Wild Child Rottie

by Jay
(Chino, CA USA)

Hello,

My Rott puppy is 5 months old now. He is completely wild when I or another member of my family comes home. All he does is cry and jump all over us wildly.

Any suggestions on how we can control this behavior? We spend at least 4-5 hours with him a day bonding.

Thanks,
Jay






Hi Jay
Your pup is an adolescent and this is typically when their behavior becomes more challenging, but with enough exercise, socialization and correct/ongoing training he will come through this phase unscathed, and so will you!

If he's being left alone for hours at a time then he's simply displaying his excitement and joy at seeing you again. Rottweilers need regular companionship and can become very emotionally attached to their owners.

It's perfectly normal for him to be happy to see you, but it's not okay for him to jump all over you or behave like a wild thing. To control this you need to be working with him and I'd strongly recommend that you get him enrolled in a formal obedience class as soon as possible. It's much easier to learn something when you're being shown how to do it, than from written advice. In this case you need to learn how to get your pup to respect and listen to you, and to look to you for guidance on his behavior.

Reprimanding him from jumping with a firm 'no' is obviously important but you will need some hands on help and ideas on how to teach him this is not okay. It sounds as though he may be suffering from a little separation anxiety which makes him overreact when he sees you. Lowering the emotional level of your homecomings may help with this (ie ignore him for a few minutes when you come in, don't make eye contact and don't make a big fuss of him) this will allow him to rein in some of his excitement before you greet him calmly. You can check out this webpage for more information on dealing with canine separation anxiety... Dog Training For Separation Anxiety. Some of the info. should be helpful to you.

Also, he needs lots of exercise to help burn off that nervous energy and plenty of safe, sturdy chew toys to keep him busy while you're gone. Getting him a place at a doggie daycare, employing a pet sitter or a dog walker to give him a break/exercise while you're gone, or other similar ideas may also help. As he matures and gets some training under his belt he will settle down. Adult Rotties are generally not high-energy dogs.

I hope this helps and wish you the very best of luck with your pup.