How to Train a Rottweiler to Be Obedient

Always use an up-beat, high-pitched tone when you give instructions. Your Rottweiler will always respond best when they think they’re playing a game. So keep it lighthearted at all times.

It’s important you only give instructions once. If you start telling them to ‘sit’ five times before they actually sit, your dog will learn they can wait for you to pester them a while before they actually follow your command.

It’s also important your dog always gets their reward within three seconds of completing a trick. Any longer and they may not associate the action with the reward. So ensure you hand over treats or toys promptly.

Don’t spend too long training your Rottweiler in one go. This is particularly important if they are a puppy. Keep sessions around 10 to 15 minutes long. Any longer and they may lose interest and stop improving.

Obedience training is effective because it uses positive incentives. Punishment will only make your Rottweiler scared of you and then uneasy around you. It could even lead to aggression and violence. So stay calm and keep it positive.

Don’t run before you can walk. So start by teaching the essential commands, such as ‘sit’ and ‘down’. You can then work your way up to more challenging instructions later on. You will also find many tricks require your dog already being able to perform ‘sit’ and ‘down’.

You both need to be concentrating during training. This means don’t train with other pets or small children in the room. This will only confuse your dog and push back the end result.

It’s important you keep up with training. There’s no use spending the day teaching them ‘sit’ only to then move onto a whole host of other tricks for the rest of the week. You will then find when you go back to ‘sit’ they’ve forgotten it. So master one command before you move onto the next.

Sign up to group obedience classes. Not only will they help teach your dog a whole host of useful commands, but they will learn from seeing other dogs. So it will help socialize them and speed up the learning process.

Once your dog has picked up a command, it’s important you gradually cut out the treats and any other rewards. Firstly, you don’t want them to start putting on weight. But secondly, the command will have become a habit so there will be no need for the reward anyway.

A clicker is a fantastic way to speed up the learning process. You simply click whenever the dog performs a trick correctly and provide a treat. Clickers offer an effective means of communicating with your Rottweiler. One click will let them know they are on the right track.

You do not always have to use treats and food when obedience training. Toys can also be an effective reward. Plus, they will stop your Rottweiler piling on the pounds if you’re doing a lot of training.

Use meal times to check on recent obedience training. For example, have your dog sit and wait before they’re allowed to eat the food in their bowl. This will help get them in a consistent routine of respecting you and following your instructions.

There is no use keeping your dog really well behaved and responsive inside, if they’re still a nightmare when you take them out for a walk in public. So get them used to wearing their leash in the house. Then use treats, the ‘heel’ command and a quick pull on the leash to keep them under your control whenever you’re out of the house.

The younger your Rottweiler is when you start training, the sooner they will learn and follow your commands. Dogs are at their most receptive up until the age of 18 months. So really focus your obedience training during that period if you can.