How to train a Rottweiler? Rottweilers have gotten a bad reputation over the years. Many people view them as aggressive or violent dogs, and while that’s true in some cases, some Rottweilers are as lovable and obedient as any other dog breed. Ultimately, a Rottweiler’s behavior almost always comes down to how it’s trained.
That said, Rottweilers need a specific approach to training, and knowing where to start isn’t always easy. The good news is that we’re here to help.
Read on to learn about how to train a Rottweiler.
Follow These Steps to Train Your Rottweiler
These steps won’t be the same for every Rottweiler but we can help you with the basics. Training a Rottweiler comes down to starting with a framework and expanding on that. We always prefer positive reinforcement, so most of our steps will focus on this aspect of training.
Step One: Start at a Young Age
It’s best to train your Rottweiler from a young age. This gives you the most time to train your dog and when they’re a puppy Rottweilers don’t have too many learned behaviors.
Additionally, you’ll have the most success with training if you start between the 6-week and 6-month segments of your life. This is also the best time to potty train your Rottweiler with potty pads or backyard training.
Step Two: Start With Positive Reinforcement
Many people believe that you have to be dominant with your dog to teach them behaviors. While dominance is acceptable, it only works when done properly. Never hit or beat your dog and make sure you avoid being mean to them. Rottweilers will learn better when you use positive reinforcement methods to train your dog.
Step Three: Socialize Your Rottweiler
One of the best things you can do for your Rottweiler is socialization. You’ll want to bring your Rottweiler around other people and dogs in a controlled environment. This can be done in your home, backyard, or any type of dog park. Having your dog sent to daycare can also help with socialization. If you want to have this done by a trainer you can also opt for group dog training.
Step Four: Timing
When you’re training a Rottweiler it’s essential to prompt with your commands. A great example of this is discipline. For example, if a dog pees on the floor inside but you don’t find it for three hours, it’s best to let the behavior go. Yelling and screaming won’t help here because the dog peed three hours ago and has no idea what they did wrong.
Another great example of this is when you’re teaching commands. If you teach a dog to sit and choose to reward them, make sure you reward them while they’re sitting. Otherwise, the dog will think that they’re being rewarded for walking away.
Step Five: Basic Commands
Once you have the first steps completed, it’s time to move on to commands. From this point, you can teach your Rottweiler any commands you want. However, we recommend starting with commands like sit, stay, and paw. These are simple commands that your Rottweiler can learn quickly. We recommend training these commands through positive reinforcement and rewards.
These steps will get you through the basics of training your Rottweiler. From here, you can go any direction you’d like or even choose more advanced training.
Can a Rottweiler Be a Therapy Dog?
Yes, a Rottweiler can be a therapy dog. Rottweilers can be any type of service dog because of their size and temperament. Despite Rottweilers being known as aggressive, they’re intelligent and smart dogs. You can train them to do just about anything.
However, when training Rottweilers to become therapy dogs, it’s important to follow the proper process. In most cases, it takes several years and you need to have them trained by a professional.
Can a Rottweiler Be an Emotional Support Animal (ESA)?
Yes, a Rottweiler can be an emotional support animal. As long as you have an ESA letter you can live in housing that’s otherwise not dog-friendly and bring your pet with you to some public spaces. Always make sure you check the laws surrounding service dogs and ESAs in your state.
Train Your Rottweiler Today!
Rottweilers don’t have to be violent, vicious, or aggressive dogs because their behavior comes down to how you train them. Depending on your needs, you can train a Rottweiler to behave however you want. As long as you follow our training tips you’ll have one of the best-trained Rottweilers around.
Whether you want a service dog, ESA, or just a loyal companion, anything is possible when you train your Rottweiler.
