Why does my Rottweiler follow me?

If your Rottweiler has been following you everywhere you’re probably wondering why and what you can do about it. This post will give you a number of reasons why your Rottweiler might be following you around and what you can do about it.

So, why does my Rottweiler follow me around? Possible reasons why it follows you around are that it wants attention, food, a walk, it might have separation anxiety or you might have inadvertently rewarded the behavior.

Your Rottweiler could be following you for a number of reasons and it could be due to a combination of reasons. However, there are a number of things you can consider when trying to figure out the exact reason.

Possible reasons why your Rottweiler follows you around

Below, I will show you a number of reasons why your Rottweiler might be following you around a lot and what would make them more likely to be the main reason.

Attention

It could be the case that it does it because it is looking for extra attention from you. This would be more likely if you tend to give it more attention when it does it and if it does it more when you have not been giving it much attention.

Instead, it would help to reward it when it is being well behaved and to avoid rewarding it with extra attention when it follows you around if you want it to stop.

It wants something

It could also be the case that it follows you around in the hope that you will give it something that it wants. This would be more likely if it does it more at around the same time that you would normally feed or walk it or if you tend to give it things such as treats when it does it.

Instead, it would help to give it things that it wants when it is behaving the way you want it to and to avoid rewarding it when it is not.

Separation anxiety

The reason why it does it might be that it has some separation anxiety. This would be more likely if it tends to follow you around at around the same time that you would normally leave home and if it gets anxious when you are leaving.

In this case, you could try to reduce how anxious it becomes without you by doing something such as:

• Make it seem like you are about to leave by doing something such as picking up your keys
• Reward your Rottweiler for not being anxious and repeat these two steps a few times
• Make more moves towards actually leaving such as by picking up the keys and putting your hand on the door handle
• Reward your Rottweiler for not being anxious and repeat the process a few times
• Actually open the door and go outside for a few moments then come back and reward your Rottweiler
• Repeat the above, each time staying outside for slightly longer

You can see more tips on how to do this in the video below:

It was bred to work with humans

Another reason why it does it might be that it is in its nature to do so. Rottweilers were bred to work with humans for hours on a daily basis. So, it is to be expected that yours will want to be around you often.

How to stop your Rottweiler from following you around

Below are some options you have when getting it to stop following you.

Give it lots of exercise

The reason why your Rottweiler has been following you around might be that it is waiting to get exercise. This would be more likely if it does it more before you have walked it.

Generally, it is recommended for Rottweilers to get at least an hour of exercise per day as healthy adults. If yours is not getting that much, it would help to make sure that it does.

Try ignoring it

As mentioned above, it could be the case that it has been doing it because it is looking for extra attention. It would help to give it attention when it is behaving the way you want it to but to avoid rewarding it when it does not unless necessary.

Get help

If you cannot get your Rottweiler to stop doing it and it is doing it excessively, one option would be to get help from a dog behaviorist. By doing so, you should be able to see why your Rottweiler is doing it and how to get it to stop effectively.

Things to consider

Below are some things to consider about your Rottweiler following you around.

Don’t punish

It would help to avoid punishing your Rottie for doing it since it might not know why it is being punished and it could cause it to become resentful. Instead, it would help to give it lots of positive reinforcement training.

Be patient

When training your Rottweiler it is important to be patient. It is not likely that you will be able to achieve drastic results with just one training session. But, you can get much better progress by sticking with it over the course of weeks and months.

When it first started doing it

When trying to figure out why it has been doing it, considering what else happened when it first started following you could help.

If it started doing it suddenly it would be more likely to be due to things such as a sudden change in its daily schedule such as getting fed at a different time or realizing that it gets rewards when it follows you.

When it does it more

It would also help to consider whether or not there is a certain time that it seems to be doing it more. If there is then it could be the case that the timing has something to do with it.

For example, if it tends to do it more at around the same time that you would normally feed it then it would be more likely that it is doing it because it wants to be fed.