My father adopted a pregnant dog from Serbia. One of the coolest sentences I have the honour of saying. When he grows up (retires), my dad wants to be a dog breeder. He has raised, trained, and nurtured various breeds throughout his life. There has never been a time in our house when we didn’t have a dog.
One day, a family friend with all the dog connections tells my dad about Elsa. A beautiful Serbian showdog, a rottweiler, and after begging mom, convincing her that Elsa wasn’t going to eat us in our sleep, preparing a space for Elsa and buying her all of the best dog things to make her comfortable, Elsa came home. She was large, and scared, unsure of the new world around her. Soon enough our gentle giant warmed up to us, and just in time for the birth of her seven beautiful puppies.
This story is about Aloysius, the runt of the litter.
From the day he was born, you could always tell which one he was because his tongue was always out. Whenever I went to check up on my puppies, thats who I picked up first, though everyone got held, kissed, told they were the best, and all grew up to be fantastic dogs. Aloysius grew up to be my fantastic dog. The puppies were born at the beginning of summer and I was only able to see them during breaks from school. Each time I was worried he’d forget about me and each time Aloysius would look for me, ask to be pet by me, and look for my direction over my fathers. That was my dog. My rambunctious, jumpy, slobbery dog. I had planned for him to be my companion dog, but he has shown me time and time again that he is a protector.
I’ve had to train my dogs to do various things in order to keep them in check, and trust me, rottweilers need to be checked sometimes. A lot of people on reddit are constantly asking for tips on how to teach their rottweiler puppies to calm down, even just a little bit, and one of the first comments are always an image showing that from 8 weeks to 2 years, that rottweiler is more of a velociraptor. Our dogs are taught with a combination of English and German commands. I’m not entirely sure why, but I think it’s super cool. Here is a short list of tricks and tips I’ve learned on my puppy journey.
General Rules to Training
- You must train consistently, meaning everyday (it helps if its at the same time everyday), and with the same rules. If your dog breaks the rules you set and you let them get away with it, you are not properly training.
- You must be in the mood to train. Your dog feeds off of your energy. If you are low energy, lazy about the training, or not in a positive mood, your training will not go well. This also goes for your dog. If they are laying down, aloof, or just don’t seem eager to learn at the time, your training becomes counterproductive.
- Training isn’t just “sit” and “stay” every word, every routine, every motion, your dog is watching and learning. If you’re someone who doesn’t like your dog on the couch but you keep letting him up anyways, then lazily telling them to get off, you’re teaching them that its ok to get on the couch.
- Use one word commands. Using multiple words can confuse your dog. One word gives them something to focus on and makes it easier to relate that word to an action. In emergencies one word commands can come in handy.
- Since my puppies were old enough to be handled, I have made sure to poke and pet every area of their bodies to desensitize them to touch. We pet their heads and rub their bellies at home, they may get their teeth checked at the vet, and groomers have to wash their toes, desensitizing your pup makes them feel more comfortable with the sense of touch.
- Speaking of making sure your dogs are comfortable with the world around them, be sure you are properly socializing your dog. Take walks in different places and make sure they’re ok with passing people and dogs. When you’re walking in a public place and you pass something that might be a trigger, just keep walking, this teaches your dog that its ok to not have a big reaction to things. In neutral territory let your dogs socialize with other dogs (one at a time, don’t immediately take them to a dog park). Do not oversocialize your dog, taking them everywhere and doing everything with them can make them angry, frustrated, or anxious when something is not going on.
- One of the biggest dog training tips is to play with a tennis ball with your pup A LOT, make that tennis ball a prize. This will get them excited and can give them motivation for training commands.
- Important things to train your dog:
- Recalls (hier) – Being able to call your dog back to you, important in emergencies.
- Sit (sitz) – Important to teach as its a gateway to other things such as stay and halt.
- Stay – This will come in handy when you need your dog in one area without a leash.
- Heel – To walk next to you as you walk. This isn’t for everytime you walk, but its important for your dog to heel, especially when walking in public.
- Halt – This is when you’re walking and come to a sudden stop and sit. This is important when you’re walking somewhere like a busy road.
- Drop it (Ous) – Dogs will get into everything. Its important for them to be able to drop dangerous things out of their mouth. Also helps when teaching fetch.
- Leave it – Dogs are very alert and curious about the world around them. This teaches them to leave things alone, like other dogs when walking, concerning objects on the floor, and your prized possession a little too close to dog level.
Thank you for reading up on my dog training tips! Stay alive and be all over!