Pet Rottweiler whelping and now snapping at owner?

have you ever seen a woman defending her children? well now imagine that woman is 100lbs of pure muscle with a big head full of big teeth!
shes looking after babies, when they grow up some more she will teach them to be independant, thereby being less protective

hope I helped :)

I don't breed, so hoping some experienced people will chime in here. I do know that many people I know would not consider this a desirable behavior in a b*tch and would not breed her again. Temperament is hereditary.
Protection is one thing, but she KNOWS you and you are not a threat.

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Barnaby - yes, I have seen a women defend her kids, but is it ok for a woman to assault members of her social circle that she knows well just for coming to visit her child?

I agree with Kaper, you should be able to approach the puppies without her opinion.
This is a temperament issue and she should not be breed again. She might be a champion in conformation but that means nothing if the temperament is undesirable.

You need to be very careful when you start showing the puppies to prospected buyers keep her separate from the people

Okay. First of all this can happen. It's far from ideal, but with some new mums, they get overly protective. Basically keeping a quiet eye from a distance should give her a chance to get used to her new situation, However, she does need to be taken out to empty regularly, and you need to get in there to change the bedding, and check and weigh the puppies every day. So have a slip lead so you don't have to actually attach a lead to get her out. But be very careful as obviously if she means business, she could do you a lot of damage, and if pushed too far, could also turn on her pups.

Are you sleeping in the room with her? You should be, if only to keep an eye on things - some clumsy bitches can easily overlay their puppies which is another reason why you really do have to try to overcome her being over-protective. If she has you near, and gets used to that, without feeling threatened by your being there, I'd hope that eventually she will allow you to be there without snapping.

Are there any other Rottie breeders locally who you can speak to about this behaviour? Her breeder perhaps? I'm not used to being around bitches who turn aggressive when mums to be honest and it would drive me nuts if I had. All of my girls were quite happy to have me in the whelping box with them, handling their puppies, latching the smaller ones onto teats and generally being as hands on as they were. I did know of one Basset breeder who allegedly wasn't able to get in with their newly whelped bitches (they were in outside kennelling), often for quite some days. So it does happen.

For what it's worth, if she carries on like this, you might have to speak to your vet about what can be done for her.

ps I assume you have all other household pets well away from where she is - having them around will make her even more uneasy

Add -- Actually I wasn't going to say this but frankly show-awards apart, I would question her temperament, especially if this goes on beyond the first day or so. She may not want anybody else in with her for some time, but her owner? Hum. Poor temperament is hereditary, and if this isn't just a temporary glitch, perhaps after a difficult whelping (did she allow you to get in there while she was whelping?) I'd not be using her again as a brood. But do also consider whether she's not feeling very well which is causing this ..... perhaps a retained placenta or dead baby - has she had a shot to clear her out?

Well I'm not even convinced we do have a champion b*tch here. Campaigned her well then for a 17 yr old haven't you. If you are showing at championship level then you have just loads of rottie friends / owners / breeders to be approaching instead of a yahoo site, and what about your breed mentor. Surely you didn't put a champion b*tch at risk by not having a mentor to help you through this, and where are your parents in all this anyway as 17 yr olds should not be breeding rottweilers.

I agree with the others that this temperament is not good to be breeding.

I suggest you discuss this with your mentor, or some of the other breeders you became friends with while showing your dog.

None of my girls have ever dreamed of snapping at me when they have pups. I would consider it a sign of extremely poor temperament.

I would question the overall temperament of ***** doing this. Mamabas did bring up some good point, but overall as her own a solid ***** should have no problem with her owner handling and being close to the pups. Champion or not if there is no real cause for this - in pain, retained pup etc, you may want to consider removing her from your breeding program. Is this her first litter? Was she like this with previous litters?

Speak with your vet, your mentor if you have one and the other rott breeders you know. Never experienced a ***** acting like this, not even my mother's when our first litter occurred when I was under 13.

I would also be concerned about the fact that she was FINE with your at first and has not taken to snapping at you.

The simple answer is that she does not have the proper temperament for breeding. You had better figure out a way to get to the pups so you can weigh them twice a day, get them to the vet when the time comes, and be sure they are thriving. Spay her after this litter and hope that she didn't pass her poor temperament on to the next generation.

Very unusual for a female to not allow the owner near her. My friend had a dobe that would rip anyone to pieces if they came near her pups but not the owner. She could do anything to them...
She may settle down when they get a bit older . If you need to check the puppies you will have to get her outside before you do... Good luck..

Hm, she's just guarding her puppies. If she's still nursing them anyway.
It's natural for a dog to snap at who ever comes near.
Though, if your dog really loved you, it wouldn't do it.
But hey, who's judging?
Anyhow, it's normal.
Just give her space and she will stop when the puppy's get older :3

She just gave birth..leave her alone unless you see complications or 1 of the pups is hurt..

In the early stages of motherhood your dog will be overly protective of her pups. Try giving her some room, especially the first 4 weeks. After the pups are to size she should back off.

It is her mommy sense kicking in she is trying to protect them. Some dogs react differently when they have pups many let you hold the pups they just clean them REALLY good after. I would call your vet and ask if this is normal and what you should do.

She is acting like a protective mother, are you surprised by this? Give her a little time to see that they are safe and approach VERY slowly to show that you mean her pups no harm. You will have to develop trust all over again (shouldn't take as long this time around).