Why doesn’t my Rottweiler listen to me?

If your Rottweiler won’t listen to you this post will show you why that might be the case and what you can do to get it to be more responsive to you.

So, why won’t my Rottweiler listen to me? Possible reasons are that it needs more training or that you have been training it the wrong way, it could also be that it is fearful, needs more exercise, there is an issue with its diet, a medical issue or you might have inadvertently rewarded the behavior.

Your Rottweiler might not be listening to you for a number of different reasons and it could be the result of a combination of causes. However, there are some things you can consider when trying to figure out the exact cause and there are a number of things you can do about it.

Why your Rottweiler isn’t listening to you

Below are a number of possible reasons why your Rottweiler has not been listening to you and what would make them more likely to be the main reason.

Fear

If you punish your Rottweiler when it misbehaves, what you’re actually punishing it for often won’t be the same thing that your Rottweiler thinks it’s being punished for. If you punish it for running away then it will likely associate the punishment with the last thing that it did which is coming back to you.

Instead, a better approach is to use positive reinforcement training where you reward your Rottweiler for behaving in the right way. By doing this you will be able to reinforce its good habits while preventing bad ones.

You haven’t trained enough

Rottweilers are a breed that requires a lot of training. When they do not get enough training, they will not know how they are meant to behave and they will behave the way that they feel like behaving. If you have not given your Rottweiler much training it would be likely to be the reason why it has not been listening to you.

In this case, it would help to start giving it lots of positive reinforcement training and to start with the basics and build up from there.

A lack of exercise

Rottweilers are also a breed that is meant to get a lot of exercise on a daily basis. When they do not get enough exercise it can cause them to behave abnormally and it might be the reason why yours has not been listening to you. This would be especially likely if it is better behaved after it has gotten exercise.

It is generally recommended for adult, healthy rottweilers to get at least an hour fo exercise per day. If yours is not getting that much, it would help to make sure that it does.

Excitement

The reason why it does not listen to you could be that it is excited which would be more likely if it does it more in situations such as when you arrive home. In this case, it would help to give it lots of exercise and to follow the other training tips mentioned below.

You’ve been rewarding it for ignoring you

The reason why it does not listen to you might be that you have been rewarding it when it does not do it. If you tend to give it things such as treats, toys or extra attention when it does not listen, it will likely do it more in order to get more rewards.

Instead, it would help to give it lots of positive reinforcement training so that it learns how to behave and to try to avoid rewarding it for not listening.

You’re command nagging

The cause could also be something known as “command nagging” which is where you continue telling it to do something even though it did not do it the first time. If you tell it to sit and it doesn’t do it the first time then it’s better to go back a step and to lure it into the sit using a treat instead of repeatedly saying sit.

Ruptured eardrum

The reason why it has not been listening could be that there is a health issue such as a ruptured eardrum. This would be more likely to be the reason if it did listen to you before, but it suddenly stopped listening to you. In this case, the best option would be to get help from a vet.

Depression

Dogs can become depressed and it might be the reason why yours has not been listening to you. This would be more likely if it suddenly stopped doing it after a stressful event such as an owner dying.

In this case, it might begin to improve over the course of a few weeks. If it does not, consider getting help from a vet.

It’s distracted

The cause could be that you have been trying to get it to do things when it is being distracted. In order to avoid this, it is important to give it training in multiple environments starting in less distracting environments and building up to more distracting ones.

Training it the wrong way

If you did train it but it is not listening to you, it might be the case that you trained it the wrong way. When training your Rottweiler, it would help to start out in an environment without many distractions and to start by training it to do simple tasks with positive reinforcement training and then to gradually build up to training it to do more challenging things.

How to get your Rottweiler to listen to you

Below are some options you have when getting your Rottweiler to listen to you more.

Exercise

As mentioned above, it is important to make sure that it is getting daily exercise. It is generally, recommended for them to get at least an hour of exercise per day as healthy adults. If yours is getting exercise, you could try wearing it out more by getting it to do things such as to play fetch.

Training

It is important to give your Rottweiler lots of training so that it learns how to behave and so that it listens to you. The training technique I would recommend would be positive reinforcement training. This is where you reward it for showing signs of doing what you want it to and avoid rewarding it when it doesn’t.

You can watch the video below to see examples of how to make use of positive reinforcement training.

Take it to a vet

If it has started doing it suddenly, it has been showing signs of illness or injury or it seems like it could be due to depression, the best option would be to take it to a vet. By doing so you will be able to rule out medical causes and get expert advice tailored towards your particular Rottweiler.

Get help from dog trainer or behaviorist

If you cannot get it to listen to you more, it would also help to get help from a dog trainer or behaviorist. By doing so, you should be able to see how to train it effectively and safely.

Things to consider

Don’t expect sudden changes

When training your Rottweiler, it is important to be patient and consistent with the training. It is unlikely that you will be able to get drastic results with just one training session. But, if you train it consistently, you should be able to get much more noticeable results over the course of weeks and months.

Don’t punish

If you punish your Rottweiler, it will likely not know why it is being punished and it could cause it to develop feelings of resentment. Instead, it would help to give it lots of positive reinforcement training.

Similarly, if you reward it when it misbehaves, it will likely contribute to the behavior. Instead, it would help to reward it only when it behaves the way you want it to and to try to stop rewarding it as soon as it begins to misbehave.