Rottie growling at anyone that tries too talk too me while exercising him.

Also if i put him in his cage while someones’ at the street door he growls at me if i talk or go near his cage.

He is 20 months now and rescued him at 12 weeks old from battersea dogs home.

Can’t understand why he’s changed so much

thank you

Hi
At this age your pup is an adolescent, almost adult, and he’s taking his guarding duties a little too seriously.

It’s actually pretty common during this stage for this type of breed to be overly protective especially if they haven’t been socialized enough, or if they get mixed signals from their owners as to what is acceptable and what isn’t in terms of relating to other people/pets.

A dog who is crated or leashed will always be more defensive when faced with strange people or dogs (which can be misinterpreted as being aggressive), because they feel vulnerable and unable to protect themselves if necessary because they can’t ‘get away’.

His growling is most likely due more to anxiety and insecurity than it is to aggression.

Rather than crate your pup when someone comes to the door, you need to work with him so that he can also greet and interact with this person, but obviously in order to do this he has to be under your control and not afraid.

My first recommendation is to get your pup enrolled in a basic obedience class locally. This will help you both by improving the understanding and communication between you. There’s also a valuable socialization aspect for your pup and hands-on help for you in dealing with any problems or issues you’re having.

Secondly, I’d recommend trying something like this… Click To Calm – Healing The Aggressive Dog. Although I don’t think your Rottie is being aggressive as such, the information and advice here will help you to keep your dog calmer and reshape his behavior in a positive way.

Hope this helps, best of luck with everything.

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Jan 30, 2012

Rottie growling… NEW
by: Christopher Bayhi

Your boy seems to be in need of basic obedience training as recommended above. Like a child, you boy needs to know right from wrong first, and his place in the pack. If you as the pack leader get nervous about how your dog will react every time someone comes over to visit or goes on a walk, the dog will follow your lead and become nervous himself. This nervousness will result in behavior as presently seen.

When someone comes to our door that we don???t know, we will leash our Rotties. The leash is held in one hand by the handler and connected to the dog at the other end. The leash is allowed to remain loose so the handler can step on the leash as a precaution against jumping and lunging at the guest. If the guest turns out to be not so nice, the person is given a warning to leave and a hand signal (non-verbal) is given to alert the dog. If he/she refuses to leave at that point, the foot is taken off the leash and a hand signal (again, non-verbal) is given for the dog to defend. It usually does not turn out well for the uninvited guest!

I would try this method (foot on the leash) with someone your dog already knows when exercising, walking or doing other activities with your boy, but leave out the alert and defend portion. If the dog remains even tempered, treat the dog, tell him good boy, and give lots of praise and love. If the dog becomes aggressive, DO NOT reassure the dog by saying ???Everything is ok???, baby talk, or petting the dog as this REINFORCES what the dog THINKS is the correct and proper behavior. Correct accordingly and try again. The foot on the leash will help prevent lunging, biting, and liability.

The stuff I have outlined is considered ???advanced.??? Remember to get your boy in basic obedience first!


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About The Rotty lover 2159 Articles
My name is Dr. Winnie. I earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Duke University, a Masters of Science in Biology from St Georges University, and graduated from the University of Pretoria Veterinary School in South Africa. I have been an animal lover and owners all my life having owned a Rottweiler named Duke, a Pekingese named Athena and now a Bull Mastiff named George, also known as big G! I'm also an amateur equestrian and love working with horses. I'm a full-time Veterinarian in South Africa specializing in internal medicine for large breed dogs. I enjoy spending time with my husband, 2 kids and Big G in my free time. Author and Contribturor at SeniorTailWaggers, A Love of Rottweilers, DogsCatsPets and TheDogsBone