How to Calm Down a Rottweiler [13 Ways]

If you’ve ever found yourself close to a canine, you’ll know that rottweilers can be formidable and fearsome beasts, especially if there are kids around. But all is not lost!

Look at this guide that tells you how to take down your beast when all else seems lost.

There are many ways of calming a rottweiler down when it becomes overly enthusiastic. You may have to resort to using force, but remember that you are dealing with a potentially aggressive animal, so treat it with respect and care it deserves.

Here are ways you can calm down your rottweiler:

1. Talk to It Calmly and Make Sure You Keep Eye Contact

Talking to your Dog in a calm voice may calm it, but don’t make it seem like you’re threatening it.

When you talk to your Dog calmly and soothingly, giving it eye contact is critical. This enables the canine to glean your positive intentions to calm down quicker.

You can also try using a positive tone of voice. Rather than saying, “No!” when you want the Dog to leave something alone, such as the dinner table or a toy, try saying something like, “Good boy! That’s a good boy!”

2. Gaze at It Just Until It Calms Down

You can use this method to quiet things down when you come across a dog that’s too over-excited or aggressive for your liking.

Gazing at the canine, you would effectively “detach” yourself from the situation, which would help you keep your cool and avoid getting carried away.

This is quickly done by gazing directly into the canine’s eyes for about 10 seconds. Watch the movements of its body to see if it’s relaxing or getting more riled up. This would help you facilitate a more positive outcome.

3. Calm the Dog Down by Petting It in a Slow and Rhythmic Motion

This is a great way to calm any dog down. It will help you keep cool and get you out of a potentially harmful situation.

It calms the animal down by petting it, so the chances of it turning aggressive would be significantly reduced.

Also, it would help to imagine you are assisting the Dog in getting over a certain feeling or condition.

If you’re experiencing a bad case of the “stomach bug,” imagine that your stomach is sore and that the rottweiler is in pain.

4. Hold on to It Gently When It’s Agitated or Jumping at Things

You can take a more hands-on approach by rubbing its chest and behind the ears with both hands simultaneously, then letting go so your Dog will calm down quicker.

You can gently squeeze the Dog’s chest when it displays aggressive behavior. This will be ideal if the canine is anxious and overly excited.

This would help calm the Dog down as it would be reminded of how comforting its mother’s embrace was.

You can also try wrapping your arms around the Dog briefly. This would give the Dog a sense of security and make him feel like he’s being hugged by whoever is taking care of him and then let go.

5. Use a Firm Voice to Convey to Your Dog That You’re Angry at It

When you encounter aggressive or overly enthusiastic behavior from your Dog, ensure that you don’t express anything of the sort to it.

Instead, use a firm voice when you address it. If the Dog is too wound up and jumping at you, tell it to calm down and not jump at you again.

You can also tell it to sit down. By addressing the Dog in this manner, his chances of being aggressive towards other people would be significantly reduced.

6. Try to Distract the Dog from Whatever It’s Agitated About

If the rottweiler is agitated about something, like another canine or a frightened child, try distracting it with toys or by playing its favorite sport or game (if you have trained it already).

You can also try taking it to another room, preferably the bathroom, and locking it there. If you can’t do that, try putting your rottweiler in a room with a gate with limited access.

This will help calm the Dog down as it would feel like he is confined to a tight space, just like when he’s still a puppy, and his mother puts him in his kennel.

7. Create Physical and Psychological Distance Between You and the Rottweiler

You can create physical distance by getting a step or two away from your canine companion, but be careful because he may follow you.

You can create psychological distance by lowering your gaze so that it follows suit too. Doing this would effectively “detach” yourself from the situation and keep your cool.

This technique is often used by people who are overly aggressive and violent. By lowering your gaze, you convey that you’re not a threat and are not looking for trouble.

8. Use Treats as a Reward for Good Behavior

When you talk to your Dog calmly and give him eye contact, he has to pay attention, so use this as an opportunity to reward him with some treats that he can chew on.

You can also reward him with something besides treats. You can use praise or a pat on the back, giving him plenty of positive attention.

Remember that dogs often get excited when they’re given too much attention at once, so make sure you don’t overload them, especially if the situation is getting out of hand.

9. Use an Escalated Approach with the Dog

These techniques are not always easy to pull off, especially if you’re dealing with an overly aggressive or violent canine that is out of control or perhaps even severely injured.

Try using this escalated approach for more difficult dogs in dangerous situations where you might be in danger yourself.

Assume that someone else has conditioned your Dog to respond aggressively to specific commands or situations. When you hear him growl, it’s not a good sign.

So when you see a possible danger, such as your child approaching the Dog and getting bitten, don’t respond by jumping at the animal in fear but talk calmly to it first. Avoid using any commands or training methods that can startle your Dog.

Eventually, as you and your Dog become more comfortable, you can use a more escalated approach.

This means you should urge your Dog not to react when something happens and try to keep the situation from escalating.

10. Search for Other Ways to Mediate the Situation Instead of Force

Try to find other ways to handle the aggressive behavior because using force brings an undesirable outcome and can cause your Dog to be more violent.

Once again, don’t use harsh words. Instead, try talking calmly, and don’t use commands that are likely to startle or excite your Dog.

However, you can use various methods like redirecting his attention towards something else rather than other people or pets.

11. Try to Distract the Dog with a Toy or Favorite Food

If your Dog is overly excited due to the presence of another canine, your best bet would be to distract it with a toy or food it loves (or at least has been trained to like).

You can also try redirecting its attention away from the aggressive behavior towards something else.

Such a distraction can calm the Dog down to stop being aggressive. Again, when dealing with such an aggressive dog, you should never approach it without giving him some time to calm down first.

12. Intervene by Getting the Dog to Settle Down Before Anything Happens

You can start by talking to it calmly in a soft voice and then taking hold of the collar. Make sure you give the dog plenty of time to calm down and lower its agitation before you try anything else.

Doing this would prevent it from biting someone or something else without any warning, although it will take some time for big dogs like Rottweilers to calm down enough so that they’re not attacking other people or pets.

Remember that it’s not easy to negotiate with a high-strung canine that has already been conditioned to react aggressively, even if you’re its master. That’s why you should be extra cautious when dealing with such a situation, especially when children are involved.

13. Preempt the Behavior Using Aversive Techniques Before It Starts Biting or Attacking

When you first see your Dog starting to bite or attack another person or pet, you can try preempting his behavior by using aversive techniques.

Preempting the aggressive behavior is called “counterconditioning” and involves using negative stimuli to make the dog associate aggression with something else.

For instance, if the Dog were conditioned to attack people and other pets because of being mistreated, you would feed it tasty treats before training sessions (to make him more comfortable around people).

You can also use a shock collar to make your dog bark or bite the toy you’re holding in your hand.

This will help him associate aggression with the neck of the collar, which would then later prevent him from biting people or pets.

You can also use a spray bottle to control and redirect your Dog’s attention away from things it is conditioned to react aggressively towards.

Conclusion

Dealing with a dog conditioned to attack people and other pets is probably not easy, especially if you have tried all the above methods but with no success.

Remember that it’s important to note any warning signs before taking action, such as growling or barking, because a dog may become aggressive without any warning signs beforehand.

While some dogs may bark or bite without any warning signs, others may act aggressively only when they’re approached by strangers or get a little too close to people or other pets.