Hi beckhamnair,
Should you put a Rottweiler pup - at 8 weeks - in outdoor cage?
Never. You will regret it and I absolutely guarantee you that.
Why? He is not socialised yet. He needs to be with humans (adults and kids) / cats / stimulating environments etc until he is about 6 months. If it were me, I'd say 12 months. And even then for a maximum of 4 hours in a day.
CHAINING / TETHERING DOGS
Remember, to cage (kennels with yard or run not included) is a step more drastic to chaining/tethering a dog - it is inhumane / abusive to the dog. There are many laws and websites that advice against it. See here:
http://www.hsus.org/pets/issues_affe...ring_dogs.html
http://www.dogexpert.com/Dog%20Bite%...ned%20dog.html
http://www.helpinganimals.com/a-tether.html
I know the sites are mainly American but I don't know if the pup or dog cares that he is a 'Malaysian'-registered dog.
In addition to the warnings by these sites, you should be aware - chaining and caging pups for long hours will result in the loss of confidence of the dog as it grows up, which in turn, will increase the aggressiveness and defense drive of the dog. The end result is a fear-biter. In other words, the dog will bite out of fear every single time you let someone or something close to him.
WHY USE A CRATE?
With a crate, you can use it as an aid to teach dogs to hold themselves together till you let them out to pee or poo. But never more than 4 hours max. For pups, you are lucky if they can hold for 2 hours. If you force pups to pee and poo in the place where they eat/rest/sleep, they will end up being 'dirty' dogs - not caring about hygeine. That includes your own home, i.e. inside your house.
As to the post that speak of caging a dog to teach the dog how to pee or poo, I think the writer misunderstood your question. A cage is not a crate. A crate takes advantage of its impermanent location and light-weight. So, it is used to TEMPORARILY hold a dog. In addition, it is also used to transport dogs. In essence, it is a mobile home / sanctuary.
A cage, unlike a crate, is to hold a dog PERMANENTLY.
TRAINING YOUR ROTTIE
You have not asked this question, but I'm anticipating. A rottweiler is a working breed. So, if its well-bred, you've got a bundle of energy that thinks and understands - much like a young kid. Except, this has sharp teeth and claws and is much heavier than a young human.
You must learn to control your pup early. Otherwise, it will be not be controllable when it grows up. Young dogs, and rotties especially, should NOT be trained by compulsion or force. Try sticking to postive reinforcement. In general, rotties are handler sensitve out of an abundance of loyalty to its master. If I'm speaking gibberish or Greek, perhaps you might want to learn about the 'character' or 'temperament' of Rottweilers. Buy a few books. Don't use the internet - there's too much psycho-babble online. (Yes, I can see the irony here.)
Finally, in addition to health and nutrition issues, think longer term what you would like your dog to do and train for it. No, don't send him to a trainer yet until you have tried your hand at training - just to see how far you can go with training your dog. If you are not interested in training or don't know how to train your new rottie pup - why did you get one? So, as the new master, learn as much possible and act responsibly, try training your dog. If you can't do it well, then seek a trainer.
Remember: ALL DOGS ARE TRAINED, either you train them or they train themselves.
I didn't mean to be impolite when I said in my ealier post you might be a novice - my point was working dogs take a lot more than an interest/love of the breed to raise and work with. You could have started with young dogs instead of pups. It would have been much easier.
Owning a dog is not just a hobby. It's also a responsibility. Good luck.
Re: Info bout Rottweiler & Dobermann
