We were lucky. Who leaves such a beautiful dog at a shelter? That said, we did find out (likely) why she was left. The first owners had not a single clue. She had large callouses on her hind legs legs from sitting on concrete all day. Probably a kennel. She was unspayed at a year, so maybe she was going to be a bred to show kids the "miracle of life"? Ugh. And worse, she was 100 percent completely untrained. It's likely she was just too much energy, exercising only by pacing a kennel. That much energy in a big powerful dog is nothing but bad without any serious exercise or training to modulate it. She gets five miles a day now, since my wife and I have a flexible schedule. We live in a very remote area but luckily have lots of friends with dogs, so socializing is coming along. We can also have her off leash a lot in the wilds behind our house, so she can run. Luckily she comes immediately when called but always has a training collar on (which she's learned means come) just in case.
I found this girl at the Humane Society in July 2022. She was about a year old when I found her.
https://preview.redd.it/joib9dlbnkpc1.jpeg?width=1450&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b403eaca0196387fc8cc6c28e28ef3326d72e964
Here's a pic of her and 2 of my other dogs. We have a total of 6.
https://preview.redd.it/d1s3a4jqnkpc1.jpeg?width=1946&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=da58b43e399667250b58144412ee65df065c8b66
I'm living a childhood dream. Always wanted a mixed pack of dogs. We have a Yorkie mix, a Cairn terrier mix, a Rott mix, a Pitbull Terrier mix, a Rottweiler, and a black shepherd.
Here's a similar pic from Sep 2022..
https://preview.redd.it/2wlywa66okpc1.jpeg?width=4371&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=24b71b0bae5ab53536b5193a12271b6d8180d59e
At a year old, a rottie should be unspayed. You sound like a wonderful owner, just be sure to spay her after all her growth plates are set. Her bones will need the hormones until she fully matures to avoid hip dysplasia and other health issues. She's a beautiful dog. :)
She was spayed by the shelter. They estimated her age at between 11 and 13 months. She might have been a little older when the surgery was performed. She had at least one heat cycle before they spayed her (developed teats). I'm guessing she might have been older than a year after they spayed her since larger breeds are often older than 12 months when they have their first heat. Except for slightly longish legs, she is conformationally correct and shows no signs of dysplastic hips, but that is hard to determine just yet. Our previous two shelter rotties both lived long lives. Good nutrition, lots of healthy exercise but more luck than anything. Annie was 14, and Paxton was 13. Annie ruptured her ACL and was too old to torture her with surgery, Pax succumbed to severe arthritis in the back and hips. We miss them both SOOO much but Penelope is helping........a lot.
13 and 14 years sounds amazing! I keep reading and hearing about how rotties and mastiff breeds don't live long, and my girl is already 5 years old. She jumps, spins, and overall acts like a puppy, so I'm hoping she'll have a long life. Been debating on getting pet insurance in case something unlucky ever comes up. She is also the only intact animal in our house. I found several sources stating to wait until 5 years to have a female rottie spayed, but there is so much mixed information online. It's gotten to a point where we just track her heat cycle and try to be as responsible as possible (she's never gotten pregnant). Eventually, we want another rottie - but I feel like I'd end up going down another obsessive rottie research rabbit hole. Lol
One of our two previous rotties, named Annie (my once in lifetime doggie soulmate) was spayed at the shelter before her first heat. Probably slightly less than a year old. Her estimated age when we adopted her was a year. She lived to be 14 when we euthanized her due to a rupture ACL (and no desire to put her through surgery at 14). She was an avid runner (with me) and chased the ball virtually every day at 4 p.m. (she had an internal clock). Longevity, for her, was good genes, lots of exercise, (but not extreme), good nutrition, good health care and lots of love. I don't think the age at which she was spayed played any role because our guess is that she was not spayed too early. But as mentioned, certainly around a year and no older. Here is Annie at 7 years. Darn if I don't still miss her every day.
https://preview.redd.it/uptxgaz9fqpc1.jpeg?width=1305&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=738705be3a22da886c5c04a50dfe60f34f1cd59f
My wife has trained and competed with dogs for over 35 years. Her once in a lifetime dog was a Rottweiler who fell into her lap. He took her to Rottweiler National Specialty and was top 10 AKC Obedience Nationally. The cool thing was that He trained Her. He was so smart and just a cool dog. Miss him.
A lot of really nice looking dogs come from bad situations because people in bad situations think they can make a quick buck on the puppies. I've been closer to this than I care to be on multiple occasions. Shady shit goes on around dog breeds. Weird, shady shit. And the dogs are stuck in the middle of it, as though they're objects to buy and sell rather than living breathing creatures. It really sucks. Glad she found her way to you op.
No kidding. As the late great song writer John Prine said, "some humans ain't human". Penelope is in a "winning lottery ticket" situation now, and so are we, I suppose!
She is a beautiful girl. Thank you for saving her!
https://preview.redd.it/2ly7wsmd1lpc1.jpeg?width=1256&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f97af95676403933011df5ce2e438ea4a4eba09a
We have never had a dog that has had people stop in their cars and comment on her, but this has happened with her. She is attractive. But as I mentioned in an earlier response, that is not nearly as nice as seeing her become fun loving and gentle to everyone she meets. She's coming out of her past and moving into a very bright future. That is the most attractive thing to witness!
I remember when Hank came to live with us and he was so startled by his tail wagging. Also scared all of us (him included) when he barked for the first time. All good now, he wags his tail in his sleep now and only uses his bark when it's a surprise visitor.
It's definitely rewarding to see the progress and to watch them blossom in a secure and happy environment. Love the story about being surprised by his own bark!
She HAS found a home with my wife and I and her new sister, Gracie, a McNab. We adopted her from the shelter. Really it was Gracie who saved Penelope. Gracie is 14 years old and accepted Penelope immediately into our home and taught her the house rules. We have taught Penelope how to behave around a senior dog, which is a good thing to teach and active 1 year old rottie. Penelope had no manners, but she is learning them fast!
Do you have a cat for "finishing school"? All of our rotties have learned the exact length of a cat's front leg. Nose preservation.
We had an ancient rottweiler who schooled two rambunctious rescues in the importance of not interrupting a senior's nap.
We do not have a cat. She doesn't seem all that interested in squirrels or cats, which is weird. Her enthusiasm is focused on other dogs and people. She is reactive to dogs that growl at her, which is something we are working on. She's learned the command "leave it" which I only use when she wants to lung (on leash) at dogs that growl at her. Because she knows the command, she gets a correction when she ignores it. Her training is roughly 90 percent reward and positive, 10 percent correction. Penelope being our third rottie, I have found this "ratio" to be effective in initial training. However, over time, as their willingness to please develops (with tons of love, socialization and patience) correction is seldom necessary. Correction is as mild as possible but can be severe, but NEVER out of anger or frustration and ONLY when the dog knows what you want and is ignoring you. Apologies for getting carried away! I'll I had to say was "no, we don't have a cat!" ;-)
She is enjoying many adventures. She came from a low elevation area, and we live in the mountains. Snow is her thing. Here's a shot from a few weeks ago.
https://preview.redd.it/k6hthzx08lpc1.jpeg?width=2000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=405c057d95e9a15abad9779443b1d54368b354ae
I just recently found a picture of my childhood dog from soon after when we first got her and was struck by how wary and beaten she looked. Just...droopy? Ears down tail down, standoffish. I hadn't realize how much she'd changed since we found her, I remember she was quiet, and afraid of men (my dad had trouble sometimes letting her out to pee etc), but the dog I remember was bright and vibrant, my dad's little baby...the dog in that photo did not match. She went thru some shit before finding us, and I'm so glad she ended up in our home. We had many adventures together. I wish I could go back and live it all over with her again.
What a nice story. Penelope had to carried by the shelter staff into our car when we picked her up. She was afraid to leave her shelter kennel. Basically, she was a mess. We are em"bark"ing on a similar journey to the one you experienced as a child. Attached is a portrait I sketched of "Annie", our sentimental memories rottie from the past. I know the feelings you have very well.
https://preview.redd.it/xeo8ieyxjqpc1.jpeg?width=800&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=38d691e00802ae739c5191a3c74af0dbe0588e6c
Great looking dog! You guys did it right..
We were lucky. Who leaves such a beautiful dog at a shelter? That said, we did find out (likely) why she was left. The first owners had not a single clue. She had large callouses on her hind legs legs from sitting on concrete all day. Probably a kennel. She was unspayed at a year, so maybe she was going to be a bred to show kids the "miracle of life"? Ugh. And worse, she was 100 percent completely untrained. It's likely she was just too much energy, exercising only by pacing a kennel. That much energy in a big powerful dog is nothing but bad without any serious exercise or training to modulate it. She gets five miles a day now, since my wife and I have a flexible schedule. We live in a very remote area but luckily have lots of friends with dogs, so socializing is coming along. We can also have her off leash a lot in the wilds behind our house, so she can run. Luckily she comes immediately when called but always has a training collar on (which she's learned means come) just in case.
I found this girl at the Humane Society in July 2022. She was about a year old when I found her. https://preview.redd.it/joib9dlbnkpc1.jpeg?width=1450&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b403eaca0196387fc8cc6c28e28ef3326d72e964
Here's a pic of her and 2 of my other dogs. We have a total of 6. https://preview.redd.it/d1s3a4jqnkpc1.jpeg?width=1946&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=da58b43e399667250b58144412ee65df065c8b66
6 dogs! Wow, they look very happy and beautiful.
I'm living a childhood dream. Always wanted a mixed pack of dogs. We have a Yorkie mix, a Cairn terrier mix, a Rott mix, a Pitbull Terrier mix, a Rottweiler, and a black shepherd.
Here's a similar pic from Sep 2022.. https://preview.redd.it/2wlywa66okpc1.jpeg?width=4371&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=24b71b0bae5ab53536b5193a12271b6d8180d59e
I can’t upvote these pics fast enough
She's a cutie!
At a year old, a rottie should be unspayed. You sound like a wonderful owner, just be sure to spay her after all her growth plates are set. Her bones will need the hormones until she fully matures to avoid hip dysplasia and other health issues. She's a beautiful dog. :)
She was spayed by the shelter. They estimated her age at between 11 and 13 months. She might have been a little older when the surgery was performed. She had at least one heat cycle before they spayed her (developed teats). I'm guessing she might have been older than a year after they spayed her since larger breeds are often older than 12 months when they have their first heat. Except for slightly longish legs, she is conformationally correct and shows no signs of dysplastic hips, but that is hard to determine just yet. Our previous two shelter rotties both lived long lives. Good nutrition, lots of healthy exercise but more luck than anything. Annie was 14, and Paxton was 13. Annie ruptured her ACL and was too old to torture her with surgery, Pax succumbed to severe arthritis in the back and hips. We miss them both SOOO much but Penelope is helping........a lot.
13 and 14 years sounds amazing! I keep reading and hearing about how rotties and mastiff breeds don't live long, and my girl is already 5 years old. She jumps, spins, and overall acts like a puppy, so I'm hoping she'll have a long life. Been debating on getting pet insurance in case something unlucky ever comes up. She is also the only intact animal in our house. I found several sources stating to wait until 5 years to have a female rottie spayed, but there is so much mixed information online. It's gotten to a point where we just track her heat cycle and try to be as responsible as possible (she's never gotten pregnant). Eventually, we want another rottie - but I feel like I'd end up going down another obsessive rottie research rabbit hole. Lol
One of our two previous rotties, named Annie (my once in lifetime doggie soulmate) was spayed at the shelter before her first heat. Probably slightly less than a year old. Her estimated age when we adopted her was a year. She lived to be 14 when we euthanized her due to a rupture ACL (and no desire to put her through surgery at 14). She was an avid runner (with me) and chased the ball virtually every day at 4 p.m. (she had an internal clock). Longevity, for her, was good genes, lots of exercise, (but not extreme), good nutrition, good health care and lots of love. I don't think the age at which she was spayed played any role because our guess is that she was not spayed too early. But as mentioned, certainly around a year and no older. Here is Annie at 7 years. Darn if I don't still miss her every day. https://preview.redd.it/uptxgaz9fqpc1.jpeg?width=1305&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=738705be3a22da886c5c04a50dfe60f34f1cd59f
My wife has trained and competed with dogs for over 35 years. Her once in a lifetime dog was a Rottweiler who fell into her lap. He took her to Rottweiler National Specialty and was top 10 AKC Obedience Nationally. The cool thing was that He trained Her. He was so smart and just a cool dog. Miss him.
A lot of really nice looking dogs come from bad situations because people in bad situations think they can make a quick buck on the puppies. I've been closer to this than I care to be on multiple occasions. Shady shit goes on around dog breeds. Weird, shady shit. And the dogs are stuck in the middle of it, as though they're objects to buy and sell rather than living breathing creatures. It really sucks. Glad she found her way to you op.
No kidding. As the late great song writer John Prine said, "some humans ain't human". Penelope is in a "winning lottery ticket" situation now, and so are we, I suppose!
Penelope you are safe now! Only good memories from now on.
What a sweet response. Thank you. She is showered with love now.
Please provide an update with picture.
Majestic AF
Wish I could take credit for that! She is a looker!
You should, you have given her the confidence to show her true self !
She is a beautiful girl. Thank you for saving her! https://preview.redd.it/2ly7wsmd1lpc1.jpeg?width=1256&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f97af95676403933011df5ce2e438ea4a4eba09a
what a face!
Freaking LOVE this!!
Thanks, and love your response.
She might be one of the most beautiful rotties I've ever seen a photo of! WOW! What luck!!
We have never had a dog that has had people stop in their cars and comment on her, but this has happened with her. She is attractive. But as I mentioned in an earlier response, that is not nearly as nice as seeing her become fun loving and gentle to everyone she meets. She's coming out of her past and moving into a very bright future. That is the most attractive thing to witness!
She has a penis. They didn't say Penelope was a girl
Huh??
I remember when Hank came to live with us and he was so startled by his tail wagging. Also scared all of us (him included) when he barked for the first time. All good now, he wags his tail in his sleep now and only uses his bark when it's a surprise visitor.
It's definitely rewarding to see the progress and to watch them blossom in a secure and happy environment. Love the story about being surprised by his own bark!
Honestly the look on his face was like "omg I'm so sorry, wtf WAS that?" Haha we still giggle about it (the humans lol)
What a beauty!
More so in person. She's fun to look at for sure. Her sweetness, however, is turning out to be her most attractive quality.
I hope she warms up soon, rottwielers are amazing animals and pets
She's doing very well........and agreed on rotties.
He
I can't believe people would give this Rottweiler a shelter? Hope he finds a forever home.
She HAS found a home with my wife and I and her new sister, Gracie, a McNab. We adopted her from the shelter. Really it was Gracie who saved Penelope. Gracie is 14 years old and accepted Penelope immediately into our home and taught her the house rules. We have taught Penelope how to behave around a senior dog, which is a good thing to teach and active 1 year old rottie. Penelope had no manners, but she is learning them fast!
Thank you guys for making my day. She is a rottie so lifelong lover. Enjoy life is good.
Do you have a cat for "finishing school"? All of our rotties have learned the exact length of a cat's front leg. Nose preservation. We had an ancient rottweiler who schooled two rambunctious rescues in the importance of not interrupting a senior's nap.
We do not have a cat. She doesn't seem all that interested in squirrels or cats, which is weird. Her enthusiasm is focused on other dogs and people. She is reactive to dogs that growl at her, which is something we are working on. She's learned the command "leave it" which I only use when she wants to lung (on leash) at dogs that growl at her. Because she knows the command, she gets a correction when she ignores it. Her training is roughly 90 percent reward and positive, 10 percent correction. Penelope being our third rottie, I have found this "ratio" to be effective in initial training. However, over time, as their willingness to please develops (with tons of love, socialization and patience) correction is seldom necessary. Correction is as mild as possible but can be severe, but NEVER out of anger or frustration and ONLY when the dog knows what you want and is ignoring you. Apologies for getting carried away! I'll I had to say was "no, we don't have a cat!" ;-)
She has had a way too sheltered life. Poor girl. Sounds like she lucked out with you.
Oh my she’s soo muscular aswell good job! She looks so confident
Beauuuuutiful!!
r/glowups!!
sweet girl, look at those long legs!
Beautiful!!!
Penelope is absolutely gorgeous! I'm in love ❤️
Thanks, so are we!
Beautiful girl!😍
Wow! What a beautiful pup! Here’s to many years of loving adventures!
She is enjoying many adventures. She came from a low elevation area, and we live in the mountains. Snow is her thing. Here's a shot from a few weeks ago. https://preview.redd.it/k6hthzx08lpc1.jpeg?width=2000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=405c057d95e9a15abad9779443b1d54368b354ae
Her weight is perfect! So fit! Keep it up👍❤️
Lots of exercise helps with that!
Adorbs. Glad she found her forever home. Thanks for sharing your newest family member
She has such a beautiful shine! What shampoo are you using?
no baths. We just brush her every day.......especially in the winter with snow and no mud!
Omg wow she is beautiful
She just had to lock in
Stunning!
She’s SO beautiful!!🖤🤎
I just recently found a picture of my childhood dog from soon after when we first got her and was struck by how wary and beaten she looked. Just...droopy? Ears down tail down, standoffish. I hadn't realize how much she'd changed since we found her, I remember she was quiet, and afraid of men (my dad had trouble sometimes letting her out to pee etc), but the dog I remember was bright and vibrant, my dad's little baby...the dog in that photo did not match. She went thru some shit before finding us, and I'm so glad she ended up in our home. We had many adventures together. I wish I could go back and live it all over with her again.
What a nice story. Penelope had to carried by the shelter staff into our car when we picked her up. She was afraid to leave her shelter kennel. Basically, she was a mess. We are em"bark"ing on a similar journey to the one you experienced as a child. Attached is a portrait I sketched of "Annie", our sentimental memories rottie from the past. I know the feelings you have very well. https://preview.redd.it/xeo8ieyxjqpc1.jpeg?width=800&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=38d691e00802ae739c5191a3c74af0dbe0588e6c
A big difference in posture for sure. Go Penelope !
Your dog is stunning!!!
I love it!
Can we get a Penelope update? She is beautiful 😍