Rottweiler: temperament, training and care

At a glance

Temperament

• Calm, confident guardian
• Devoted to family
• Strong: needs early leash manners

Training tips

Start loose-leash walking while they're small: pulling at 50 kg is hard to fix.

Rottweilers usually pick things up quickly, which also means they learn bad habits quickly. Keep sessions short and varied, and reward the calm behavior you want to see more of.

Start with a marker word, sit, come and leave it. For a puppy, see the puppy training guides.

Exercise and energy

A healthy adult Rottweiler typically needs around 60 to 90 minutes of activity a day. Mix walks with sniffing and short training games: mental work tires dogs as much as running does. Puppies need much shorter sessions while they grow.

See how much exercise a dog needs and our games and enrichment ideas.

Health to watch

Things the breed is known to be prone to. Ask your vet what to check for your dog.

• Hips and elbows. Prone to joint problems: keep them lean and ask the vet to check the joints each year.
• Heart. Heart conditions run in the breed: a yearly listen at the vet catches them early.
• Bloat. A deep chest raises the risk of a twisted stomach: no hard play for an hour either side of a big meal. See: Bloat (Twisted Stomach).
• Weight. Gains weight easily: measure meals and count the treats.