Are Rottweilers Good With Kids? By Real Rottie Owner!

Perhaps you’ve stumbled over dozens of articles claiming to know whether or not this breed is good with children.

However, nearly all of these are journalists or general dog owners at best so for all you know, they might call a Chihuahua their own.

I’m a Rottweiler owner. My dog interacted with quite a few children.

Plus I’ve seen other Rottweilers living happily as part of families.

Is my personal experience on how Rottweilers interact with kids scientifically valid?

No, that alone won’t cut it but coupled with the available science and breed findings, I might be your best guide.

A lot of the child-dog bond depends on factors such as genetics, socialization, training, and more.

But I can definitely tell you that the Rottweiler has the potential to be an amazing choice for families with children.

Are Rottweilers Good With Kids?

Yes, Rottweilers can be great with kids and act as guardians as well as relentless playmates. Temperament, exercise, socialization, and training are key to have a Rottweiler that interacts positively with your children.

That being said, no dog breed is born with the inherent knowledge of how to be “good” with kids.

It’s vital to note that good behavior is a two-way street: You teach your Rottie how to behave around the kids and you teach the children how to respect the dog’s personal space as well as learning to read the dog’s signals.

Anecdotally, my Rottweiler Amalia behaves wonderfully around children and respects their personal space if they properly communicate that to her (as she does with any human).

While she’s a large female and weighs nearly 100 pounds (45kg), she adjusts really well to playing with children.

That being said, she also adapts well to smaller dogs but less so to dogs whose energy just doesn’t match her playstyle.

I’m sure there are dogs out there who are the exact opposite and have a hard time controlling their huge body and might accidentally knock a kid over.

So the number one rule with owning a Rottweiler with kids is to never leave them unsupervised and if you have a puppy (in theory the best choice) or an adolescent dog, beware of their zoomies and potentially rough play.

Many first-time guard dog owners look into the Rottweiler since it’s a pretty popular breed and thus a known quantity, right? Well, it’s not that easy.

If you’re getting a Rottie for your kids and to keep the property safe or whatnot, then yes, the Rottweiler may be a good breed for you.

But I purposefully didn’t include the Rottie in my guard dog list for first-time owners, not because the breed has issues with children or it’s particularly hard to train.

I didn’t include the Rottie because it’s a very confident breed and if not trained properly with patience and positivity, it might backfire to have a 100-130 pound bear on the other end of the leash.

Check out my Rottweiler growth chart to see how fast Rotties really grow up.

Is a Rottweiler a Good Family Dog?

For me personally, the Rottweiler is my ideal family dog due to how fearless, confident, and fun Rottweilers are.

But naturally, I’m biased as a Rottie owner and everybody can have a different experience, especially if you adopt a dog (or perhaps even an adult with behavioral issues).

Adopting is awesome but I wouldn’t try pushing people into that direction because sometimes a pup from a reputable breeder is just the right way to go.

If you have the capacity, time, knowledge, and financial resources to take on a rescue and train him properly, that’s very commendable – I love seeing happy ends for rescues.

What makes them a good family dog?

A Rottweiler can be good with the kids, a pretty darn good protector of your home, an extremely cuddly lovebug but that’s not all.

Going on an exhausting mountain hike? A well-bred and healthy Rottweiler will happily join you.

Spending the evening on the couch? The Rottweiler slams his colossal head right into your lap.

Having a BBQ with guests or eating out? Taking your well-socialised Rottie with you shouldn’t pose a problem.

However, you only get to enjoy all these perks if you put in the time to train your dog, no breed at all comes with a “how to behave inside the house” rule book (no, not even Labs or Golden Retrievers).

Are Rottweilers Dangerous (especially for Children)?

Can Rottweilers be dangerous? Sure, due to their massive skull, sturdy body, confidence and bite power they can be pretty dangerous if raised to be aggressive.

Are all Rottweilers dangerous? Big fat no.

Can any breed be dangerous? Yep.

I think that’s all you need to know.

Temperament is greatly impacted by your dog’s genetics and a lot of effort goes into a proper breeding program to steer towards a good-natured dog so do your research.

However, biting cases inside the family are among the most common ones and it’s nearly always due to a lack of training, poor communication with the dog and/or simply unacceptable behavior on a child’s side, for example.

Are Rottweilers Good With Babies?

Babies can kick and scream, make alien sounds and smell kinda different and they divert attention from a Rottweiler’s beloved owner.

Rottweilers can definitely be good with babies but without prior exposure and proper introduction, a Rottweiler could definitely refuse to accept the new family addition, especially if jealousy or behavioral issues have been present before bringing home the baby.

But a well-socialised, good-natured and calm Rottweiler can easily end up loving your baby to bits, don’t count on it though as it’s different from individual to individual and from breed to breed.

My Rottweiler seems to cope with any situation you throw at her.

It’s a short period of curiosity and adaption and once the dust settles, she kind of just rolls with it.

That being said, you never want to overwhelm or overstimulate your dog and seeing how he takes to other children, toddlers, or babies can be a great way of taking the temperature and seeing how your dog interacts with them.

Please don’t get a big dog like a Rottweiler (or any dog at all) if you’re planning to bring home a baby and are not ready to work on training your dog to accept it and instead would even consider giving up your dog.

Issues can always arise and need to be dealt with, the Rottweiler breed is not here to satisfy humanity’s needs and should be just as valued a family member as any other.

Rottweiler Temperament: Good-natured, Fearless, Alert?

If you check out the breed standard or various other articles chronicling this breed’s history as well as temperament you’ll find nearly a dozen descriptors.

Obedient, calm, steady, good-natured, fearless, confident, courageous, devoted, loyal, loving, fierce, alert.

But what really is the essence of this breed?

In my humble opinion, the best adjectives to describe the Rottweiler’s temperament are confident, loyal, loving.

While the Rottie can be really calm and obedient, mine is pretty exuberant and was easily overexcited as a puppy so naturally that’s not an option for me.

Obedient? Sure. Nearly every dog can be if trained right.

I have found the Rottweiler to be agreeable in training, especially when introducing or desensitizing them to something or someone like children.

But these dogs are not particularly obedient compared to breeds like the Malinois.

They surely are alert and every Rottie has that wariness to some degree but due to socialization, my female is awesome with strangers once let inside the house or even outside, as long as they’re not behaving overly suspiciously.

This big lovebug can be extremely loving and they would follow you everywhere and devote themselves to every little task that’s of importance to you (and perhaps gets them a little reward too).

They’re crazy confident with being introduced to new animals, places, situations and are pretty acceptant with change, as long as their owner is a constant in their life.

However, all that is only achieved with the right training.

Train your Rottweiler properly and he’ll be an awesome family dog and you can go crazy on adventures with the kids without having to worry about the dog.

You need to take care of the dog, ensure his safety, of course.

But you don’t need to be a constant nanny to the dog and instead relax without having to fear external circumstances that make your dog freeze, run, bark excessively, or whatnot.

However, every individual is different and no three adjectives can describe all specimens across a single breed.

Research dog behavior, training, breeding vs. rescues, the perfect diet and so much more and you’ll find out whether or not the Rottweiler fits your lifestyle.

Disclaimer: This blog post does not substitute veterinary attention and does not intend to do so. I am not a veterinarian or pet nutritionist. If your dog shows any sign of illness, call your vet.