Scientists proved that we need more and more dogs to help us with our various problems. In the past, dogs were only used to herd sheep, retrieve hunted animals, or to guard. However, as life got more complicated and sophisticated, so did our problems.
A lot of people now might be suffering from stress, anxiety, and other issues that humans aren’t very aware of. That’s why dogs jumped in to help us and make life easier and better for us.
Can any dog be an emotional support animal? And more importantly, can a mighty dog as a Rottweiler be an emotional support animal?
“Yes, Rottweilers can become an Emotional Support Animal. However, Rottweilers are powerful, and that’s why you need to reconsider having them if you aren’t going to provide them with the needed training.
Make sure your dog does not develop behavior problems under any condition. If he isn’t well trained, you will find lots of problems if you continuing to have him as ESA.”
Service Dogs vs. Emotional support dogs
There are two kinds of dogs who have jobs, service dogs and emotional support dogs.
A service dog is a general term for any dog who does any kind of physical service like retrieving, herding, bomb exploration, seizure alerting, etc.
On the other hand, the ESA is a dog who will help you mentally by making your life more comfortable or help people with certain mental disorders.
If we looked at Wikipedia, we can see that:
An emotional support animal differs from a service animal. Service animals are trained to perform specific tasks (such as helping a blind person navigate), while emotional support animals receive no specific training, nor even, necessarily, any training at all. (It therefore stands that in the setting of mental illness, whether or not the animal is a “service animal” vs. an emotional support animal would hinge on whether or not it is formally trained to do something specific to mitigate the mental illness.) Any animal that provides support, well-being, comfort, or aid, to an individual through companionship, unconditional positive regard, and affection may be regarded as an emotional support animal.
Wikipedia
Rottweilers as an emotional support animal
Now, you have to understand somethings before proceeding.
Emotional Support Animals might not require any training
Yes, it is true. You may have an emotional support animal without training him. However, make sure that your emotional support dog isn’t tough to handle because this might create a lot of problems in the long run.
The pros and cons of having a rottweiler as a support animal
To jump into the point, I will first tell you the pros and cons of having a Rottweiler as ESA. Then I will tell you what you need to do to have the perfect support animal:
| Pros | Cons |
| A strong dog that can protect you | Needs to be trained |
| Very kind and affectionate | Not an ideal dog if his owner loves traveling, because it is prohibited in many countries like UAE |
| A good companion for kids | It might not be suitable for small apartments |
| Very Smart dog | Require daily exercise |
| No one can steal him from you | If training goes wrong, you are likely going to have many problems |
| Have a high sense of responsibility | A lot of people are scared of Rottweilers |
| It can become a great problem if he developed any aggression problems |
These are the possible pros and cons of having a Rotty as an emotional support dog. You may choose it for other personal reasons (For example, I adore this breed, and I like it more than Golden Retrievers)
What do you need to do to have Rottweiler as an emotional Support dog
As I said, people aren’t very welcoming when they hear the word “Rottweiler,” and that’s because this breed is known to be used as a guard dog. Therefore, you might face a hard time trying to convince people that your Rotty is a good boy/girl.
Training a Rottweiler is weird. They are smart dogs with excellent levels of understanding of your commands. However, you may find them stubborn at first, and they might refuse to listen to you.
If you dealt angrily with your Rotty, you might find it hard to stop him when he barks at you.
Their strength makes them so unique, and that’s why you need to train your Rottweiler. If your Rotty has any aggression problem of any kind (Food, people, dog aggressions), you need to deal with it very professionally.
NEVER IGNORE ANY BEHAVIORAL PROBLEM
remember that your dog will be an emotional support dog, and there’s no room for any mistake. Be sure that you are allowed to take him on planes and be sure that he is friendly.
(after all, other peoples fears should be respected)
The Nature of Rottweilers
Rottweilers are known to be muscular animals. These dogs, who are known to be the mix of wildness and kindness, always amaze people. They can be perfect babysitters, and yet they have one of the most robust jaws that we have ever known.
In some countries, they call them bone breakers.
However, they proved to be capable of handling many tasks. For example, many countries have taken them as the primary dogs in many exploration missions; their kindness is known to all people as well.
Is it recommended to have Rottweilers as ESA?
No, it is not. Simply because of their nature.
Rottweilers are great dogs with high strength. However, statistics say that it’s the most popular breed after Pitbull/Terrains to have accidents (Biting other people, other dogs or running after bikers)
They are recognized as one of the easiest dogs to be trained and one of the easiest breeds to misbehave if they aren’t provided proper training. That’s why I recommend having a more friendly breed like Golden Retriever, or labrador that people won’t fear him.
FAQ
Below, some questions that many people ask on Quora and other social media sites.
Q: Is there a specific certificate for strong animals like Rottweiler?
No, the regular ESA certificate will be needed only.
You are allowed to have Rottweiler as ESA (Emotional Support Anhe Nature of Rottweilersimal) if your therapist has given you a certificate of having any mental disorder and your dog has been proven to be a good boy (No matter what breed).
Q: Can Rottweiler be prohibited from entering several places?
A: No, as ESA, your dog is allowed to enter any place without any legal issues.
However, if your dog is misbehaving, you will have to go out of that building.
Conclusion
Rottweilers can become ESAs.
However, I am not recommending having a dominant dog as Rottweiler as ESA, but if you decided to do so, make sure that he is well trained and that your dog is free of any issues/aggression problems.
Make sure to take the certificate and that your dog isn’t having any anxiety on planes/cars, because no one wants to see a Rottweiler who is out of control (Especially, air hostesses)
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