by Mikki
(Elgin, TX)
Texaco
We have noted that our Rottie growls whenever we hug or show him physical attention. He is not aggressive and will show that he loves the attention ie. rubbing his ears, scratching his back above his tail, rubbing his chest. Is this normal? Is this is way of vocalizing his approval? Is this a common behavior with Rotties? I should note that he doesn’t nip, bite or jump towards your face.
He is a happy and well socialized dog, sleeps with our cats and 4 Australian Terriers. His temperament fits the AKC quides to a tee. Thanks.
Hi Mikki
Rottweilers tend to ‘talk’ quite a bit, it’s a low rumbling, grumbling sort of sound and to me it’s an equivalent of a cat purring. Often new Rottie owners, or people unfamiliar with the breed, think a dog is growling when he or she is doing this, but it’s not the same thing at all.
However, each dog is different and sometimes a dog may growl if he doesn’t like being touched in a certain spot, or is objecting to the affection. It sounds as though he’s got a great temperament and is very loving and non-combative so chances are he’s just enjoying the attention. However, you know Texaco best, and are the best judge of whether this is the case or not.
Hope this helps, best of luck with your dog.
I have a male rottie and he does this all the time.
I have a male rottie and he growls alot when I rub his ears, belly, back,
But he is not being mean at all,he is just telling me that he loves it and please don’t stop!!!
I have a 5 year old Rottweiler called Colin and his vocal range goes from high pitched squeaks to low pitched grumbles.
The squeaking usually denotes he wants attention, or is after something. The grumbling when I stroke him or he has a bathe and I towel him down for example.
This is all great but the problem arises when he plays with other dogs which he loves doing and when he runs about with them he also occasionally grumbles, which sends the owner into a blind state of panic. I then get accused of being a bad owner so on and so forth.
I then explain that Rotties are very vocal dogs but to no avail.
However, before every walk I always sit Colin down and in a stern voice say, ” no growling” which 9 out of 10 times works OK, but as stated above he sometimes forgets as he is a very friendly goofy type Rottie who loves to muck about.