Expert: Lee Charles Kelley - 10/10/2008

Question
QUESTION: hello i have a male rottweiler how is about 21 months i have had him about 6 months when i got him he was never walked was way over weight and never bother with much by people. he has took well to me but i was wondering bout training, cause when i show im cross at him and he sometimes gives me that look makes u think wud he bite , he has been hit before. i would like to have him as a good guard dog, cause of the work i do, could u give me some help in training him, or whats the best thing to do way him. thanks

ANSWER: Hi, Mark,

Thanks for the question.

It's not a good idea to scold or punish a dog with fear issues. This is especially true if your dog has been hit before.

Dogs are essentially one of the most social and most loving animals on the planet. Yes, they sometimes do things that break our "rules" of how they should behave, but on the inside all they really want to do is love their owners and be loved by them. So it would be a very good idea to stop trying to change his behavior by being cross with him. It sounds to me like he thinks you're threatening him, which isn't helpful. If you need to stop him from doing something he shouldn't try redirecting him into something positive instead of just putting a lid on his energy and emotions. For instance, if he's chewing something he shouldn't you have to first recognize that he's doing it because he's stressed: dogs relieve stress through chewing. Saying "No!" doesn't help him reduce his stress, but showing him a bone, a bully stick, or chew toy DOES. So anytime he does something wrong, try to understand WHY he's doing it, and give him a substitute activity. (It's like when kids get bored and start to act out and their parents give them a game to play or a fun job to do.)

Rottweilers make good guard dogs, but I can't go into all the details about training in the limited amount of space here. The main things you need to do are: don't scold him or punish him, play with him as much as possible, take him on long walks as often as possible, and hand feed him all his meals outdoors.

If you have any further questions, let me know.

LCK
http://www.LeeCharlesKelley.com
“Changing the World, One Dog at a Time”

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: could u give me on some points on training him to guard thanks

Answer
Hi, Mark,

As I said before, I can't go into all the details about training him to be a guard dog here. Don't scold him or punish him, play tug-of-war with him outdoors as much as possible, take him on long walks, and hand feed him all his meals outdoors.

If you hear a noise outside the house, you can act a bit startled and say, "What was that?" to him, in a soft yet urgent whisper. Then praise him if he reacts to the sound AND to your prompting. If not, repeat "What was that?" You may have to try again later with another noise. But if you keep repeating this (and you've played with him a lot, fed him outdoors every day, and taken him on long walks), he'll eventually respond with some show of tension: his hackles will go up, he'll turn his head toward the noise, or he'll start growling or barking.

That's the only advice I can give you in this limited space, sorry.

LCK
http://www.LeeCharlesKelley.com
“Changing the World, One Dog at a Time”