If your Rottweiler is always crying you might be wondering why and what you can do about it.
This post will show you a number of possible causes and what you can do about it.
So, why is my Rottweiler always crying? Possible causes are illness or injury, wanting more attention, a problem with its diet, boredom, separation anxiety, excitement or being fearful.
Your Rottweiler might be crying a lot for a number of different reasons and it could be due to a combination of them. However, there are also a number of things you can do about it.
Why your Rottweiler is always crying
Below are a number of reasons why it might always be crying and what would make them more likely.
It is ill or injured
The cause could be that it has gotten ill or injured. This would be more likely if it has started doing it suddenly and if it has been behaving unusually in other ways such as by limping or being fatigued. In this case, it would help to take it to a vet.
It wants 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 it does it more when you have not been giving it much attention and if you tend to give it more attention when it does it.
It would help to give it attention throughout the day by exercising it, playing with it and training it. However, it would also help to avoid rewarding it when it cries unless it seems to be doing it for a reason such as needing to pee.
It has learned that crying gets it what it wants
If you tend to give it things that it wants when it cries such as toys, treats or extra attention, it will likely do it more in order to get more rewards. Instead, it would help to reward it when it is being well behaved and to avoid giving it rewards when it cries.
It is bored
Rottweilers are meant to get exercise on a daily basis in order to be fully stimulated. When they do not get enough exercise it can cause them to behave abnormally. If your Rottweiler tends to cry when it has not gotten much exercise, it could be the case that it is doing it because it wants more exercise.
In general, it is recommended for Rottweilers to get at least an hour of exercise per day when they are healthy adults. If your Rottweiler is not getting daily exercise it would help to make sure that it does.
Stress
The reason why it has been crying could be that something has been causing it to be stressed. This would be more likely if it started doing it a lot suddenly and if something happened recently that might cause it to be stressed. Examples could be if it recently moved homes, an owner left or another pet died.
Fear
The reason that it cries could be that it is fearful of something. This would be more likely if it does it at times where it might be frightened of something such as when there are fireworks or construction works.
Excitement
Sometimes, dogs will cry when they are excited. This would be more likely to be the reason why yours does it if it does it more in situations such as when you arrive home.
Separation anxiety
The reason why your Rottweiler does it might be that it has some separation anxiety. This would be more likely if it does it more when you are leaving home and if it becomes anxious when you are leaving.
In this case, it would help to try and take measures to get it to be less anxious when you are leaving. You can watch the video below for some tips on how to do so.
Ways to get your Rottweiler to stop crying
Below are some options you have when getting it to stop doing it.
Take it to a vet
If you cannot understand why your Rottweiler has been crying, it has started doing it suddenly or it has been showing signs of being ill or injured, the best option would be to take it to a vet. By doing so you will be able to get expert advice tailored towards your particular Rottweiler and to rule out medical causes.
Exercise
As mentioned above, it is important to make sure that your Rottweiler is able to get daily exercise. If it already is, you could try getting it to wear itself out more by getting it to do things such as to play fetch.
Positive reinforcement training
It would also help to give your Rottweiler lots of training so that it learns how to behave.
Positive reinforcement training is where you reinforce good behaviors by rewarding them and avoid reinforcing bad behaviors by not rewarding them.
To use positive reinforcement training to get it to stop crying you would reward it when it does not cry and it normally would and stop rewarding it when it does cry.
Avoiding reinforcing the behavior
As mentioned above, it could also be the case that giving it things that it wants when it cries has been causing it to do it more. Instead, it would help to reward the behaviors that you want to see but to avoid rewarding it when it cries unless there is a specific cause such as needing to pee.
Give it attention
It would also help to give it attention throughout the day so that it does not feel the need to get it from you itself. Ways to give it attention would be to walk it, train it and to exercise it.
Give it distractions
In addition to the above, you could also give it things to be distracted by. Things you could give it could include toys, bones or puzzle games.
Things to consider about your Rottweiler crying
Below are some things to consider when trying to figure out the exact cause.
When it started
It would help to consider what else happened when your Rottweiler first started crying a lot since it could be the case that there was an event that caused it to start happening.
If it started doing it suddenly, it would be more likely to be due to things such as a sudden change in its diet, becoming ill or injured, getting less attention, a change in its daily routine or something causing it to become stressed.
When and where it does it
It would also help to consider the timing of when it cries since the timing could also have something to do with it.
For example, if it cries when you would normally feed it then it might be doing it to remind you to feed it.
How old it is
It would also help to consider its age. If it is a puppy then it would be likely that it will calm down as it gets older but it would still help to avoid inadvertently training it to cry a lot and to give it lots of training now. If it is older then it could be crying for any of the reasons mentioned above.