Will my Rottweiler calm down?

If you have recently got a Rottweiler and it is hyperactive you’re probably wondering if it will calm down. In this post, I will show you common reasons why they can be energetic all the time, when you can expect it to calm down and what you can do to get it calm down.

So, will my Rottweiler calm down? Rottweilers will generally calm down a bit as they get older. The amount that it will calm down might not necessarily be as much as you would like. To calm it down more you will need to make sure to give it lots of exercise and training so that it is properly stimulated. 

Your Rottweiler might be acting that way for a number of reasons and it could be due to a combination of them. However, there are a number of things you can do about it, depending on the most likely reason.

Ways to calm your Rottweiler down

Below are some ways you can get your Rottweiler to calm down.

Give it exercise

Rottweilers are a breed that is meant to get a lot of exercise daily. When they do not get enough exercise, they will normally become a lot more hyperactive.

Generally, it is recommended for them to get at least an hour of exercise per day as healthy adults. If yours is not getting that much it would help to make sure that it does. If it is already getting exercise you could also try getting it to wear itself out more by getting it to do things such as play fetch.

If it is a puppy, it is generally recommended to limit the amount of daily exercise that it gets. This is because its joints are still developing. Generally, it is recommended for them to get 5 minutes of exercise each day for every month of age (source).

Training

It would also help to give your Rottweiler training. If you do not give it much training, it will behave the way it feels like behaving. This is unlikely to be the way that you would like it to behave.

By giving it training you will be able to teach your Rottweiler to be more responsive to your command and you will be able to get it to be better behaved when you want it to be. But, you’ll also be able to expend a lot of its energy in the process of training it itself.

If you haven’t started training your Rottweiler yet one of the first things that you’ll want to do is to train it to stay when you tell it to. 

By being able to get your Rottweiler to stay when you tell it to you will be able to avoid problems in situations such as when you’re at the vet’s or when you have guests over.

Once you have taught it to stay the next thing that you’ll want to do is to teach it to stay when you open the front door which you can see how to do in the video below.

It would also help to start by training it to do basic things in an environment without many distractions and then to build up to more challenging tasks.

Ignore it when it gets hyper

It would also help to avoid inadvertently encouraging the behavior by making sure not to reward it when it is not calm. If you tend to give it things it wants when it is energetic, it might be causing it to do it more in order to get more rewards.

Instead, it would help to reward it when it is being well behaved, to give it lots of training, to avoid giving it rewards when it misbehaves unless necessary and to wait for it to calm down before rewarding it.

Try a calming chew

In addition to the above, you could also consider giving your Rottweiler a calming chew or toy. By doing this you will be able to channel its attention into the toy and away from everything else.

Reasons it might not be calm

Below are some common causes of Rottweilers not being calm and what would make them more likely to be the reason why yours is not calm.

Boredom

As mentioned above, Rottweilers are meant to get daily exercise. If your Rottweiler is not getting much exericse and it is a healthy adult it would help to make sure that it does start to get more exercise.

Separation anxiety

The cause could also be that it has some separation anxiety. This would be more likely if it becomes less calm when you are about to leave home.

If it does seem to have separation anxiety, you can watch the video below for some tips on what to do about it.

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 tends to do it when you have been ignoring it and if you tend to give it more attention when it is hyper.

Instead, it would help to give it attention throughout the day by training it, playing with it and exercising it. But, it would help to avoid rewarding it with attention when it is not calm unless necessary.

Injury

Another possible cause might be that it has gotten an injury. This would be more likely if it has started behaving that way suddenly and if it has been showing other signs of being injured such as limping. In this case, the best option would be to take it to a vet.

A problem with its diet

It might also be the case that there is an issue with its diet. This would be more likely if it has stopped being calm since a change in its diet and if it becomes less calm when you feed it certain foods.

It would help to consult with your vet on its diet and to make sure that no one else has been feeding it without telling you.

Things to consider

Below are some things to consider about your Rottweiler not being calm.

How old it is

It is important to take the age of your Rottweiler into account. If your Rottweiler is still young then it should calm down a bit as it gets older. Despite that, you should still make sure to give it lots of exercise and training so that you can make sure that it calms down and that it is well behaved when it’s older.

Crate training

If your Rottweiler’s behavior is causing problems then in addition to giving it lots of exercise and training you could consider crate training. When done correctly it gives your Rottweiler a secure place that it can go to and be calm.

Professional help

If you cannot get it to calm down, it would help to consult with a vet or dog behaviorist. By doing so, you should be able to get expert advice tailored to your particular Rottweiler and to see why it has been behaving that way.

Punishment

It might be tempting to punish your Rottweiler for not being calm but it doesn’t normally work. If you punish it, your Rottweiler will think that it is being punished for the last thing that it did which was coming to you and not the thing that you are actually punishing it for. It can cause other problems as well such as distrust, being less responsive to your command and aggression.

Instead, it would help to train it to behave the way you want it to by giving it positive reinforcement training and to avoid rewarding unwanted behaviors.

When it started

If your Rottweiler used to be calm, it would help to consider what else happened when it was less calm.

If it did start doing it suddenly it would be more likely to be due to things such as a sudden change in its diet, getting less exercise, getting injured or a sudden change in its daily routine.

When it is not calm

It would also help to consider if there is a certain time that it tends to be less calm since the timing could also have something to do with it.

For example, if it is not calm when you feed it a certain food, it would be more likely to be because of what you’re feeding it. Whereas, if it does it more at around the same time that you normally leave home, it would be more likely to be due to separation anxiety.