If your Rottweiler nibbles you a lot, you might be wondering why and what you can do to get it to stop.
This post will show you a number of reasons why it might be doing it and what you can do to get it to stop nibbling you.
So, why does my Rottweiler nibble? Possible reasons are that it is looking for attention, it is teething, inadvertently rewarding the behavior or a lack of training.
There are many different reasons why your Rottweiler might nibble you and it could be because of a combination of reasons. However, there are some things you can consider when trying to understand exactly why it does it. There are also a number of options you have when getting it to stop.
Why your Rottweiler nibbles
Below, I will show you a number of reasons why your Rottweiler might nibble you a lot and what would make them more likely to be the main reason.
It wants attention
The reason why it does it might be that it knows it will result in you giving it extra attention. This would be more likely to be the reason if you tend to give it more attention when it nibbles and if it does it more when you have not given it much attention.
It would help to avoid rewarding it with attention when it nibbles you by leaving the room temporarily if necessary and then to give it attention when it calms down.
It hasn’t been trained not to
If you have not given your Rottweiler much training it will not know how it is supposed to behave and it will behave the way that it feels like. The way it feels like behaving is unlikely to be the way you would like it to behave which is why it is important to train it to behave the way you want it to.
It’s teething
The reason why it has been doing it might be that it has started teething. This would be more likely to be the reason if it is a puppy and if it has started chewing on other things a lot as well.
In this case, it would be important to train it to learn what not to chew as discussed below and to give it lots of things that it can chew on.
Excitement
The cause could also be that it is excited which would be more likely if it does it more in situations such as when you arrive home or when you’re about to walk it. In this case, you could try waiting for it to calm down before giving it what it wants.
You have inadvertently reinforced it
It could also be the case that you have inadvertently encouraged it to nibble you by giving it things it wants when it does it. If you tend to give it things such as treats, toys or extra attention when it does it then it might be doing it more in order to get more rewards.
Instead, it would help to avoid rewarding it when it nibbles and to reward it when it calms down.
Things to consider
Below are some things to consider about your Rottweiler nibbling you.
If it has always done it
If your Rottweiler has not always nibbled you, it would help to consider if anything else happened at around the same time that it started doing it since it could be the case that there was an event that caused it to start doing it.
If it started doing it suddenly, it would be more likely to be due to things such as teething, realizing that it gets rewards when it does it or trying to get more attention from you.
What is different when it doesn’t nibble
It would also help to consider if there is a certain time that it tends to do it more since it could be the case that the timing also has something to do with it.
For example, if it tends to do it more when you come home then it would be more likely to be due to excitement or that it is doing it for the extra attention it gets when doing it.
How to stop your Rottweiler from nibbling you
Below are some things you can do to get it to stop nibbling on you.
Train it not to
One option would be to use positive reinforcement training so that it learns that nibbling you does not result in it getting rewards it wants.
To use it to get your Rottweiler to stop nibbling, you would:
- Stand up, turn away, and hide your arms when it starts biting them leaving the room if necessary.
- Wait a few moments and then go back to giving it attention and then turning away again if it starts biting
- Repeat the above until it learns that biting causes it to lose your attention
- Reward it with a treat when it does particularly well
You can watch the video below to see more on how to get your Rottweiler to stop biting with positive reinforcement training along with more tips.
Avoid negatively reinforcing it
It would also help to avoid rewarding it when it nibbles so that you do not train it to do it more. Instead, it would help to stop rewarding it with attention when it nibbles you and to reward it when it calms down and then to stop rewarding it again if it starts nibbling again.
Give it distractions
It would also help to give it things to be distracted with especially if it seems to be teething. Things you could give it would be toys, chews and bones.
Get help from a dog behaviorist
If you are unable to get it to stop nibbling you or it has been doing it aggressively, it would help to get help from a dog behaviorist or trainer. By doing so, you should be able to see how to get it to stop safely and effectively.