Rottweilers are among the most popular dog breeds in the United States, ranking 7th in the American Kennel Club’s most popular dog breeds of 2022. The courageous and confident temperament of the Rottweiler has a lot to do with its popularity, but what about intelligence? Are they smart dogs that you can train for a variety of tasks?

In this article, we’ll answer these questions by going over how intelligent Rottweilers are while touching on this breed’s trainability. Read to the end to know what to expect from the Rottweiler’s intelligence and trainability.

How Smart Are Rottweilers?

Undoubtedly, the Rottweiler is an intelligent dog breed. You can come to this conclusion just by looking at the breed’s history. They are one of the oldest surviving dog breeds that took on various duties, from herding livestock and protecting cattle to working as police dogs during World War II and helping disabled individuals as service animals in today’s world.

Rottweilers are alert dogs with a watchful eye that can differentiate between a real threat and something silly. They understand human emotions and gestures well while having the intellect to use this ability against their owner in a goofy way to get what they want.

Overall, the Rottweiler is an intelligent dog breed. As for how smart they are, Rottweilers rank at the 9th spot on Stanley Coren’s 1994 book, The Intelligence of Dogs. Since many take this as a reference point for ranking the cleverness of different breeds, you can count on a Rottweiler’s intelligence.

How Trainable Is the Rottweiler Dog Breed?

The intelligence of the Rottweiler makes this breed capable of learning various tricks and commands. However, it isn’t the only factor that determines whether a breed is easy to train. Many dog breeds have fierce intelligence but don’t have the best trainability despite it.

Take livestock guardians like the Anatolian shepherd as an example. They are incredibly intelligent dogs that know how to keep livestock safe but aren’t the best dogs for obedience or teaching complicated tricks due to their overly independent nature.

Luckily, the same can’t be said for the Rottweiler. These dogs are very eager to please their owners. Coupled with their intelligence, you can be sure that Rottweilers are highly trainable dogs that want to please their owners.

What Can Rottweilers Learn?

Rottweilers are quick learners, and jumping from basic obedience to more advanced commands shouldn’t take long for a Rottweiler. You can tackle basic commands like sit, stay, come, down, spin, and leave it in a week or two – right from puppyhood!

As for training them for a specific duty, Rottweilers can learn all their responsibilities just as easily. However, some jobs are easier and faster to learn for Rottweilers than others. For example, Rottweilers excel at protection work with their high drive, but service animal training to help someone with a psychiatric disability may take longer.

The training methods and the depth of training are what matters the most for success when Rottweilers and similar breeds are undergoing psychiatric service dog training due to their protectiveness.

Although Rottweilers can become great PSDs with proper psychiatric service dog training, other duties like mobility assistance and guide work for the visually impaired are even easier for Rottweilers to pick up. With all these, we can conclude that Rottweilers can learn a wide variety of commands and become reliable working dogs.

Not Only Smart but Loyal and Loving

Rottweilers are smart, but they are just as loyal and loving with a strong devotion to their family. These dogs have such a big heart filled with so much love for every member of their family, whether human or furry.

When around their family members, Rottweilers are affectionate love bugs that can’t get enough of cuddles and kisses. However, a Rottweiler will change their demeanor quickly upon sensing a threat to their family or territory. They are natural guard dogs that inherently want to protect their family.

Dog breeds with an inherent desire to guard and protect can be difficult to manage and intimidating to have. Luckily for those interested in getting a Rottweiler, they are easy going dogs you can comfortably train and socialize to keep their protective instincts that may cause trouble in check.