Rottweiler at 08:47

Although a versatile breed used in recent times for many other purposes, the Rottweiler is primarily known as one of the oldest of herding breeds. A multi-faceted herding and stock protection dog, it is capable of working all kinds of livestock under a variety of conditions.

The breed is an ancient one, whose history stretches back to the Roman Empire. In those times, the legions traveled with their meat on the hoof and required the assistance of working dogs to herd the cattle. One route the army traveled was through Württemberg and on to the small market town of Rottweil. The principal ancestors of the first Rottweilers during this time was supposed to be the Roman droving dog, local dogs the army met on its travels, and dogs with molosser appearance coming from England and The Netherlands.

This region was eventually to become an important cattle area, and the descendants of the Roman cattle dogs proved their worth in both driving and protecting the cattle from robbers and wild animals. Rottweilers were said to have been used by travelling butchers at markets during the middle ages to guard money pouches tied around their necks.  However, by the end of the 19th century as railroads became the main method for moving stock to market, the breed had declined so much that in 1900 there was only one female to be found in the town of Rottweil.

The build up to World War I saw a great demand for police dogs, and that led to a revival of interest in the Rottweiler. During the First and Second World Wars, Rottweilers were put into service in various roles including as messenger, ambulance, draught, and guard dogs.

The first Rottweiler club in Germany, named DRK ("Deutscher Rottweiler-Klub" — German Rottweiler Club) was created the 13 January 1907, and followed by the creation of the SDRK ("Süddeutscher Rottweiler-Klub" — South German Rottweiler Club) on the 27 April 1907 and became the IRK (International Rottweiler Club). The DRK counted around 500 Rottweiler, the SDRK 3000 Rottweilers. The goals of the two clubs were different. The DRK wanted to produce working dogs and did not emphasize the morphology of the Rottweiler. The main stud dog of this club was Lord von der Teck. The IRK tried to produce a homogeneous morphology according to their standard. One of the main stud dogs of this club was Ralph von Neckar.

The various German Rottweiler Clubs amalgamated to form the German General Rottweiler Club (Allgemeiner Deutscher Rottweiler Klub - e.V) usually known by it's German Initials as "the ADRK", in 1921. This was offically recorded in the register of clubs and associations at the district court of Stuttgart on Janaury 27th, 1924.  The ADRK is recognised worldwide as the home club of the Rottweiler.

In 1935 the Rottweiler was officially recognized by the American Kennel Club. In 1936, Rottweilers were exhibited in Britain at Crufts. In 1966, a separate register was opened for the breed. In fact, in the mid 1990s, the popularity of the Rottweiler reached an all time high with it being the 1st most registered dog by the American Kennel Club.

According to the American Kennel Club the Rottweiler has a natural gathering style with a strong desire to control. They generally show a loose-eye and have a great amount of force while working well off the stock. They make much use of their ability to intimidate.

The Rottweiler will often carry the head on an even plane with the back or carry the head up but have the neck and shoulders lowered. Some females will lower the entire front end slightly when using eye. Males will also do this when working far off the stock in an open field. This is rarely seen in males when working in confined spaces such as stock yards.

The Rottweiler has a reasonably good natural balance, force-barks when necessary and when working cattle uses a very intimidating charge. There is a natural change in forcefulness when herding sheep. When working cattle he may use his body and shoulders and for this reason should be used on horned stock with caution.

The Rottweiler, when working cattle, will search out the dominant animal and challenge it. Upon proving his control over that animal he will settle back and tend to his work.

Some growers have found that Rottweilers are especially suited to move stubborn stock that simply ignore Border Collies, Kelpies, etc. A Rottweiler will use their body to physically force the stubborn animal to do his bidding if necessary.

When working sheep the Rottweiler shows a gathering/fetching style and reams directions easily. He drives sheep with ease.

If worked on the same stock for any length of time the Rottweiler tends to develop a bond with the stock and will become quite affectionate with them as long as they do as he says.

The skull is of medium length, broad between the ears. The forehead line is moderately arched as seen from the side. The occipital bone well developed without being conspicuous. The stop is well defined.

The Rottweiler nose is well developed, more broad than round with relatively large nostrils and always black. The muzzle should appear neither elongated nor shortened in relation to the cranial region. The nasal bridge is broad at the base and moderately tapered.

The lips are black and close fitting with the corner of the mouth not visible. The gums should be as dark as possible.

Both the upper and lower jaws are strong and broad. According to the FCI Standard Rottweilers should have strong and complete dentition (42 teeth) with scissor bite, the upper incisors closely overlapping the lower incisors.

The zygomatic arches should be pronounced. The eyes should be of medium size, almond-shaped and dark brown in colour. The eyelids are close fitting.

The ears are medium-sized, pendant, triangular, wide apart, and set high on the head. With the ears laid forward close to the head, the skull appears to be broadened.

The skin on the head is tight fitting overall. When the dog is alert, the forehead may be slightly wrinkled.

Strong, of fair length, well muscled, slightly arched, clean, free from throatiness, without dewlap and very long neck

The back is straight, strong and firm. The loins are short, strong and deep. The croup is broad, of medium length, and slightly rounded, neither flat nor falling away. The chest is roomy, broad and deep (approximately 50 % of the shoulder height) with a well developed forechest and well sprung ribs. The flanks are not tucked up.

An undocked Rottweiler in profileNatural bob tailed or if present the tail was historically docked. Docking is banned in Germany, the U.K and some other countries. An un-docked Rottweiler tail is level in extension of the upper line; at ease it may be hanging.