Courses
Courses for Kids
Free study material
Offline Centres
More
Store Icon
Store

Rottweiler - Breed of Dog

Reviewed by:
ffImage
hightlight icon
highlight icon
highlight icon
share icon
copy icon
SearchIcon

Introduction

Rottweiler is a strong and true loving dog, the same as Greek Hercules. Affectionately, it is also called Rotties or Rotts. It originated in Germany. It was used to pull the carts for farmers and to drive the cattle. 


Rottweiler dog breeds are very calm and confident. It has a successful record to guard and protect the people not only in police departments but also in the military as well. It can be a good family friend and supporter. 


Rottweilers are good at maintaining the line between protectiveness and aggressiveness. They can become overly protective if they aren't bred carefully to a calm, intelligent, temperament and properly socialized and trained ones. Rottweiler definition is as follows: it is a breed of domestic dog which is considered a butcher's dog because its main use is to pull the carts and to herd livestock.


Rottweilers are large, powerful dogs and they require extensive socialization and training from early puppyhood. Because of the current law against dogs, that as Rottweilers it is said that they can be dangerous, one must have to carry extra liability insurance to own the Rottweiler. Let’s gain more knowledge about Rottweiler information. 


About Rottweiler Dog

The height of the male dogs typically is about 24 to 27 inches tall at the shoulder and they can weigh up to 95 to 130 pounds. Whereas the females are typically 22 to 25 inches tall at the shoulder and these female dogs can weigh up to the range of 85 to 115 pounds.


The ideal Rottweiler is calm, confident, and very courageous. He is very confident about his own abilities and doesn't make friends with people immediately or indiscriminately. Instead, the dog takes an attitude of wait-and-see to react to the new people or new situations. With his family, he has good affection and often follows them around the house. This is not a highly excitable dog. He will always have an inherent desire to protect his family and property from risk or danger, but he should never be aggressive toward people without cause. The Rottweiler is a smart dog and can be adaptable with a great and strong work ethic.


Rottweilers can put up the weight easily thus they need a walk for about 20 to 30 minutes daily. To keep their mind and body in shape training is required in the form of play toys. Even training for five minutes in the backyard of the house will keep the dogs very active.


It is fairly easy to keep the rottweiler dogs, if not exercised enough there are chances of getting obesity, due to its large size. These can drool, can bark at a moderate level, and sometimes they can snore. They can live for a long time up to the age of eight to eleven years. They can be a good family companion if given extensive training and continuous socialization.


Rottweiler History

Rottweilers are descended from the Molossus, a mastiff-type dog it is considered as the Rottweiler original breed. Their ancestors marched to Germany with the Romans. While marching they passed through one of the areas of southern Germany, where the Romans took advantage to set up colonies because of its good climate and soil, which were suitable for agriculture. They built the villas roofed with red tile. More than 600 years later, as they were building a new church, inhabitants of that particular town excavated the site of the ancient Roman baths and uncovered one of the red-tiled villas. This discovery inspired the people to provide a new name for the town and they named it das Rote Wil (the red tile).


Rottweilers flourished as a market area for cattle, over the centuries, the German equivalent of a Texas cowtown, and the family-related to the Roman Molossus dogs drove the cattle to town for butchering. After selling their livestock people wanted to keep their money safe in order to protect them from the thieves, so the cattlemen followed this technique they used to put their filled purses around their Rottweiler's neck while returning home. Due to their capability, butchers in this area used these dogs to pull the carts that are fully loaded with meat.


Eventually, rail transports replaced the cattle drives, then the Rottweiler nearly became extinct. At a dog show in Heilbronn, Germany, in 1882, only one breed of Rottweiler with interesting characteristics was exhibited. When the Rottweiler and Leonberger Club were founded this situation started to change in early 1901 and that is the time when the first Rottweiler breed standard was written. Thus since then, the description of the Rottweiler's appearance and character has changed.


In the late 1920s, it is thought that the first Rottweiler breed came to the U.S. with a German emigrant. The first puppy took its birth in 1930, and the first dog that has been registered by the American Kennel Club was Stina Felsenmeer in 1931.


The breed started becoming more popular only after world war II. At that time, it was primarily known as an excellent obedience dog. In the American Kennel Club, when more than 100,000 were registered the height of the Rottweiler's popularity was in the mid-1990s.


Rottweiler Dog Reeds

There are two different breeds of Rottweiler: the well-bred Rottweilers and the badly bred ones. The country in which Rottweiler is born makes him an American breed, French, Italian and Canadian Rottweiler.

  1. American Rottweiler: The rottweilers are tall and lack the distinctive characteristics of the standard rottweiler breed. These are born in the United States, a non-breeding kennel in East Texas. They are very attractive for their elegant and stunning looks but not for the work. The American Kennel Club considers it as a pure breed.

  2. German Rottweiler: These are the breeds born in Germany. The serious task is taken in Germany that the Rottweilers are bred to work. Only particular dogs are allowed to be reproduced by Germans. Breeding specimens must pass the physical and temperamental requirements. There are requirements before their owners can breed them.

  3. Roman Rottweiler: Roman Rottweiler is an oversized specimen and they are developed through selective breeding, they look more like mastiff dogs, coats and other physical appearances of Roman Rottweiler is that of American or German Rottweilers. Unfortunately, most of the time their grand size leads to some diseases like hip dysplasia, among other orthopaedic concerns.


Rottweiler Facts

  • Rottweilers Have a Strong Jaw: Because of their large head, Rottweilers have an impressively strong bite. These dogs’ jaws are much stronger than that of the German shepherds and pit bulls. The bite force of these dogs is about 328 pounds, which is about half of a shark’s bite force, whereas the shark’s bite force is at 669 pounds.

  • Rottweilers are Loyal to their Family: Rottweilers have been bred as guard dogs, so they are known to form strong bonds with their owners. These loving dogs when they spend too much time generally do not do well and they enjoy the company of the others. They do have a strong guarding instinct and they are loyal. These things make them very protective of their pack.

  • The only means to know whether the Rottweiler is a pure breed is not through their pedigree. In simple terms, it is proof of a puppy's parents that determines whether your puppy is 100% purebred. In the ADRK, the standard and trustworthy breed registry of a purebred Rottweiler puppy has valid registration papers.

Health Problems Rottweilers are Prone to

These are prone to certain health disorders than the other breeds thus consulting with the vet is required regularly. 

  1. Hip Dysplasia: It is a genetic orthopaedic disorder that is found in large and giant breeds. When the socket bone and hip bone are not attached to their surface they cause severe pain and debilitation. Diagnosis can be provided after examining the hips of a dog under several conditions such as excellent, fair, good, borderline, mild, moderate, or severe dysplasia. The examination is done by OFA.

  2. Elbow Dysplasia: The malformation of the elbow can lead to elbow dysplasia. OFA can certify the dogs whether it has passed or failed in the elbow dysplasia test.

  3. Osteochondrosis Dissecans (OCD): In the growing dogs if the bone cartilage is affected that has similar symptoms as that of arthritis. It can vary in the breeds depending on their nutrition intake, genetics, growth, and hormonal imbalance. 

  4. Von Willebrand Disease: It is a hereditary disease and is similar to that of haemophilia that is found in humans. It is not a sex-linked disease as it can vary depending on the ability to clot the blood, the symptoms found are significant and prolonged bleeding even in the case of minimal trauma.

  5. SubAortic Stenosis: The genetic disorder that can cause cardiac problems. It occurs due to the presence of additional tissue present in the heart that prevents the pumping of blood in normal form, thus extra pressure or effort has to be put by the blood to pump the blood.

The other disorders such as eye disorders affect both the eyelids making them roll out or roll in. These are prone to bone cancers. 


Conclusion

Rottweilers are known well to be powerful, protective, and loyal. They are famous for their guarding nature. According to the American Rottweiler Club due to the above-mentioned reasons, they have cleared that it is a great deal of responsibility and commitment to owning a Rottweiler and they mentioned that it is not a dog for everyone. Rottweiler is known as a police dog, service dog, herding dog, and competitor. If we ask anything to do it completes its job, and sometimes even though we didn’t ask to do a job he will find some work for himself and complete it. 

FAQs on Rottweiler - Breed of Dog

1. How Smart are the Rottweiler Dogs?

Yes, Rottweilers are extremely smart dogs. In accordance with the measurement of obedience and working intelligence, it is a fact, they're the ninth smartest dog breed. And while they excel with obedience, having a superb guard dog instinctive IQ is the feature for which the Rottweilers are well-known and a top-of-class canine adaptive intelligence.

2. Can the Rottweilers be Left Alone in the Home?

Ideally, a Rottweiler shouldn't be left alone for more than six hours at home, and this time should not be done at once instead it should be reached in gradual increments. Any longer time than that will lead you to expect a toileting accident by the dog on the floor, and sometimes maybe even you can observe the development of some bad behaviours.

3. What are the Two Breeds that Make a Rottweiler?

Rottweilers descended from the Molossus, a mastiff-type dog which is considered as the Rottweiler original breed and probably from the Italian Mastiff. By herding their cattle and protecting them from harm their ancestors accompanied the Romans over the Alps.