How to Stop Rottweiler Puppies From Biting? A Complete Training Guide

The Rottweiler is a furry, energetic, and roly-poly friend with whom everyone loves to play. No matter how cute a Rottweiler is, the dog loves to have their teeth on your hand once in a while. You know that you want your dog not to cause you any harm or want anyone to be scared of your dog.

When Rottweilers are small, their bite may not have enough force, but when the same Rottweiler grows in size, the bite force also increases. Therefore, training your dog not to bite at a young age is an investment so that your dog may not repeat the same thing when it’s an adult.

When you train your Rottweiler, whether an adult or a puppy; the most important thing you need is PATIENCE! Besides this, positive reinforcement is also important. Your dog may remember the commands that you teach it, but it is not sure that the dog will remember the same commands tomorrow or at the time when you take the dog outside in the park or yard.

This article is a complete guide that helps you know how to train your Rottweiler not to bite you or anyone.

How to Stop A Rottweiler Puppy From Biting?

Training your Rottweiler has always been considered a tough task, but it can be easy if you start training your dog at a young age. Training your Rottweiler is not an overnight task, it requires a lot of patience and consistency. Look at some tips that we come with to help you train your Rottweiler puppy to stop biting.

1. Get Started When Your Pup is Young

The best way to train your Rottweiler dog to stop biting is to be consistent with the training you are going to provide your dog. It is extremely important to start training your Rottweiler at a very young age, nearly 6 weeks. The most successful rate is when you start training your Rottweiler at six weeks to 6 months of age.

If you have a Rottweiler over six months old, it may take some time for the dog to get trained, but don’t let this thing dishearten you.

Rottweilers belong to the intelligent and loyal category of dogs. They love and prefer to do things that keep their owners happy. So having you train them will make them happy, and it will make it easier for your dog to learn things quickly.

Patience is the key when training your Rottweiler, as it takes some time for the older dogs to learn not to bite.

2. Apply Dominance-based Training

Dominance has its importance in training your dog. In dominance-based training, we decide some rules and train the dog accordingly to abide by the rules and learn how to behave.

Some people take the meaning of dominance in different contexts, which is absurd. If you think you can train the dog for good by beating, abusing, or hitting the dog, it is wrong. In dominance training, we need to be compassionate and understanding towards the dog. There are several ways to train your dog without turning rude and rough towards your pup. And this is what dominance training is all about, not abusing the dog.

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3. Socialize Your Rottweiler

Making your dog comfortable around people is equally important. You can easily socialize your Rottweiler by taking the dog out to parks, walking to a friend’s house, inviting your friends to your home, etc. It is important to socialize your dog if you want it to live a happy and comfortable life.

For the well-being of a Rottweiler, it is important that you socialize your dog. Some people consider it to be even more important than training the dog. When you take your dog out for socialization, make sure the dog has a good experience.

Your dog’s experience in socialized places will define the dog’s behavior in the future.

The dog’s attention span is very small, and so is its memory. Therefore, using simple distractions can help you establish good behavior in your dog.

4. Communicate Through Positive Reinforcement

In positive reinforcement, you reward your dog when it performs a certain task or behaves in a certain way that you want it to behave. Giving rewards to your dog is the best way to communicate with your dog and make the dog obey you. In addition, when you reward the dog, it will certainly repeat the behavior that brought it some rewards.

You certainly can’t communicate with your dog through any language, but with rewards, you can, as the dog knows what behavior of it gets appreciation.

Giving treats to your dog can be the best method to train your Rottweiler. When you train your dog, could you take it as a game?  Definitely yes, and it’s your key to do so. Give the dog rewards if your Rottweiler behaves in a certain way that you want the dog to behave.

When you give rewards during training to your Rottweiler, make sure the edible treats are not much, as the dog’s training process may take a lot of time, and it may lead your dog to gain some extra weight.

5. Don’t Yell or Hit Your Dog

If your Rottweiler is not behaving in a certain way that you want it to, it won’t do any good to beat or hit it. Hitting or beating the dog will have the opposite effect, and it may completely stop learning anything.

If your dog isn’t listening to you and you are frustrated, beating or hitting the dog is of no use. Be patient and try again after some time to train your dog again.

6. Encourage Your Dog, But be Careful With Your Reactions

If you want to train your dog ideally, you need to be careful about timing in this process. Say, if you command your dog to sit, and he sits, but you reward the dog when walking away. Here, the dog will think that it gets rewarded for walking away and will do the same next time you order the dog to sit.

It would be best to be careful about when you train your dog. One wrong action of yours can cause trouble for both you and your dog. For example, hitting your dog is never a good idea no matter what others say. Instead, you need to be patient and change your way of training your Rottweiler if necessary.

7. Start With Simple Commands First

Learning commands is a part of Rottweiler’s training. Your Rottweiler must learn commands to complete its training. Make use of a positive reinforcement method when you are teaching your dog how to behave. For example, giving treats will always encourage your dog. Here are some commands that you should make a part of your dog’s training so that the dog learns them.

1. Sit

One of the very first and most important commands you should teach your dog is to sit. These commands make your and your dog’s lives a lot easier. For example, while feeding or grooming your dog, you will require your dog to sit, and by this command of sit. You can do so and thus feed the dog properly without creating any mess.

To teach your dog commands like sit, make sure your dog has a complete focus on you. Before using your voice, use your hands, as dogs tend to pay more attention to your gestures. Using your voice is also important, but hand gestures or signals will help you more. Then, you can use a word or two in your commands to make your dog sit.

2. No

It’s a really important command, as your dog should know what things it should do and what behavior it’s not appreciative of and needs a change. You can also use words like “stop” or “bad.” The only thing that needs to be extra careful about is when to use the commands.

Use such commands only when you catch your dog performing a bad action.

If you command your dog to stop, and it does, return to your normal routine; otherwise, teach your dog not to do so or remove it from the environment. For this No command, your voice should be strict and have a disciplinary tone.

3. Paw

A simple command, but one that will help you a lot if you train your dog to paw. The dog needs to sit first, so learning the sit command before learning the paw is necessary.

4. Down

Once your dog learns how to sit, the dog needs to learn the down command. It can be tricky, but use your hands for rescue. Take your hand and point toward the downward direction along with saying down. The down command and the hand gestures will make your dog lie down. Again, it is important to learn this before anything else.

5. Stay

The “stay” command requires a lot of patience and is the trickiest command for your dog to learn. However, the stay command is important for your dog to learn as much as it is. Making your dog learn to stay immediately after sitting will take some time, but if you have reached far enough that your dog knows the down command well, then making your dog learn to stay will be easier.

6. Come

Your dog will learn this command after the dog learns to stay. This can be a fun command for your dog as it loves to come to the owner and enjoy the owner’s company.

Methods to Train Your Rottweiler Not To Bite

Numerous methods are available to train your Rottweiler to do many things, especially not to bite. Either you can use treats, or you can make use of a squirt bottle with a shake or water. Read below to learn more about the other methods for training your dog.

The bite or the no play method

You need to follow certain steps when using this method.

1. Play with your puppy

Start a game with your Rottweiler puppy, and when you are playing, let the puppy bite your finger in order to check force. Measure the amount of pressure that your dog’s bite uses while biting and wait for the time when they bite with maximum force.

2. Imitate a puppy yelp

During play, when the puppies’ playmates bite hard, they yell. When your dog or pup bites you, you have to do the same thing. You have to imitate a puppy’s yelp and, at the same time, limp your hand.

3. Let your dog be gentle

After some time, go back to playing with your dog. This time allows the pup to bite you gently, you need to especially pay extra attention to the dog’s bite pressure. If the pup applies a large amount of pressure again, yelp and keep your hand limp.

4. Walk away

If your dog repeats the same action, walk away for some time and let your dog rest. Then, stop this game for a short time and repeat it shortly.

5. Reward good behavior with treats

Repeat the steps of the game several times. Reward the dog if the Rottweiler doesn’t bite hard for approximately 5 minutes. But if, after 10 or 20 minutes, the dog bites hard, make sure you stop the game. After some time, repeat it till your dog learns. Make sure other people in your house follow the same rule with your dog, and in no time, your dog will learn not to bite hard.

Also Read: Maltese Dog Training Tips

Spray Method

1. You need a spray bottle

It will be best if you have a spray bottle while training your dog. Keep a spray bottle filled with water whenever you play with your puppy to train the dog. Firstly, try the no-play method to see if you can train your Rottweiler dog not to bite without using a spray bottle in the process.

2. Engage yourself in play with your puppy

When alone with your Rottweiler puppy, allow the pup to bite into your hand. When the force of the bite becomes unbearable or great, ask your puppy not to bite or stop. And then you can stop this game by letting your hand go limp.

3. Give the puppy a sprint

Use the freehand that your dog isn’t biting to pick up the spray bottle and sprint it on your puppy. It may come as a shock to the puppy, as it doesn’t like to get wet much. However, this is a method of physical correction that should come after the dog bites. The puppy will soon associate biting with spraying.

4. Starting back with the game

After some time, go back to playing with your puppy. Repeat the process only for you to stop it when your dog bites you again. Now the problem arises if you will not sprint or stop your dog. Make sure to repeat the process of sprinting or stopping your dog, if you do not do so, it may cause trouble for your dog while learning.

5. Transition away from the bottle

Stop using the sprint bottle if your dog starts learning. Instead, give your dog commands like “no,” “stop,” or “don’t do it.” At this time, when the dog starts learning or following your commands, using a sprint can be harmful as the suggested thing is to guide the dog, but remove the bottle.

But if the dog starts putting pressure again, bring back the spray bottle to teach your dog.

Scruff shake technique

The scruff shake method is a physical correction method.

1. Use less aggressive methods at first

You should use this method only when the dog is not ready to learn from any other method except this. But for some, this method may backfire, so if you use this method to teach your dog, make sure to look for any changes in your dog’s behavior. If you notice any bad change in the dog’s behavior, immediately stop using this method.

2. Play a game with your Rottweiler puppy

Just like other methods, in this method, too, you have to start playing with your dog and give him your finger to bite on. Again, keep a check on the force with which the dog bites. YELP if you think the force is great at any point.

3. Verbally correct the dog

If the puppy bites your hand with great force, you have to stop your dog verbally. Say “stop or no bite” to stop your dog.

4. Make physical corrections only if necessary

After you verbally correct the dog, gently grab the loose skin on your dog’s back only if the situation continues, shake the dog a little.

Remember not to apply much force as this method is not to hurt your dog. You are not meant to hurt or cause any pain to your dog, but this method is meant to mimic the action of a mother dog who is fed up with the pup biting again and again.

5. Phase-out physical correction

You should not use this method more often because this method is for a short time only. Stop using the method as soon as your dog learns not to bite.

If you are using this method, don’t get used to it. Instead, you can surely reward your dog when he does something good or obeys your order. Rewarding your dog will always encourage it to do the same again, and your dog will learn to obey you soon.

6. Patience is the key

Always remember that patience is the key while training the dog. In training your Rottweiler, the hardest and most important step is patience. You need to be extremely patient with your Rottweiler during training, as it may be tough. Dogs are the best companions of humans, who tend to keep humans happy.

If you are calm, so will be your dog. Make sure you are patient whenever you teach a new habit or any new thing to your dog. You don’t need to yell at your dog or be angry with it for making things complicated. Instead of using force, play with your dog to teach it how not to bite. Teaching and training your dog not to bite is not an overnight task. You need to be extra careful and patient if you want things to work your way and in your favor.

Training your dog need not be boring. You can make it fun by adding your fun elements. Training your Rottweiler takes time, but if you make it a fun task, it will be great for both you and your Rottweiler. Spending some fun time with your dog and training together will strengthen your bond with your small puppy. To train your dog, patience is what matters the most.

Conclusion

Training your Rottweiler dog not to bite is indeed a tough task and will take time, but you need to be patient while training your dog. Ensure that you don’t hit, beat, or abuse your dog, as it’s not the way to train.

Try to play games with your dog to teach it not to bite hard or how to behave in a certain way. Also, giving treats at the end of training or when the dog behaves in a certain way that you want is always good. Getting treats and love from owners always encourages the dog to do good. Teaching the Rottweiler not to bite can be challenging, but you need to be careful and consistent with your friend’s training, and you’ll accomplish the goal sooner.