Why do Rottweilers become Aggressive?

Why do Rottweilers become Aggressive: Rottweilers may adopt behavioural problems like sudden aggression to dogs and stranger till age of two.

Rottweiler is considered to be a dominant dog breed still no dog breed is aggressive by birth. Usually, their behaviour is not so friendly towards strangers and other dogs. There are many things that make them violent but if we raise them properly they could be calm and friendly. Here we will discuss the reasons why do rottweilers become aggressive.

Territorial behaviour

‘There can only be one king in the jungle’ this phrase is enough to understand the territorial behaviour of Rottweilers. Such Rotties could be identified by their aggression towards strangers and other dogs who tries to enter their territory. They are usually dominating and show pack mentality with other coexisting pets too.

The main cause of such behaviour is the lack of proper socialization. Usually, dog breeds like Rottweilers should be socialized from an early age, because once they have adopted aggression towards strangers then it gets really difficult to repel.

Annoyed

There are some things that most of the owners do knowingly or unknowingly which causes the dog to get annoyed and frustrated. The most common activities which cause frustration in Rottweilers are caging, tying them on the leash and leaving them alone at home for many hours. To avoid this you should prevent putting your dog in situations that your dog doesn’t want to be in. Also, make sure you exercise your dog regularly and take him outside at least once a day.

Defensive behaviour

Increased defensive and guarding behaviour could also lead to aggression in Rottweilers. Such dogs always see strangers as a threat and are usually overprotective. Some of them are also afraid of outsiders and other dogs, but this is quite rare in the case of Rottweilers. They usually get more aggressive to save themselves instead of getting scared. To avoid this you should socialize your dog properly and should take him outside for playing or workout.

Possessive

Possession also leads to aggression in Rottweilers. Such Rotties don’t like to share their things with others. You could see them being aggressive to other pets if they try to take their things i.e. food, toys, bed and bowl. You should avoid disturbing them when they eat because food aggression is common in such dogs. Such dogs also get jealous of other pets too if the owner pets them.

You should train your dog to avoid possession from puppyhood only because the dogs adopt possession aggression it gets really difficult to leave. You should train your dog to share things and giving up toys.

Encouraging aggression

In day to day life, we do many wrong things which encourages aggression in Rottweilers. It is very important for us to stop those activities which we do knowingly are or unknowingly that makes our dog violent. Some of the things which cause aggression in Rottweilers are physical punishment, leaving your dog alone for a long time, caging, tying your dog on a leash, playing aggressively, praising your dog while being aggressive, attack training your dog wrongly and punishing your dog for no reason.

Other things

We have mentioned almost all the things that we can avoid to control the aggression in Rotties. However, there are several other things that cause dogs to become aggressive suddenly-

Diseases and health issues: hypothyroidism, Dysplasia, stress and arthritis.
Injuries and Pain
Some vaccinations
Sexual maturation

How to make my Rottweiler less aggressive

It is obvious that preventing aggression is easier than reducing it, so it would be much better if you work on the behaviour of your Rottweiler as earlier as possible.

You should note that if your Rottweiler is overly aggressive, then it would be better to take him to a good dog trainer because an overaggressive dog could be dangerous to both family members and outsiders.

First of all know the type of aggression whether your dog has food aggression, possessive aggression, aggression towards other dogs or strangers. Then you should work on removing the anger or anxiety towards the particular thing.

Aggression towards strangers

For example, if your dog is aggressive towards strangers then you should start introducing your dog to a stranger by distance. By doing this try to make your dog comfortable and show them that they are not dangerous. Also, make sure your dog can’t bite or scratch him and you must use a muzzle in the beginning.

There are some activities that you must introduce into the lifestyle of your dog. Like exercising your dog daily, playing with your dog, taking your dog to new routes for a walk and take your dog outside to a less crowded area and releasing him from leash so that he can move freely. Make sure you don’t leave your dog alone for long hours and don’t cage or tie them in the leash for much time. If your dog has some bad past experience due to which he becomes anxious or afraid then try not to drag those things.

Food Aggression

And if your dog has food aggression then you should start standing inside of your dog while feeding him. By doing this your dog would be aware of your presence. Also, avoid putting all the food at once instead of this start giving him small portions of the food. You should also try hand feeding. When you observe some positive approach then start touching the bowl for no reason. Make sure you don’t get yourself bitten.

Prevention

It would be best if you work on preventing prevent aggression in your Rottweiler. The most important task of avoiding aggression in your dog is proper socialization from an early age. Then comes other factors which affect the personality of your dog negatively like daily exercising, not provoking or encouraging aggression, playing, long walks, don’t cage the dog and keeping your dog off-leash.

Take your dog for regular health checkups to the Vet because there are many diseases and health issues like injuries or other hormone-related problems that cause your Rottweiler to get aggressive suddenly, for example- Hypothyroidism, Ligament rupture and mange etc.

Any dog breed could become really aggressive or dangerous if they are not trained properly, the personality of the dog depends upon how the trainer raised him.

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