Either you are bringing home a Rottweiler for the first time or you already have one and it is showing aggressive behavior, this is what you need to know about how to handle Rottweiler aggression.
How to handle rottweiler aggression ? the rottweiler is a dog breed that has the tendency to show a natural protective and guarding instinct for its home and family. This trait is part of its genetic makeup. Although this is not particular to Rottweilers alone, the sheer strength, power and fierceness of Rottweilers makes them potentially dangerous if they are left in the care of an inexperienced owner.
As an intelligent dog, a Rottweiler would behave in a way that it is trained to behave. So, if you teach it to behave aggressively even when you are not aware of this, it would be encouraged to show aggressive behavior. Moreover, if it is not properly trained, the Rottweiler could turn into a full time aggressive pet. In order to ensure that a Rotty does not behave aggressively, it is important to caution it from a very young age. The earlier you correct the aggressiveness of a Rottweiler, the easier it is to keep them tamed at a older age.
Observe and Identify the Source of Aggression
In order to check the aggressive tendencies of Rottweilers, its owner must pay close attention to the potential cause of aggression. If you observe your dog staring at something and making a low growling noise, take note of what it is staring at. It is a potential cause of aggression for the dog. Before a dog growls, it usually shows a body language sign which reveals its unease. A dog owner should watch out for this sign and master it.
There are certain aggressive behaviors that have been identified to be common to many Rottweilers. One of them is food aggression. If your Rottweiler becomes aggressive when it is feeding time and tends to snaps its jaws or show its teeth, then it has food aggression. If your Rotty shows aggression when you have new visitors, then it may be territoriality aggressive. Territorial aggressiveness demands a lot of attention as you need to ensure that such aggressiveness is tamed and does not metamorphosis into biting. This could put people who visit you at risk.
Moreover, it is also important for you to observe the way your dog reacts to stimuli. If your dog shows aggression when they sight another dog, then it is exhibiting a protective aggressive behavior. Furthermore, a dog can exhibit anxiety aggression when it is scared of something.
Handling Aggressive Behavior
If you observe that your Rottweiler is exhibiting aggressive behavior, neutralize the behavior as fast as you can. Try as much as possible not to get upset when it exhibits this behavior as you would only trigger more aggressiveness from it.
One of the ways to suppress the aggressive behavior of a Rotty is to expose it to its aggression triggers in a controlled situation. so that it can get comfortable with whatever is triggering the aggression. Once these triggers are neutralized, they become less aggressive.
It is also important to help your Rottweiler develop social skills by exposing it to other dogs and people. Moreover, try as much as possible to reward your Rotty whenever it exhibits a positive behavior. This would encourage it to behave more positively.
What not to do with an Aggressive Rottweiler Problem
1. Do not pressurize your Rotty when it becomes aggressive. If your dog is growling at you, it is a sign that you should stop what you are doing. Respect your dog’s wishes.
2. Do not hit or yell at your dog if it is stressed. Try to get away if your Rotty becomes aggressive with you. Your goal is to diffuse the situation and not to complicate it.
3. Do not play aggression dominant games with with a Rottweiler that is already showing signs of aggression.
