Aggressive behavior in a large dog like this can be a serious problem, and is best treated by a professional who can work with you and Molly in person. I would recommend making an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist who can evaluate her and put together a treatment plan to work on the problem. You can search for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist here: www.dacvb.org In the meantime, I would recommend keeping her away from people and dogs as much as possible for safety reasons, and to avoid making the problem worse. Treatment for this problem is generally based on teaching the dog to associate good things (such as treats) with seeing people or other dogs, starting at a distance where they are comfortable and gradually working close from there. The behaviorist can help you with this, since it can be hard to do on your own! Punishment of any kind for this behavior (including verbal scolding, leash corrections, shock collar corrections, etc.) is not recommended, as it tends to make the dog more fearful and has a high risk of worsening the aggression over time.