Why does my Rottweiler whine or cry when I leave?

If your Rottweiler whines or cries when you leave home, it will likely be concerning for you.

This post will show you a number of reasons why it might whine or cry when you leave and what you can do about it.

So, why does my Rottweiler whine when I leave? Possible reasons are that is has separation anxiety, you might have inadvertently rewarded the behavior or it might be hungry or thirsty.

There are actually many reasons why it might be doing it and it could be due to a combination of them. However, there are some things you can consider when trying to figure out the main reason. There are also a number of things you can do about it.

Why your Rottweiler whines when you leave

Below are a number of reasons why your Rottweiler might whine when you leave and what would make them more likely to be a main reason.

Separation anxiety

The cause is likely to be that it has separation anxiety. This is where it does not like being left alone and being left alone causes it to become anxious. This would also be more likely to be the reason if it starts being anxious when you are leaving and if it misbehaves when you are away.

If it does seem to have some separation anxiety it would help to try to reduce how anxious it becomes without you. You can watch the video below for some tips on how to do it.

It’s hungry

The reason why it does it might be that it is hungry and it does not want to have to wait for food. This would be more likely to be the reason if it does not whine as much when you leave on days where you have already fed it.

You have been reinforcing it

It could be the case that you have inadvertently encouraged the behavior by rewarding it when it does it. If you tend to give it things that it wants when it cries, it might do it more in order to get more rewards.

Instead, it would help to give it rewards when it is being well behaved and to avoid rewarding it when it is not unless it is necessary.

A lack of exercise

Rottweilers are meant to get daily exercise. When Rottweilers do not get enough exercise, it can cause them to behave abnormally and it might be why yours has been crying when you leave. This would be more likely if it tends to cry more when it has not gotten exercise already.

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

Things to consider

When it first started doing it

If it has not always cried when you leave, it would help to consider if anything else changed at around the same time that it started doing it.

It might be that it whined one time and you gave it something that it wanted so it continued to do it whenever you leave. Alternatively, it might be that you stopped giving it as much attention at around the same time it started doing it or you might have stopped letting it out to pee before leaving.

What is different when it does not whine when you leave

It would also help to consider what is different when it does not whine or cry.

For example, if it does not whine when it has already been able to eat and pee it would be more likely that it whines when it has not been fed or been able to pee.

How to get your Rottweiler to stop whining when you leave

Below are some things you can do when getting your Rottweiler to stop whining when you leave.

Train it not to using positive reinforcement training

One option would be to train it to behave the way you want with the use of positive reinforcement training. This is where you encourage the behaviors you want to see by rewarding your Rottweiler when it shows signs of displaying them.

To use positive reinforcement training to get your Rottweiler to whine less when you leave you could do as follows:

• Get some treats that it likes
• Reward your Rottweiler with a treat then make a small movement towards the door. If it does not whine reward it with a treat. If it does whine then wait for it to stop then make a much smaller movement towards the door and reward it for not whining.
• Carry on making small movements towards the door and rewarding it until you are able to open the door without it whining.
• Start to actually walk out the door and then come back in and reward it for not whining. Each time you do it stay outside for slightly longer.

Below are some more tips on how to do it.

Give it exercise

As mentioned above, it is also important to make sure Rottweilers are able to get daily exercise when they are healthy adults. Generally, it is recommended for them to get at least an hour of exercise per day as healthy adults.

Avoid encouraging the behavior

As mentioned above, it could be the case that you have trained your Rottweiler to whine when you leave by giving it rewards when it does it.

Instead, try to use positive reinforcement training to get it to stop as shown above and to avoid rewarding it when it does whine.

Get help from a dog behaviorist

If you are unable to get it to stop or it does it excessively, consider getting help from a dog behaviorist. By doing so, you should be able to see why it has been doing it and how to get it to stop.