If you have a Rottweiler puppy, or are thinking about getting one then you need to carefully read every word in this article.
I will explain to you what you need to know about this large and powerful breed.
Although Rottweilers are calm and very smart, they can also be aggressive towards people and dogs that they don't have a history with.
They are a very brave breed and when properly socialized during puppy-hood and then continued socialization through to the age of 3 years, they are very good family pets.
You will need to exercise your Rottweiler both in a physical sense, i.
e.
walks everyday, and play games that drain energy, for example tug of war, or go fetch.
It is also important to provide mental challenges, i.
e.
training exercises, come, sit, down, stay, to stimulate over all healthy growth.
Rottweilers are guard dogs by nature.
That is what they were bred to do.
This is why it is so important that training your Rottweiler puppy should begin as soon as possible.
I recommend that if you don't already have your pup, you should check out the breeders before you buy your dog.
Ideally, socialization should begin at the age of 3 weeks.
Even though they can't see or hear yet, they can still feel and smell.
If the breeder understands the importance of socialization, he will have the pups being handled by a lot of different people.
If you choose this kind of breeder you will be way ahead of the game.
If you get a pup that is 8 weeks old and has not been socialized at all, then you have a very short window of opportunity to set the stage for good socialization (about 4 weeks), by the age of 12 weeks, your Rottie pup will have already set the pattern of behavior that he will grow up with.
You need to understand that a Rottweiler is very confident in its own abilities, and if you don't set the rules and limitations, and provide constant direction for your canine friend, then your Rottweiler will do what dogs do, and in most cases that is never good.
What I mean is, if you don't teach your dog when and where he can do what he needs to do to full fill his natural instincts, before he enters adolescence (age 5 months to 3 years), i.
e.
barking, digging, peeing, then he will be in trouble all the time.
Their sheer size presents a problem, especially if you have small children.
They can easily be hurt by this large and muscular breed if not trained to sit before they greet people and to approach children gently and slowly to avoid collisions that can send a child to hospital.
Now that you understand this magnificent breed, I want to help you to have him, or her, well-trained.
It is easier than you might think.
I have trained many dogs in my forty years of living with dogs in my home, a large number of those have been Rottweilers, or a Rottweiler pup.
Regardless of the age of the dog you have, or what breed they might be, you only need to teach them four basic commands in order to have a well-trained dog.
I recommend you check out these four commands and how you can teach these to your dog in a very short time, you can read more about it by following the link at the end of this article.
These are the only four commands that I use to train all the dogs that I work with.
You too can have a well trained dog, just make the commitment to your self and your dog, and put in the time to train.
I only train for about 15 minutes per day, and my dog's are reliable 97% of the time, off leash.
If anyone tells you that you can have 100% reliability off leash, then I say your dog must be asleep.