Rottweilers are a fantastic breed, energetic, intelligent, and loyal. They’re fairly easy to train, can be great with kids, and endlessly love their family.
Plus, they’re hard workers, can be taught to perform diverse tasks, and are the happiest when given a job to do.
Still, many owners who have Rottweilers choose this breed for protection reasons.
The Rottweilers’ reputation as protectors is well-earned, and they have served people as guardians for centuries, dating back to Roman times.
Their unwavering loyalty and devotion to their humans mean that they’ll often be willing to put themselves in harm’s way to protect their families.
In this article, I’ll explore how they perform their protective duties and at what age do Rottweilers become protective.
I’ll also look into what kind of training is needed to turn them into trusted guardians, and everything else you may want to know about Rotties as family protectors.
So, let’s dive in!
[wpsm_toplist]
At What Age Do Rottweilers Become Protective?
Being protective is in Rottweiler’s nature. They’re instinctively inclined to defend family and property.
However, to perform their guarding duties, Rottweilers, just like any other breed, need to feel the family and property as their own.
If they don’t see the family as their pack and the household as their territory, they won’t be interested in protection.
All this means that before becoming protective, Rottweilers need to bond with their owner and the family and develop mutual trust.
When this happens commonly depends both on the individual dog and the owner.
Commonly, Rottweilers become fully protective of the family and property around the age of 2.
However, they will show the first signs of protective behavior as they enter dog puberty when they’re 6-8 months old.
From there, they will gradually develop their guarding capabilities as they grow stronger, gain more confidence, and develop a stronger bond with the owner.
Are Male Or Female Rottweilers More Protective?
As it said, Rottweilers are protective by nature and that goes for both male and female dogs.
Still, there are some differences in how each of them approaches their guarding duties which determine their suitability for protection roles.
In the majority of cases, male Rottweilers are more protective than their female counterparts.
They have the alpha-dog mentality and often try to establish dominance in their environment.
This means that if they feel the family and property as their own, they feel the need to have control over it and see protection as their responsibility.
In addition, males tend to be more aggressive than females who are more obedient and affectionate.
Female Rottweilers are often more friendly towards strangers which is not a good trait for watchdogs.
However, this doesn’t mean that females can’t be successful guardians, especially since they are naturally protective due to motherly instincts.
Will A Rottweiler Protect You Without Training?
Throughout their history, Rottweilers were bred to be guardian dogs.
As protection is in their blood, they will show signs of such behavior even without any training.
However, only a properly trained Rottweiler can successfully deal with situations it may encounter while protecting its home and family.
Untrained Rottweilers are very unpredictable in their behavior. They will react to an intruder and be ready to fight them and defend the household.
Nevertheless, they’ll likely lack the technique to do that properly.
Without training, Rotties can be too aggressive and that may be a serious issue, particularly when it comes to strange people who don’t pose any threat.
By training your Rottweiler, you will teach it to appropriately react in every situation and build on its natural instincts.
They have to learn to access the seriousness of a threat and how to apply the right response to that threat.
How To A Train Rottweiler For Protection
Tuning your Rottweiler into a complete guardian dog who can provide proper protection to you and your family will require a fair amount of training, often with a help of a professional.
Below are some tips on how to train your Rottie for protection.
Rottweiler’s socialization must start early and continue throughout their life.
By socializing with other people, kids, and dogs, your Rottie will learn to control its aggression.
Even if it may seem counterintuitive to limit the aggression when you expect a dog to protect you, this will teach them to use that aggression appropriately.
It will also help your dog understand and recognize the real threat when it occurs.
Basic Obedience Training
Basic obedience training is a necessity for a safe and good guard dog.
It will help them gain self-control and also help you in situations when you need to instantly recall your Rottweiler.
Teaching them basic commands will require strong leadership but remember never to treat them harshly during training.
This will only make them more aggressive and create additional problems.
Advanced Protection Training
Once you have the trust and obedience of your Rottie, it’s time to expand their natural instincts and teach them protection techniques.
This may include alert-based training, which is essential for good dogs. It will teach them to alert you whenever someone breaches the perimeter of your household.
The dogs will mostly do this by barking or growling.
Teaching them to fend off potentially aggressive intruders is a bit more sophisticated and is best done with a professional trainer.
It involves teaching the dog to attack on your command and even bite if necessary.
Rottweilers excel at this type of protection which is why they’re often used in the military and police for such purposes.
Conclusion
Due to their intelligence, bravery, alertness, and strength, Rottweilers are considered to be among the best guardian dogs in the world.
Protection comes naturally to them and they are fearless when their loved ones are in danger.
Still, to fully ensure the safety of your family and property, you will need to teach them to keep those natural instincts under control.
Luckily, Rottweilers are highly trainable and quick to pick up on new skills. It’s never too early to start.
The sooner you begin with socialization and training, the faster the dog will bond with you and develop a need to protect you.
It will also teach them to recognize normal behavior and identify potential threats.
