When it comes to the safety of your family and home, it always helps to take extra measures. If you’re curious about what dog breeds are protective you may find yourself asking “are Rottweilers good guard dogs?“
One of the top breeds to choose for a good guard dog is the Rottweiler. This is because Rottweilers have a natural instinct to protect the people and animals they love. It’s important that owners train and socialize their Rotties so they don’t get overly protective when new people come around.
Are you wondering how good of guard dogs Rottweilers can be? You’re on the right page. Today, we’re going to discuss why Rottweilers are good guard dogs and what their owners need to be prepared for. Keep reading to learn more.
Are Rottweilers Good Guard Dogs?
Rottweilers are very good guard dogs. They are naturally protective over their territory, which includes the people and pets that reside there. If you bring home a Rottweiler to your family, once it forms a bond with everyone in your home, it will want to keep you safe.
A Rottweiler’s bark can be very intimidating. Behind that bark is also a very strong and powerful dog. If you aren’t familiar with a Rottweiler, there’s a good chance that you feel intimidated by the dog’s structure alone. After all, you wouldn’t want to see what this dog is capable of doing if you crossed a line.
While Rottweilers are good guard dogs, owners also need to be on top of training and socializing them. This is because Rottweilers are known to be extra protective of their owners. If they aren’t trained to see new people and know that the situation is okay, they may act possessive over their owner.
This can cause them to start growling and showing teeth to your visitors. While you may want a dog that will keep you safe from intruders, having the dog show this behavior to your friends and visitors isn’t okay.
Why Rottweilers Are Good Guard Dogs
Rottweilers have many personality traits that make them one of the best breeds for being a guard dogs. Two traits that most Rotties display are confidence and bravery. These are very important traits of a guard dog. Many people have noticed that their Rottweilers are kind and loveable, but also show signs of fearlessness.
Since Rotties are brave by nature, they will eagerly go investigate anything that they believe could be a threat to their territory. They aren’t the type of dogs to whimper in fear. If they sense danger, they will act quickly to keep everyone safe.
It’s not just a fearless attitude that makes Rottweilers good guard dogs. Rottweilers won’t be protective over just anything. These dogs are very loyal, and it’s their loyalty to family members and other household pets that drives them to want to keep everyone safe.
Do Rottweilers Need to Be Trained?
If a Rottweiler isn’t trained, it will act very possessive over its loved ones. As mentioned above, a possessive Rottie will go to extremes to ensure its family members are safe, which means it could act out towards people who are not a threat. This includes people whom you’ve invited over.
Luckily, Rottweilers are very intelligent. Once owners put the effort into training these dogs, they find that it’s not that difficult to teach them a new command. This is why it’s important that owners start training their Rottweiler while it’s still a puppy. Once it is familiar with different commands, such as stop and sits, you can use them if the dog begins acting protective.
While Rottweilers are highly intelligent, they also have a short attention span. If you continue doing the same command over and over again, it will get bored and you’ll notice slower responses. For this reason, you should keep the training session short and sweet, no longer than 5 minutes at a time.
Even though 5 minutes doesn’t sound like a lot, you will be amazed at what a Rottweiler can learn in that short amount of time.
When Should Rottweilers Be Socialized?
Socialization is just as important as training when it comes to simmering a Rottweiler’s protective instincts. Rottweilers have a reputation for being aggressive, but with early socialization, dog owners are proving that this reputation isn’t true. Ideally, a Rottweiler should start socialization around 5 weeks of age.
Now, a Rottweiler puppy shouldn’t be separated from its mother until it’s at least 8 weeks old. This is why it’s important that you are adopting the puppy from a reputable breeder. A good breeder will begin the socialization process to ensure the puppy gets used to seeing new faces. They should also do screenings to make sure visitors don’t bring a virus onto the site.
Before committing to a breeder, make sure you do some research on them. Check reviews online to see what other dog owners’ experiences with the breeder were like. You should also make sure you ask the breeder plenty of questions to become familiar with their process.
If you have adopted a Rottie puppy from a breeder who didn’t begin socialization, it’s still possible to have your dog properly socialized. Try to start the process as early as possible and always be patient. Make sure the puppy gets to meet a variety of people from adults to kids. Meeting other dogs can also be helpful for socialization.
How To Ensure You Have a Good Guard Dog
Rottweilers have a very good instinct, so they can sense when someone or something is approaching the property before you can see or hear the visitor. How you train your dog will set the tone for how protective they act over you and the territory. Ideally, you want the dog to act protective when you’re absent but calm down when you approach the scene.
Most Rottweilers will start displaying signs of protective behavior around 6 to 8 months of age. While there will be many types of training that you cover with your dog in its early stages of life, once it hits this age, you can put more focus on training towards guarding.
At this time you should establish a cue or a signal that you can use with the dog. This will be used to let the dog know it’s okay and you have a hold of the situation. For example, if the mailman is approaching and your Rottweiler begins growling, you can step in and give your dog the cue.
When you give your dog the cue and it obeys, make sure you reward them immediately. This way the Rottweiler will associate obeying the cue as positive and continue to obey. Rottweilers love praise, so a nice pat on the head and one of its favorite treats will help set things off in the right direction.
Can Rottweilers Be Trained to Attack?
We’ve mentioned how to train your dog to not be protected when the instincts kick in, but what about situations where you want the dog to be aggressive? In most cases, the dog will act aggressively by means of growling and barking to intimidate the person it believes is a threat.
Rottweilers are good guard dogs because they won’t attack people unless they are trained to. It is possible to train a Rottweiler to attack if you want to keep your family safe from possible intruders or protect you from danger when you’re out for a walk.
If you want to train your dog to attack during appropriate situations, it’s recommended to use a professional trainer. This is because it’s one area of training that you need to get 100 % right. The dog needs to fully understand that it can only attack when it’s given the signal or the intruder has become aggressive.
Some trainers will bring the training to your home. What they will do is put on protective sleeves and enter your home. The trainer will mock attack you. They will make a point of getting cornered by the dog and going past it to see how the dog responds. They will try many acts to mock attack you and see the dog’s response.
Final Thoughts
Are Rottweilers good guard dogs? Rottweilers are very good guard dogs, and one of the best breeds for the job. They are very loyal dogs that have a strong natural instinct to protect family members. When you adopt a Rottie, you can expect it to become protective of you and the other members of your household, including cats and dogs. Their instinct is to keep you safe.
Some dog owners have noticed that this breed can become overly protective, even being guarding around visitors you’ve invited over. This is why it’s very important to start training and socializing your dog as a puppy. When the dog has been properly socialized, it won’t act overly protective of you. A well-trained Rottweiler will know when it’s appropriate to act as a guard dog.