Why is my Rottweiler disobedient?

If your Rottweiler is being disobedient, 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 be disobedient and some things that you can do to stop it.

So, why is my Rottweiler disobedient?

There are a number of possible reasons that your Rottweiler might be disobedient. The most likely causes are that it is not getting enough exercise and that it needs to be trained more.

Other possible causes include boredom, fear, being slightly disobedient by nature, being in a new location, having a ruptured eardrum or because you have been rewarding the behavior.

And, what can you do to stop it?

To get your Rottweiler to stop being disobedient you’ll want to start by giving it lots of exercise since it can curb a lot of unwanted behaviors.

You’ll also need to spend more time training it starting with the basics such as “sit” and then building up to harder things like getting it to stay with people around. 

There are actually a number of possible reasons why your Rottweiler has been being disobedient and it could be due to a combination of reasons.

Possible reasons for your Rottweiler’s disobedience

Each of the different reasons why your Rottweiler is disobedient will likely come with a number of clues. Below are a number of reasons why your Rottweiler might be being disobedient and what would make them more likely.

Lack of exercise

Rottweilers are meant to get exercise on a daily basis. When they do not get enough exercise it can cause them to behave abnormally and it might be why yours has been being disobedient. This would be more likely if it is more disobedient on days where is does not get any exercise.

Generally, it is recommended for them to get at least an hour of exercise per day as healthy adults.

Training

If you have not given your Rottweiler much training then it will not know how you want it to behave and it will behave the way that it feels like behaving.

The reason for its disobedience, in this case, isn’t because it is purposely going against your orders but because it doesn’t know what you want it to do.

That is why it’s important for you to take the time to directly train your Rottweiler to do the things that you want it to on a regular basis.

Fear

It could be the case that it has been doing it because something has been causing it to be fearful.

If you have punished it in the past for misbehaving then it will likely think that the punishment was for the last thing that it did which might not be what you actually punished it for.

For example, it could be that you punished your Rottweiler for running away but the last thing that it did was to come back to you and that it what it will think the punishment was for.

Nature

It might be the case that it does it naturally. This would be more likely if it has always behaved that way.

Despite that, even if that is the case with your Rottweiler, there are still things that you can do to get it to be better behaved. You can follow the tips in the section below to see what you can do.

Location

If you are able to get your Rottweiler to listen to you in locations where there are not many distractions, it could be the case that it does not listen to you sometimes due to distractions.

To deal with this it will be necessary for you to go through the training process again in environments with more distractions so that it learns to listen to you when there are things going on around.

You’ll likely find that it will be much quicker the second time around.

You’ve been rewarding it

The reason why it has been doing it could be that you have been inadvertently rewarding the behavior, causing it to do it more. If your method of getting it to stop misbehaving is to give it things that it wants then it will likely do it more in order to get more rewards.

Instead, it would help to give it positive reinforcement training, to reward it when it behaves that way you want it to and to avoid rewarding it when it does not.

Ruptured eardrum

It could be that your Rottweiler is unable to hear you due to a ruptured eardrum. If you think that this might be the case then your best option would be to take it to the vet.

Command nagging

One reason why your Rottweiler might be being disobedient is that you are command nagging. This is where you repeat a command multiple times after it didn’t listen the first time. Instead of repeating a command, go back a step and train it to listen to that command again.

How to stop your Rottweiler’s disobedience

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

Give it training

One way to get it to stop being disobedient would be to give it positive reinforcement training. This is where you encourage the behaviors you want to see by rewarding it when it displays them or signs of displaying them.

It would be easiest to start out by training in an environment where there are fewer distractions so that it will focus on you more easily.

Watch the video below to see how:

Exercise

It could be the case that a lack of exercise has been contributing to its behavior. Generally, it is recommended for them to get at least an hour of exercise per day as healthy adults. If it has not been getting much exercise, it would help to make sure that it does.

Get help

If you cannot get it to stop being disobedient, one option would be to get help from a dog trainer or behaviorist. By doing so, you should be able to see why it is being disobedient and how to get it to stop.

Don’t expect it to be quick

When training your Rottweiler, it is important to have patience. It is not likely that you will be able to get it to behave exactly the way you want it to with just one training session. But, if you train it consistently over the course of weeks and months, you can get much better results.