Recall training for adolescent Rottweilers

A Rottweiler hitting seven months and suddenly ignoring recall when he was solid before — that's classic adolescent brain rewiring, not a training failure. The good news is it's temporary; the less good news is you have to treat it almost like starting from scratch, but with a dog who's now 30kg and has opinions. Reliable recall is genuinely the most important skill he'll ever have, and the combination that works best right now is a long line for safe practice and a treat so high-value he can't say no even when the world is interesting. To give you the right steer: is he intact or neutered, and what does his current recall look like — does he glance at you and then ignore, or does he not even register his name?

That ear twitch tells you everything — he knows you're calling, he's just decided the environment is more reinforcing than coming back. Intact adolescent males are particularly susceptible to this because scent and novelty become neurologically overwhelming around this age. Cheese stopping working is also really common at this stage; his arousal threshold has shifted and you need something with a stronger smell and a more novel texture. Before I tell you what I'd switch to, one more thing: where are you training — open fields, parks, woodland? And are you currently using any long line or just working off lead and hoping for the best?

Keeping him on lead is exactly the right instinct — every time he ignores you off lead, he's practising ignoring you, and that pattern embeds fast. You haven't gone backwards, you've just stopped the bleeding. Here's what I'd do. First, get a 15-metre long line — the Gencon or Clix ones are fine, but the Julius-K9 15m Long Line is well-made, doesn't tangle badly, and is robust enough for a Rottweiler. It lets him feel like he has freedom while you retain the ability to interrupt the zone-out before it becomes a habit. Second, ditch the cheese entirely and switch to Forthglade 100% Natural Chicken Treats — single ingredient, intensely smelly, soft enough to eat fast so the reward moment is immediate. They're a significant step up from cheese in terms of scent and novelty. The protocol is simple: long line on, let him sniff and explore, call once with a really upbeat tone, and the moment he starts moving toward you — not when he arrives, when he starts — mark it and get that treat to him fast. Keep sessions under five minutes. That's it for now.

Honestly, yes — if he's been hearing 'come' and then not complying for a few weeks, it's worth starting fresh with a new word or a whistle. A whistle is actually better for Rottweilers because it carries further, it doesn't carry the emotional charge your voice can accidentally have when you're frustrated, and it's consistent. The Acme 211.5 is the standard recall whistle used by most UK gundog trainers — two short pips means come, and you build that association from scratch using the long line and the Forthglade treats. It takes about two weeks of consistent short sessions before it starts feeling reliable again. By three months, if you're consistent, you'll have better recall than you had before this phase hit.

For a Rottweiler, expect the worst of the adolescent brain fog to last until around 14 to 18 months, with some improvement from about 10 months onward. Larger breeds mature more slowly than small ones, and intact males tend to stay in this phase longer than neutered dogs. That's not a reason to neuter early specifically for recall — that's a bigger conversation for your vet — but it's worth knowing the timeline. The long line and high-value treats aren't a short-term fix; they're your training setup for the next six to twelve months. Stay consistent, keep sessions short and fun, and don't test off-lead recall in stimulating environments until you're getting 9 out of 10 responses on the long line first.