Who can forget those immortal words uttered by the inimitable Peter Sellers in his role as Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther movies? Luckily for Peter Sellers, the dog lying curled up on the floor in the hotel lobby was not a Rottweiler.
If you are a Rottweiler owner, you need to be very sure that when somebody asks you if your Rott bites, you can say “No” very confidently. To get to this stage however, takes a lot of persistence, patience and unswerving commitment.
Always keep in mind these golden rules:
1- The right time to start is the very first time that your cute little tyke takes a playful nip at your ankles or at your fingers. Do not wait for the next time.
2- Deal with the biting every single time it happens, even if you know it was an accident.
How To Stop Your Rottweiler From Biting
Here are some suggestions that are very effective for getting your Rottweiler to snap out of the biting habit.
Every time you feel your pup’s teeth on your skin, no matter how lightly it may be, move his mouth off gently, look him straight in the eye and say firmly, “no biting”. If he continues nipping playfully, go through the routine again.
If he does not stop or if he actually does bite you, whether accidentally or not, repeat the routine and this time follow it by immediately turning around and ignoring him. Refuse to have anything to do with him; do not touch him, speak to him or even look at him. Just busy yourself with doing something that does not involve him at all- read a book, clean the dishes. If need be, leave the room.
Do this every time your Rottweiler puppy so much as nips you and he will soon get the message that biting is a complete no-no. Remember consistency is key to success.
Equally important; never, ever hit or punish your Rottweiler puppy. Aggressive behavior on your part will only evoke more aggression from your dog. Positive reinforcement will make for a more loving and stable dog who will happily give up biting in exchange for lots of hugs and praises and an occasional treat.
We did all of the following but he still continues and things are getting worse to the point we are ready to get rid of him. He is only 7 months old. What now?
It may sound a bit cruel to some, but I was raised old school. If you mess up, you get a whoopin. I am not by any means saying to do this to your dog, but you have to be very firm , clear, and demanding in your tone when you tell him to stop. Along with this give him a bit of a pop on the nose. He will eventually learn sooner or later.
I have a one year old Rottweiler who suddenly as I was petting him turned around and bit me hard on my wrist. How do you explain that? I love him dearly but am afraid it will happen again. Please help me.
Michele,
Next time he expresses aggressive behaviour firmly say “NO !”. You need to show him you are in charge. This does not mean you have to hit him but you must be very quick and firm to discourage the biting.
When my rott was younger, he tried biting me only one time. He never did it again. I am an old schooler as well. Dogs have a pack mentality and need to know you are in charge, especially rotts. A rolled up newspaper swatted on his nose is what I used, but it will not do the trick unless you are extremely firm about the fact that this is totally and completely unacceptable and that you are the boss. I actually lectured him too. He does not like my voice when I get upset with him. I never had to use the newspaper much at all and I don’t advocate using it unless you are truley not afraid of the dog.
At the time he went to bite me, he had a bone in his mouth and for me it was my hand or him when I took it from him after he went to bite me. There was no in between and he knew it. He is not a skiddish dog and not abused by any means, and to this day needs to be put in his place. I remind him sometimes with a stern voice. He doesn’t want to get physical with me again. He doesn’t want to go there. I wouldn’t let him move for about 20 to 30 minutes the time he really got in trouble.
I did start feeding him with my hand for sometime. To this day I can be around him eating and take food from his bowl and he won’t do anything. I did teach him “no bite, and be nice” So he will take meat out of my hand very gently even when he feels like just chomping the meat and my hand both just to get the meat. He is very careful not to hurt me. He is a huge German rott and pretty much the size of a bear. He would have been very aggressive had I not stopped this in the tracks I feel.
Just to clarify, when my rott was younger, he had a bone in his mouth in our living room, I came near, he growled and went to bite me. I knew it was now or never and I then disciplined him. He is a good good dog, but a more aggressive breed than I had known before. He loves to do things for me and with me though. Very very intelligent and I can teach him just about anything.
He has never bitten my daughters (they are almost grown now) but has growled at them when I wasn’t around and I tried spending more time with them and him to teach them how to handle him, but if it really comes down to it, they are afraid of him, which I feel bad about. No one should have to be afraid of their own dog or worry about their children around their dog. Our pitbull, on the other hand, is their baby and there is no fear there at all. She is a girlie girl dog and very much wants to please all of us. She has not taken much more than a stern voice in her discipline. My kids aren’t afraid of her at all. She can’t stand even the thought that she would be in trouble, but our rott is more stubborn.
Hello!
I need some advice! Im really worried about my rottie puppy. Actually Im scared of him 5 times now he has snapped at me, and been aggressive towards me. I dont hit my puppy but for punishment firmly tell him no and tell him off. If I can, i will tie him up for 5 minutes but most of the time im to afraid to go near him when hes been like that with me. Im really worried becuase i know they can smell fear, but if im scared of him how can I show him no fear. the times he has gone for me iv thought about my behavoir and what is it im doing? maybe iv scared him or perhaps he was protecting food but no. One minute hes lieing on his back enjoying having his belly rubbed and the next (whooa where did that come from) I dont want to be scared of my dog and i really dont know why he is like this with me? Anyone have any ideas or can offer advice on how to patch our relationship up?
I have had several rotts and your scenario is more common with males. The biggest thing with them is being calm and in charge at the same time. I would suggest that if he does that you should pin him to the ground by the neck and use your body over him. Dogs in a pack situation are either dominate or submissive. If he oversteps his boundaries then you have to put him the order by physical means. When you put him to the floor you don’t have to sit on him but keep him there till his ears go back and he stops resisting.
help i have a 9 week old rottweiler,i have had him since he was 5 week because apparantly the mother had died when giving birth.i was told he was 8 week but at the vet the next day they confirmed he was only 5. so he was hand reared.i have 4 children youngest 19 months and he is absoulutly brilliant with them,is practically house trained,and a lovely loving dog.only for the past three days when i have picked him up on three occasions for eating cat food etc he has been growling and very aggressive to me,biting and marking my arm.just me aswell,i just do not understand i spend everyday with him,he has never been alone as yet once,and never ever have a been mean to him,i spend quality time with him everyday.the only thing i can think of is ,i have a crate which he sleeps in on a night (door always open)or whilst i am cleaning floor or he is chewing something he shouldnt be i put him in and lock the door.10 mins maximum.i am on the verve of rehoming him as i am scared this is a sign he is going to be a vicious dog and i have a baby to think of my other children are older,i really do not want to do this and will try anything.
i have a 4 year old rottie and he wouldnt dream about biting me, because he knows what will happen if he dares to challenge me, some body will get hurt and it sure as hell wont be me. you need to show him who is boss and dont let him forget it. when he does minor things like taking your food or using the house as a toilet give him a firm slap on his nose, when i say firm, i mean let him know not to do it again, not like spanking a 2 year old on the back of the hand. it is great practice to dicipline him daily on his mistakes when they are pups
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on the biting subject, rotties crave attention, if my rottie ever bit me he would get a good kicking and he would be out in the yard for a few nights, and pay him no attention. dont let him starve out there. feed and water him, but dont pet him, play with him or even walk him. believe me, he will miss you more than you miss him, and he will understand why the lack of attention. rottweillers are very clever dogs, they catch on pretty quickly. my rottie is very loyal to me and i have never treated him in this way because he has always been well behaved, my first rottie was agressive towards me and others, and thats what made him stop, a good old fashioned kicking and no attention. i know it might be wrong by the law, but if he bites somebody else, they have the power to have your dog destroyed should you go to court and lose your case, and there wont be a thing you can do to stop it nomatter how much u love your dog.
REMEMBER ITS UP TO YOU TO CORRECT YOUR DOG, AND ITS TOO LATE CORRECTING THE DOG AFTER HE BITES SOMEBODY ELSE.
Hello all. I currently own a male Rottweiler of 9 weeks and a half. He tried to bite me some times, but this is not agression. This is more playing in his mind. The first week (got him at 8 weeks) I tried to get him to the ground and to hold him until he was calm. He submited every times, but that wasn’t stopping him from bite playing. This week I changed my way of punishing him. When he do something wrong, I say a firm NO. If he keep acting wrong I say NO a second time and I put him in a unused room in my house for 5 minutes. This punishment is, I believe, a lot more effective than hitting him on the nose or with a newspaper. Believe me, he is so calm, kind and happy when he get out. He’s like if he had not see me for the last week. In 2 days, he really understood that NO means NO.
I also found that he was acting this way a lot more when he need to sleep. A puppy is like a child in so many ways. When he is tired, he try to keep playing and, like a baby, his behavior change a little. So when he is sleepy I try not to touch him too much and, after some minutes of playing, he fall asleep.
I have never hit him and I will never do so. He don’t need it.
my my rottie is 9 months old and has a problem with playful nipping…my ankles and fingers. i can deal with this as i ignore him and he stops but he nips my 9 year old son when we are out and this is a problem. it leaves marks or recently he left a bite mark on his chest and obviously my son was upset and scared. we love our dog and we know he is not being aggresive but if he does this to any other person we are in trouble. please help.
hello, we currently have an 8 month old male rotti who came from a great set of well natured parents. We also have a 4 pound chihuahua. My parent live next door to my husband, myself and our 3 daughter (3,8,11) and he loves all there 5 dogs and is very gentle with our little one. The problem I have been having has just recently begun about 5 weeks ago. I babysit in my home and my girls have lots of friends coming and going so I didnt see the need to socialize too much outside the home (thought he was getting enough here) We recently had him fixed and one of his testicles didnt drop so he had pretty major surgery. The Vet Techs and Vet whom since we got him as a puppy have always raved about what a great temperment he has and that he will be a great family dog told me he was pretty scary while he was there. They didnt give him a chance to “try” to bite them, the muzzled him but said he just had this “look”. He came home with that wonderful cone aound his neck and after being home for about 2 hours he had lashed out aggressivley towards 2 of my daughters simply for petting him. No one was actually bitten, thank God. My husband of course grabbed him, made him sit, yelled at him and slapped his nose, he also pushed his head down to the floor and help it there for a moment. We called a dog behaviorist who told me this was commmon after sugery that he knows he is not himself and the cone around his necks makes him feel defensless. She advised us to keep him quite in his crate for a few days. We have done so, today is day 6 since surgery the cone is off. Tonight at bedtime my 2 girls were saying good night to him (petting his head) and he growled at them
He has also growled and shown aggressivness to people who have been to my home whom he has aleady met. I have no idea what is going on. I should add that I LOVE this dog and I am his women too. I am devastated to say the least I feel like I can’t trust him. We have the behaviorist coming this weekend to give us a in home session. I am praying this works. Any comments or feedback would be great. I am glad I found this website.
One of our rotties, now 7 years old, used to bite as a pup. To solve this our breeder told us to hold his mussel shut until he would only squeal and say “no bite”. After a few days he understood. Still to this day if he ever chews on anything bad or has a ball we can say “no bite” and he releases it.