Rottweiler Dog Breed Information
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11 to 12 years
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Pocket Friendly *
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Star
Superstar
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Rare
Easy to get
Introduction
Rottweilers are strong, loyal and affectionate dogs and, when trained properly, can make excellent pets. Rotties are noble dogs who are protective by nature.
It should be mentioned at the outset that Rotties are not ideal for first-time dog families or people who intend to train a dog to be a guard dog, especially if their training methods are aggressive. It is because of poor training methods that this breed has often been convicted of being harmful and aggressive.
In the same way that the entire human race has not hitherto been judged for the wrongdoings of a few, no breed of dog can be judged for having a universally intimidating personality. They are simply robust, warm, gracious dogs when brought up well. Rotties have a natural instinct to protect their families.
They were initially trained to herd livestock and pull carts for butchers to sell meat in the markets. It is a testament to their personalities that there is a memorial dedicated to Rotties in the town of Rottweil in Germany.
One of the oldest known breeds, Rottweiler classifies under the Medium to large category. The first impression that the breed involves certain levels of kindness which drops from its beautiful eyes.
Generally found in dark colors with a wrinkled face this breed denotes age old wisdom which has been nurtured over the years. In earlier times this breed was used for sheep herding and pulling livestock but that has changed over the years.
This breed has its origin story which dates back to the Roman times. The reason for the popularity of this breed is its endearing qualities – its intelligence, its loyalty and its protective instincts.
This breed originated in Germany and is often referred to as a purebred. Rottweiler can come off too strongly sometimes because of its dominating nature but proper training can ensure that it becomes friendly and does not go out of control.
Despite its strong headed attitude and courageous nature, a Rottweiler can suffer from things like separation anxiety and quickly gets attached to its ownersin a very short period because of its sensitive nature. This breed also needs certain amounts of exercise as it is a physically active breed.
Today, this working breed is used as a guard dog by police squads. Rottweiler’s have a very individual kind of personality, as individuals differ so do dogs of this breed.
You may across a serious Rottweiler one day who loves sitting in a corner and observing people and you may chance upon an overexcited bundle of joy who keeps jumping and hopping everywhere. Generally a Rottweiler is a calm dog who can also come off as being aloof.
This breed is a great learner, it soaks up most information and training that you feed him. This breed should be trained from the first day it’s bought home.
One of the most important things to be taught to this breed is how to be social.
Training and early socialization are key to a well-adjusted Rottweiler. A large part of our responsibilities towards this breed also involves educating people on the true nature of the Rottie and discourage the clichéd and false notion that they are harmful dogs.
History
Rotties are believed to have descended from the Molossus, a mastiff-like dog. Their ancestors marched to Germany with the Romans and were used to herd the cattle that sustained the soldiers.
These dogs also guarded the cattle at night. In order to keep their money safe from thieves, cattlemen put their purses around the Rottweiler’s neck whilst returning home.
Because they were used to herd animals much larger than themselves, Rottweilers continue to be amongst the strongest breeds the world over. To this day, they have formidable strength which they are not shy to use.
When rail transport replaced cattle drives, the Rottweiler lost its job and became almost extinct in the late 1800s. It was after World War II that this breed regained its popularity, when it was best known for being an excellent obedience dog.
Around the mid-1990s, Rotties were at the peak of their popularity. This was not the best thing to happen to the breed, because it gave rise to a large crop of unethical breeders who did not care to raise healthy dog with good temperaments.
Rottweiler’s earliest sightings are as far back as the Roman Empire where this breed used to follow around cattle and soldiers in the narrow passages between Germany and Switzerland. The area where this breed was first found later developed into a small town from a barely there village and consequently when the middle ages started this breed become an accomplice for the hunters around the area.
Rottweiler were assigned to take care of sheep’s during the night and guide them during the day, this meant that the breed would have to be bred in a way that it was sturdy and had enough force and power to tend to the sheep. During that time, there were a number of local breeds which would have come up with inter breeding between the Rottweiler and local German breeds which used to come around with the local passerby’s.
The International Club for Leonobergs and Rottweiler dogs was formed in the year 1899 in the country of Germany. The first standard breed under this club and called Rottweiler was produced in the year 1901.
Their motto which is still in place, is ‘Rottweiler breeding is working dog breeding’. Very interestingly, Rottweiler’s are associated as butcher dog, the reason for this is that when cattle herding was banned by law, this breed was used as a draught dog by Butcher’s. After herding was banned, the count of this breed reduced drastically and later there was a society which was formed for the protection and preservation of these dogs. This was roughly around 1907.
In the modern day, when herding is no longer a lucrative activity, Rottweiler is used as a guard dog in most places , used for customs and army. They are a favorite of the armed forces, the association dating back to the roman times.
Rottweiler was recognized under the American Kennel club in the year 1931. The bad press that Rotts get today, is primarily due to this indiscriminate breeding.
Today, dedicated and reputed breeders are trying to turn the breed around and give them their noble, strong personality and reputation back.
Unique Aspects
The first most noticeable thing about Rotties is their large head and strong jaw. It is often more because of their appearance than personality that Rotties are pre-judged as being aggressive.
The iron jaw of a Rottie can exert pressure of over 149kg per inch, and you can tell than the Rottie is aware of this by the way he walks his confident walk. Rest assured, he won’t be inspired to use it till you teach him to or mistreat him enough.
Rotties are also known for their colour. They’re amongst the few breeds that come only in one colour, barring slight difference in the shade of their markings.
Rotties make excellent guard dogs and companion dogs alike, but need to be socialised and trained at a very early age, by a firm yet gentle and patient human. Rottweilers love people and want to be with their families as much as they can. Leaving them alone for long periods of time can lead them to become destructive.
If raised with children, Rotties do very well around them. All play between Rotties and children, however, is best supervised by an adult. Because of their natural herding instinct, Rottweilers are prone to "bump" children, which may not be gentle on toddlers.
Fun Trivia
The Omen portrays the Rottweiler as an evil dog, a characterisation that they can do without. They also star as good guys in Lethal Weapon 3 and Entourage, the HBO series.Will Smith lives with two Rottweilers named Indo and Zakhi.
Vital Stats:
Size: Large
Efforts: Heavy Exercise
Coat Type: Short
Behaviour: Pocket Friendly
Pros
Rottweiler is amongst the best guard dogs in the world, its loyalty knows no bounds and it has immense amount of courage. This breed will guard your home and your belongings ferociously ensuring that no harm comes to its loved one under its rule.
This breed has an inner strength which has developed over years and years of evolution, it is also durable and physically tough. It is known sometimes to be over protective.
Rottweiler takes his own sweet time warming up to people, one doesn’t have to worry about the breed being overly friendly with anyone. Rottweiler is a breed that is excellent with children, this breed will protect a child and also be an excellent babysitter in one go.
Rottweiler has a higher level of intelligence In comparison to other breeds, it picks up things and habits quickly which means that it doesn’t require excessive training. Rottweiler looks scary and intimidating from the outside but it can be pretty funny and entertaining once left to its antics.
This breed is like a perfect gentleman- Calm, confident and laid back. It doesn’t suffer from temper tantrums and doesn’t get aggressive easily.
Rottweiler is a huge cuddle breed, it will be affectionate towards people it trusts. Rottweiler’s also have a healthy life span.
This breed can prove to be an excellent exercising partner as well as it is an active breed.
Cons
There is a view that several people have which says that Rottweiler is a ferocious dog who is prone to attacking people, but this Is only true for Rottweiler’s who haven’t been made to socialize properly. It is very important to make Rottweiler socialize properly.
This dog by impulse is a dominating breed but proper training it can reduce jumping on its instincts. Rottweiler’s can be very territorial and can intimidate strangers, they take their time in being social which can prove to be detrimental.
Rottweiler’s also need to be disciplined immensely. This breed is also slightly stubborn and dominating so the owners need to maintain that they are the man in charge.
This breed should also not be left alone for too long.
