Training Tips

• Do not hit the puppy, especially about the head and face! This will make him hand shy and head shy and will cause you huge problems at the vet, training class and dog shows.An excellent book on raising and socialising your puppy properly is Ian Dunbar's "After you get your puppy" available through Dogwise.com


• Right from the begining teach your puppy to allow all parts of his body to be examined and handled. ESPECIALLY teeth, mouth, feet and testicles (obviously not an issue with neutered males) by both you and strangers. Rottweilers are notorious for not allowing these examinations to be performed if not trained to do so as a pup.


• Teach your puppy to allow people to take food, toys etc away without aggression. Start with toys the puppy is the least posessive of and practice giving and taking using the command "leave it" or "drop it" (be sure to end with you giving the pup the toy or a yummy treat!) Gradually work up to items the puppy is more possessive of. Also work with new people and the pup with this game. ALWAYS start new people with the the least possessive item and work up to the more possessive. Toys that bring out possessiveness should not be given or should be allowed only in the crate. Your puppy should not be encouraged to growl at innocent, non threatening people or dogs. Your puppy should be positively rewarded for greeting people nicely with a happy outlook and all 4 feet on the ground.If you allow inappropriate aggression in a puppy, you will have huge problems when he's an adult! A GREAT book to read on dog problems is: "Dogs Are From Neptune" by Jean Donaldson.


• Train your dog in obedience so that he will be a well mannered canine citizen when in public and so that you may easily handle him. A well trained Rottweiler is excellent P.R. for the breed. Discourage barking and lunging when in the car also. Try to practice obedience once or twice a day for 5-15 minutes each time. BE SURE to make training fun! Try to teach retrieving/fetch as this is a great exercise game. Tug of War should only be played IF 2 rules are followed. #1 if teeth touch ANY human skin the toy is put up and the game ends. #2 the game begins and ends when the HUMAN, NOT the dog says so. The Clicker method is the only method we are using for our dogs.


• Remember that it is easier to instill good habits than to break bad ones!


• Establish rules right from day #1. Be consistant and many problems can be avoided. Two examples in particular are 1- no jumping on people ever. 2-no biting or nipping. Teach bite inhibition right away as a young puppy. To do this start out by hollering "Oww!" each time the puppy bites too hard. After a week holler "Oww!" anytime any pressure is applied with his teeth. After another week or two holler"Oww!" if the teeth even touch human skin. IF at anytime after the first week you have to say "Oww!" twice and are having no effect, walk away and totally ignore the puppy for a couple minutes. You will begin to see the puppy actually take their mouth off you when you say "Oww!" once they have learned this well. I start all of our babies bite inhibition training at 5 or 6 weeks of age and by the time they go to new homes they have a firm grasp of the concept.