subject: 5 Tips For Training Rottweilers Successfully [print this page] 5 Tips For Training Rottweilers Successfully
If you have one, then you know that training Rottweilers can be a challenge. Yet, a well trained dog is a must especially with a breed like this that can be a bit overbearing by nature. Training a Rottweiler properly is critical if you want a dog that is a joy for everyone to be around.
Making sure your dog is obedient can help keep him out of harms way as well as keep him from harming anything else. Here are 5 Rottweiler training tips that can help you have a perfectly obedient dog:
1. Be The Alpha Dog
Rottweilers tend to want to be the leader of the pack, so you need to let him know that you are the boss right off the bat. Making sure you go through doorways first, maintaining eye contact and not looking away first and getting your dog to enjoy being in a submissive position on his back can all help you to claim your title of Alpha dog.
2. Be Positive
Successful Rottweiler training is based on positive reinforcement. This requires rewarding wanted behavior and gently correcting unwanted behavior. Hitting and yelling at your dog is not effective for training and won't provide the results you want. However, rewarding him by praising him and providing a special treat is usually a worthwhile incentive for your dog to repeat the wanted behavior again and again.
3. Be Consistent
One crucial aspect of training Rottweilers, or any dog for that matter, is that you will have to be consistent as well as persistent. If at all possible, training should be performed every day so be sure to plan this in to your schedule. The best length of time for a training session is about 15 minutes.
4. Don't Be A Task Master
With dog training, all work and no play is really no fun so you might try splitting your training session up with 5 or 10 minutes of training and then 5 minutes of play time. Then you could try more command training for 5 or 10 minutes. Consider playing with different methods until you discover one that works perfectly for your dog.
5. Use Distraction To Break Bad Habits
If you are trying to stop an undesirable behavior in your Rottweiler, for example excessive barking or aggression towards other dogs, you must approach that in a positive manner. By no means should you ever strike your dog regardless of how bad his behavior is and this is. In fact, a big mistake a lot of people make with Rottweiler training.
A far better technique to stop unwelcome behavior is to make use of some method of distraction when you know your dog is about to do something you don't want him to do. One of the ways to distract your dog is by working with a choke collar that you can tug on when it looks like he is going to get into bad behavior mode. (Don't leave the choke collar on your dog when he is not under your supervision). You could discover the distraction is adequate to avoid the unwanted behavior and then you can pet and praise your dog even throwing in a treat for being so good.
Training Rottweilers doesn't have to be any more difficult than training any other dog but you do have to take their natural tendencies into consideration and work with those. If you train them properly, any Rottweiler can become a gently and loving dog that is a joy for anyone to be around.
