If your Rottweiler keeps walking in front of you then you’re probably wondering why and what you can do about it. This post will show you a number of reasons why your Rottweiler might walk in front of you when walking it and when at home.
So, why does my Rottweiler walk in front of me? If it does it when you’re walking it, common reasons would be that it wants to go faster, it wants to interact with something or not being trained not to do it. If it does it around the house, it could be because it doesn’t realize that it is doing it, that it is looking for attention or you might have rewarded the behavior.
There are actually a number of reasons why your Rottweiler might walk in front of you. But, there are some things you can consider when trying to figure out the exact reason. Once you have a good idea of the cause, it should become a lot easier to get it to stop.
Why your Rottweiler walks in front of you
Each of the different reasons why it does it will likely come with some clues.
Below are a number of possible causes and what would make them more likely.
It wants to go faster
Rottweilers are a breed that is meant to get a lot of exercise on a daily basis in order to be fully stimulated. The reason why your Rottweiler walks in front of you could be that it wants to go faster. This would be more likely if it does it when you are walking it. If your Rottweiler does pull on the leash, try following the tips mentioned in this post.
It’s being protective
The cause could be that it is being protective. This would be more likely if it does it when there is someone else or another animal nearby and if it tends to get overly protective when you are around other people or animals.
In this case, you could try training it to have a positive association with other people and dogs by giving it a special treat when it sees them and it does not walk in front of you.
It wants to interact with something
The cause could be that it wants to interact with something like a bush or tree. This would be more likely to be the cause if it immediately goes to sniff something when it walks in front of you.
It wants attention
If it walks in front of you around the home, the cause could be that it is looking for attention. This would be more likely if it tends to do it more when you have not given it attention and if you tend to give it more attention when it does it. The cause might also be that it wants you to give it something if it does it more at around the same time that you would normally give it something like food.
You haven’t trained it not to
If you have not given your Rottweiler a lot of training it will not know how it is meant to behave and it will behave the way it feels like behaving. The way it feels like behaving is unlikely to be the way you want it to behave.
If you have not trained it to walk by your side on walks then it will not know that you want it to do so. This is why it would help to give it lots of positive reinforcement training as discussed below.
It doesn’t realize it’s doing it
If it tends to walk in front of you around the home it could be the case that it does not realize that it is doing it. This would be more likely to be the cause if it tends to do it more such as when you are both walking towards the same location.
Things to consider
When your Rottweiler first started walking in front of you
It would help to consider what else occurred when it first started doing it since it could be the case that there was an event that caused it to start.
If it did start doing it suddenly it would be more likely to be due to things such as realizing that it gets rewards when it does it or if you started walking it on a different route and it became curious about the new smells.
Whereas, if it has always done it then it would be more likely to be due to one of the reasons mentioned above.
When your Rottweiler walks in front of you
It would also help to consider the timing of when it does it since the timing might have something to do with it.
For example, if it walks in front of you around the home, when you would normally feed it then it might be doing it because it is waiting for you to feed it.
How to get your Rottweiler to stop walking in front of you
Below, are some options you have when getting your Rottweiler to stop walking in front of you depending on the situation.
Use positive reinforcement training to get it to stop walking ahead on the leash
Positive reinforcement training is where you reward the behaviors that you want to see from your Rottweiler and stop rewarding it when it does not.
To use positive reinforcement training to get your Rottweiler to stop walking ahead of you on the leash you would do as follows:
- Start walking it on the leash with some treats
- Stop when it is about to walk ahead of you and get it to pay attention to you
- Reward it for stopping and paying attention to you then carry on walking
- Repeat the above until it stops walking ahead of you
You can watch the video below to see how it is done
Use positive reinforcement training to stop it walking in front of you at home
To use positive reinforcement training to get your Rottweiler to stop walking in front of you at home you would:
- Avoid giving it attention when it walks in front of you
- Get it to pay attention to you when it is about to walk in front of you, reward it and then walk ahead of it
- Reward it when it does not walk ahead of you when it normally would
You can also give it lots of attention and exercise throughout the day.