Why does my Rottweiler stare at me?

If your Rottweiler has been staring at you a lot you might be wondering why and what you can do about it.

So, why does my Rottweiler stare at me? Possible reasons are that it does it for attention, it wants something from you, it does it because it loves you, it’s waiting for you to do something or that it needs to go outside.

There are a lot of reasons why it might stare at you and it could be the result of a combination of reasons. However, there are some things you can do about it.

Reasons why your Rottweiler might stare

Below, I will show you a number of reasons why it might stare at you a lot and what would make them more likely to be the main reason.

For attention

The reason why it does it might be that it is trying to get 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.

To get something

The reason why it does it could be that it wants to get something from you. This would be more likely if it tends to stare at you at certain times such as when you would normally feed it or walk it.

Love

A 2015 study found that when people and their dogs look into each other’s eyes the oxytocin levels (a hormone that promotes social bonding) increases in both. This could be the reason as to why your Rottweiler has a habit of staring at you.

But, don’t stare if your Rottweiler has signs of aggression since staring at a dog’s eyes can be perceived as an act of aggression and cause it to become defensive.

Aggression

It could be the case that it does it aggressively. This would be more likely if it does it more in certain situations such as when you are sitting in its spot and if it shows signs of aggression when it does it. Signs of aggression could include showing its teeth, growing or standing stiffly.

It has misbehaved

The reason why it does it sometimes might be that it has misbehaved and it is waiting to see what you do. If you normally punish your Rottweiler in these circumstances then you should consider changing your approach to one that is focused on reinforcing positive behavior.

It’s pooping

Dogs will often stare when they are pooping because they are in a vulnerable position and they want to see that you are looking out for it.

It needs to pee

The cause could be that it needs to pee. This would be more likely to be the reason if it does it when it has not been able to pee in a while and if it does it when near the door leading to the yard.

Waiting for your command

If you have given it training, the cause could be that it is waiting for you to tell it to do something. This would be much more likely to be the reason if it stares in situations where you have trained it to do something in the past.

How to get your Rottweiler to stop staring

Below are some options you have if you want to get it to stop staring at you.

Ignore it

One option would be to avoid rewarding it when it does it. If you tend to give it things that it wants when it stares at you then it will likely do it more in order to get more rewards. Instead, it would help to reward it when it is behaving the way that you want it to.

Give it attention and exercise

It would also help to give it attention throughout the day in the form of training, exercise and play so that it doesn’t feel the need to get attention from you.

If it is not currently getting much exercise and it is healthy, it would also be important to make sure that it gets daily exercise. Generally, it is recommended for healthy adult Rottweilers to get at least an hour of exercise per day.

Get help from a dog behaviorist

If it has been doing it excessively and it has been bothering you, one option would be to get help from a dog behaviorist. By doing so, you should be able to see how to get it to stop doing it and what has been causing to do it.

Things to consider

Below are some things to consider about it staring.

It’s not necessarily a bad thing

It is not uncommon for dogs to stare at their owners. It could just be that it wants attention, direction or to get something like exercise.

When it first started doing it

If your Rottweiler did not always stare at you a lot, it would help to consider what else happened when it first started doing it since it could be the case that there was an event that caused it to start.

If it started doing it suddenly, it would be more likely to be due to things such as changing the time that you walk or feed it, giving it less attention or that it realized that it gets rewards when it does it.

When it does it more

It would also help to consider if there is a certain time that it tends to do it more since the timing would also likely have something to do with it.

For example, if it stares when you would normally walk it then it might be waiting to get a walk.