For the last 2 weeks Sausage & Sanchez have been playing big brothers to the adorable Olive and Carl. (Do you like the names? We took a poll on our FB page and asked our fans what we should call them Olive and Carl was the result).

Olive and Carl are just two of eight puppies in a litter that was surrendered to the AWLQ when their mother began to have seizures and stopped producing milk. They were two weeks at the time and I took them home for just one night and had to bottle feed them every two hours. (I only had them for the night becuase they were surrendered late in the day and it was too hard to find foster carers at such late notice). What an experience! It was amazing to hold such tiny babies in my hands knowing that if I could get them through the night, in the morning we would find them the best care possible to help them grow big and strong.

Fast forward 3 weeks and I was paying a visit to the foster house at the AWLQ and when I walked in to the office I was greeted by some chubby little pups who had just been dropped off for a vet check. I asked if I could foster them again and lucky for me I could. So back to the home of Sausage & Sanchez they went.

I have had the opportunity to spend a lot of time around Rottweilers and did not know much about their temprement. So I was interested to learn all about their little quirks. Carl and Olive are typical little puppies, so clumsy and cute. They sleep and wee and poop a lot. (love waking up every morning to a puppy crate full of poop – toilet training still a work in progress). But at only 6 weeks old I am starting to see lots of little Rottie traits. They are beginning to find their barks and surprise themselves when they let out a big growl. They are very strong and their paws are huge! They have just grown taller then Hans Sausage (much to his discust), and he is realising he is not able to steal their toys as easily as he could when I first brought them home. I have also noticed that Carl is starting to drewl a little after he has a big drink (common in rotties as they have loose jowls).

I have to say the more time I spend with them the harder I am finding it to think about the day I have to give them back so they can find their ‘forever homes’.

For those of you that are interested in knowing more about the Rottweiler breed here are a few facts:

• Rottweilers are primarily known as one of the oldest herding breeds and are quite good at farm work. Rottweilers are also a  relatively healthy, disease-free breed but like lots of larger breeds are prone to hip dysplasia
• Most Rottweilers have protective instincts toward strangers. They need extensive exposure to friendly people so they learn to recognise the normal behaviours of “good guys.” Then they can recognise the difference when someone acts abnormally. Without careful socialisation, they may be suspicious of everyone. However, note that many Rottweilers have minimal protective instincts and are big cuddlebugs who LOVE everyone
• Rottweilers with loose jowls (typically large males) tend to slobber or drool after eating and drinking
• They are easy to groom
• They are very loyal and devoted to their family

Tom and Olive