Obedience Training For 5 Star Rottweiler Puppies!

Around 260 AD, the Romans were ousted from Germany, leaving behind remnants of great gladiatorial war dogs, known as Molosser dogs (for you history buffs), also the ancestors of today’s Mastiff breeds. The Romans were known to pit these massive dogs against great hunting cats of the time, enormous bears, even other human gladiators.

Now, before jumping to conclusions, realize this was nearly 2,000 years ago; a lot has changed. The Rottweiler ancestors of two millennia ago would be completely unrecognizable if compared to today’s Rott.

If properly raised, these adorable little fellows are highly intelligent and can be wonderfully friendly, affectionate companions!

• Romans also are believed to have used these dogs for herding purposes, needing a highly intelligent but also strong and sturdy animal able to protect their stock from wild beasts.
• Like the Border Collie and German Shepherd (both originally herding breeds, and both considered to be among the most intelligent breeds on earth), Rottweilers are extremely intelligent and highly trainable.

Early Socialization is Vital!

Now we have talked about this before. As with most all Puppies, early socialization is so vital.

Due to their original breeding & intended purpose so long ago, Rottweilers tend to be somewhat genetically predisposed toward aggression, or at least slightly more so than most other breeds.

This certainly doesn’t mean all Rottweilers are aggressive; that is by no means true! A dog’s upbringing nearly always contributes far more to their personality growth. In other words, if raised and socialized properly, rottweilers can become some of the friendliest dogs imaginable!

Consequences of Poor Training

If socialization is completely ignored, however, you might as well be inviting disaster. Adopting a large breed already prone to aggression, and not bothering to train it, is like saying ‘Hey kid, please don’t pet my dog, he might hospitalize you’ (we all know how well that works).

Despite what you’ve heard, yes- dogs are very predictable for those who know what signs to look for. If you know of an animal that has bitten a human, it is 99% the fault of the owner (or the antagonizing ‘victim’) for not bothering to do their homework and train it properly. The dog was acting perfectly, as nature intended it.

• There are always extraneous circumstances to every scenario; no point in mentioning them (“But, what if this happened…”).

Unfortunately, dogs that react and bite are all too often ‘put down’ as a result of this very human ignorance. We can’t ask animals to act like people because they are not people, yet it seems that is exactly what many owners expect.

• Adopted strays are one of the few exceptions to this rule. In the case of Adult strays, I would only recommend the adoption of this breed for an already well-educated owner!

 

 

 

 

Obedience Training

As far as basic ‘obedience’ training (sit, come, stay), training Rottweilers is no different than training any dog. In fact, due to their intelligence, Rottweilers are in fact easier to train than most breeds!

Recall

This is perhaps one of the more important key talents many owners simply don’t bother with. Due to their ‘reputation’ for being an aggressive animal, it is probably more important to make sure they have this down. Remember, you could have the nicest dog in the world, and your ignorant neighbor could still call animal control because he doesn’t like your dog.

• If it were to come to legal proceedings, the courts are far more likely to rule against the two Rottweilers you see above than the Jack Russell in the same photo, simply basing their decision from breed reputation as a whole.

With your puppy sitting directly in front of you, speak a command word (‘Here’ works well, as it is not as commonly said as ‘Come’), offering your pup a treat simultaneously. Continue to do this until you’re sure your puppy made the association- ‘Here’ means I get a treat!

Now, slowly lengthen the training distance, making this more difficult. Call your Rottweiler puppy from around corners, or from other rooms.

• Make sure a treat reward is offered every time!
• Break the training up into several, short sessions.

The goal with this method is to offer your dog incentive he finds more enjoyable than any current distraction. If your pup would rather lean against your backyard fence, barking wildly at your neighbor, as opposed to the treat you have in your hands- he probably isn’t going to come to you (and you should work on socialization).

• Raising a large and intimidating ‘guard dog’, apt to bark loudly at every passerby, while living in the middle of an urban city environment, isn’t the best idea. Consider investing an alarm system, and desensitize your dog to strangers.

Children

It is extremely important to desensitize your dog to children! Sure, you might not have any nieces and nephews, but it only takes that one passerby to stick his hand in the fence in an attempt to pet your dog. If the child is bitten, it isn’t the child’s fault or the dog’s fault; it is yours.

• Believe it or not, there have been legal cases where guard dogs have been put down for attacking and injuring a human intruder! When it comes to animals, the law seems to be very flexible; keep that in mind before raising a guard dog to be violent.