Rottweilers are intellegent and energetic dogs. They need mental stimulation along with physical exercise for their well-being.
Teaching them tricks will not only give them mental stimulation but also make them more obedient. So let’s look at seven easy tricks to teach your rottweiler puppy.
1. Sit
Sit is the most basic and necessary command to teach your rott. Trust me, it will even make your life much easier.
Once you teach your dog the ‘sit‘ command, grooming and feeding will become a whole lot easier. It will also make them more obedient and attentive to you.
- Stand in front of your Rottweiler with some of his favorite treats.
- Hold a treat close to his nose.
- Now slowly move your hand up your dog’s nose. This will make your Rottie follow the treat.
- Give him the treat when he puts his bottom on the floor while following the treat.
- After a couple of tries, start saying SIT while raising his treat.
- Gradually, after repeating this for a couple of days, try saying SIT without raising the treat.
Rottweilers are intelligent dogs. After a few repetitions, your dog will start to understand the pattern of the activity.
However, do not repeat the exercise for more than 10 minutes since the purpose is to keep it fun for your dog!
2. Shake Hands
Second, on the list is SHAKE HANDS. Before trying this, make sure your Rottie knows how to sit.
- Make your Rottweiler sit.
- Show him the treat.
- Say the command queue like ‘SHAKE HAND’ or my personal favorite ‘PAW.’
- Gently grab his paw and make a hand-shaking gesture.
- Give him the treat.
- After repeating this for few times, instead of grabbing his paw, wait for him to give it to you.
- Yes, it’s that simple.
While these tricks are easy to teach, it is essential to be patient with your dog. If you get frustrated, your dog will notice and withdraw from the activity.
3. Lay Down
One of the easiest tricks to teach your Rottweiler is to lie down on the floor.
- It is called the luring technique where, as the name suggests, you lure your dog into lying down.
- Hold a treat close to its nose. Keep bringing your hand towards the floor.
- When it lies down on the floor, give it the treat.
- Add instructions to it like ‘down’ or ‘lie down.
- Let him connect the dots in a few trials, and voila!
After the ‘sit’ command, this trick will happen smoothly. Also, this will pave the way for one of the most fun tricks to teach your Rottweiler: ROLL.
4. Rollover
This one can be a bit tricky but so much fun when your dog learns it. This is a trick you can flaunt in front of guests.
Now that you have understood how to get your dog to lie down, rolling over is the next. So let’s see how to do this one.
- Get your Rottweiler to lie on its back.
- Put a treat in your hand and move it slowly behind your dog’s neck.
- The goal is to get your very intelligent Rottweiler to turn its head backward without going in the standing position.
- Then, as it reaches for the treat, gently roll it over with its head back. As soon as your dog rolls over, give him the treat.
- Try this for 10 minutes or until you think that your dog won’t over-exert.
- Slowly, he will understand the process of rolling over with or without the treat. Then, start saying the command, along with the process.
- In the next few attempts, your Rottweiler should understand that the command and the action of rolling over are directly linked.
- Always praise it enthusiastically when it gets the process right.
Your rottweiler may take a little longer to learn this one, but it will be all worth it in the end.
5. Stay
The STAY command is super essential to teach your Rottie. You can tell your Rottweiler to stay in one place if it is about to eat something it is not supposed to and even during grooming sessions. However, this can be a bit tricky and energy-consuming.
- The basis for this trick is first to teach your dog how to sit.
- Then, take one hand and put it in front of its face and, in a calm, happy tone, say ‘stay.’
- Move 1-2 steps backward, still holding out your hand, and repeat ‘stay.’
- Reward your calm and confident Rottweiler when it listens to you.
- Gradually increase the distance.
- Use a happy tone while teaching it and save the firm tone for later when the command is actually needed.
Ninja Tip: Your tone can make or break the mood.
6. Come
Rottweilers love the company of familiar people. Hence, this command is fairly easy and should be taught only when it has learned to ‘stay.’
- You need an incentive to encourage your dog to come to you, like a really tasty treat.
- Show him the treat and get two steps backward.
- Now, call your Rottweiler’s name and say ‘come’ in a happy and friendly tone. While you do this, lower the treat. This will motivate him to come running to you.
- When your dog comes to you, give him the treat.
- When your good boy gets the hang of the command, increasing the distance between you two, and eventually, call it from another room.
- Be sure to praise it whenever it obeys you correctly.
7. Leave It
This trick can come in handy in so many situations. For example, it will help you stop your dog from eating all the bad things when you are out on a walk.
It is highly advised to teach this trick as early as possible in the rott’s puppyhood.
- For this command, take two treats. A low-value treat which your rottweiler doesn’t like that much. And second, a high-value treat that he loves.
- Take a low-valued treat in one hand and close the fist.
- Let your Rottie sniff your closed fist. He may even try to lick it.
- Say the command ‘Leave it.’
- Wait for him to ignore your hand.
- As soon as he is not interested in the fist, and looks away, give him the high valued treat from your other hand.
- Now try this with an open hand and with a high valued treat.
- If he tries to eat it, quickly close your fist.
- Once he learns that, the next step would be keeping a high-value treat on the ground. If he tries to it, cover the treat with your food. And when he looks up at you, give him another treat.
Final Thoughts
These were some of the easy tricks to teach your Rottweiler. You can, of course, go beyond this and teach your dog complex tricks too. But make sure to have a lot of patience and, yes, treats!
