Rottweiler

Rottweiler

The Rottweiler, or Rottweil Metzgerhund (Butchers Dog), is a "medium to large size, stalwart dog" breed originating in Germany as a herding dog.
It is a hardy and very intelligent breed. Rottweilers also worked as draught dogs, pulling carts to carry meat and other products to market. "Rottweiler breeders aim at a dog of abundant strength, black coated with clearly defined rich tan markings, whose powerful appearance does not lack nobility and which is exceptionally well suited to being a companion, service and working dog."
The Rottweiler was kept busy in these traditional roles until the mid-19th century when railroads replaced droving for getting livestock to market. Although there are still Rottweilers working stock all over the world, many other roles have been found for this versatile breed.
During the first and second World Wars, Rottweilers were put into service in various roles including as messenger, draught and guard dogs.
Currently they are often used as search and rescue, assistance, guide dogs for the blind, guard and police dogs in addition to their traditional roles.

History

Although an extremely versatile breed used in recent times for many other purposes, the Rottweiler is first and foremost one of the oldest, if not the oldest, of herding breeds. A multi-faceted herding and stock protection dog of exceptional ability, it is capable of working all kinds of livestock under a wide 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 eventually became 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.
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 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 Allgemeiner Deutscher Rottweiller Klub - e.V (ADRK) which is recognised worldwide as the home club of the Rottweiler.
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. From that time the breed has become popular with dog owners, and in 1935 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.

Description

General Appearance
The ideal Rottweiler is a medium large, robust and powerful dog, black with clearly defined rust markings.
His compact and substantial build denotes great strength, agility and endurance. Dogs are characteristically more massive throughout with larger frame and heavier bone than bitches.
Bitches are distinctly feminine, but without weakness of substance or structure.

Size, Proportion, Substance:-

Dogs--24 inches to 27 inches.
Bitches--22 inches to 25 inches, with preferred size being mid-range of each sex. Correct proportion is of primary importance, as long as size is within the standard's range. The length of body, from prosternum to the rearmost projection of the rump, is slightly longer than the height of the dog at the withers, the most desirable proportion of the height to length being 9 to 10.
The Rottweiler is neither coarse nor shelly.
Depth of chest is approximately fifty percent (50%) of the height of the dog. His bone and muscle mass must be sufficient to balance his frame, giving a compact and very powerful appearance.
Serious Faults--Lack of proportion, undersized, oversized, reversal of sex characteristics (bitchy dogs, doggy bitches).

Head

Of medium length, broad between the ears; forehead line seen in profile is moderately arched; zygomatic arch and stop well developed with strong broad upper and lower jaws. The desired ratio of backskull to muzzle is 3 to 2.
Forehead is preferred dry, however some wrinkling may occur when dog is alert.
Expression is noble, alert, and self-assured.
Eyes of medium size, almond shaped with well fitting lids, moderately deep-set, neither protruding nor receding. The desired color is a uniform dark brown. Serious Faults--Yellow (bird of prey) eyes, eyes of different color or size, hairless eye rim. Disqualification--Entropion. Ectropion.
Ears of medium size, pendant, triangular in shape; when carried alertly the ears are level with the top of the skull and appear to broaden it.
Ears are to be set well apart, hanging forward with the inner edge lying tightly against the head and terminating at approximately mid-cheek. Serious Faults--Improper carriage (creased, folded or held away from cheek/head).
Muzzle--Bridge is straight, broad at base with slight tapering towards tip. The end of the muzzle is broad with well developed chin. Nose is broad rather than round and always black. Lips-Always black; corners closed; inner mouth pigment is preferred dark. Serious Faults--Total lack of mouth pigment (pink mouth).
Bite and Dentition--Teeth 42 in number (20 upper, 22 lower), strong, correctly placed, meeting in a scissors bite--lower incisors touching inside of upper incisors. Serious Faults--Level bite; any missing tooth. Disqualifications--Overshot, undershot (when incisors do not touch or mesh); wry mouth; two or more missing teeth.

Neck, Topline, Body
Neck--Powerful, well muscled, moderately long, slightly arched and without loose skin.
Topline--The back is firm and level, extending in a straight line from behind the withers to the croup.
The back remains horizontal to the ground while the dog is moving or standing. Body--The chest is roomy, broad and deep, reaching to elbow, with well pronounced forechest and well sprung, oval ribs.
Back is straight and strong. Loin is short, deep and well muscled.
Croup is broad, of medium length and only slightly sloping. Underline of a mature Rottweiler has a slight tuck-up. Males must have two normal testicles properly descended into the scrotum.
Disqualification--Unilateral cryptorchid or cryptorchid males. Tail--Tail docked short, close to body, leaving one or two tail vertebrae.
The set of the tail is more important than length.
Properly set, it gives an impression of elongation of topline; carried slightly above horizontal when the dog is excited or moving.

Forequarters
Shoulder blade is long and well laid back.
Upper arm equal in length to shoulder blade, set so elbows are well under body. Distance from withers to elbow and elbow to ground is equal.
Legs are strongly developed with straight, heavy bone, not set close together. Pasterns are strong, springy and almost perpendicular to the ground.
Feet are round, compact with well arched toes, turning neither in nor out.
Pads are thick and hard. Nails short, strong and black.
Dewclaws may be removed.

Hindquarters
Angulation of hindquarters balances that of forequarters. Upper thigh is fairly long, very broad and well muscled.
Stifle joint is well turned.
Lower thigh is long, broad and powerful, with extensive muscling leading into a strong hock joint.
Rear pasterns are nearly perpendicular to the ground. Viewed from the rear, hind legs are straight, strong and wide enough apart to fit with a properly built body. Feet are somewhat longer than the front feet, turning neither in nor out, equally compact with well arched toes.
Pads are thick and hard. Nails short, strong, and black. Dewclaws must be removed.

Coat

Outer coat is straight, coarse, dense, of medium length and lying flat. Undercoat should be present on neck and thighs, but the amount is influenced by climatic conditions. Undercoat should not show through outer coat.
The coat is shortest on head, ears and legs, longest on breeching. The Rottweiler is to be exhibited in the natural condition with no trimming.
Fault--Wavy coat. Serious Faults--Open, excessively short, or curly coat; total lack of undercoat; any trimming that alters the length of the natural coat.
Disqualification--Long coat.

Color
Always black with rust to mahogany markings.
The demarcation between black and rust is to be clearly defined. The markings should be located as follows: a spot over each eye; on cheeks; as a strip around each side of muzzle, but not on the bridge of the nose; on throat; triangular mark on both sides of prosternum;on forelegs from carpus downward to the toes; on inside of rear legs showing down the front of the stifle and broadening out to front of rear legs from hock to toes, but not completely eliminating black from rear of pasterns; un-der tail; black penciling on toes.
The undercoat is gray, tan, or black. Quantity and location of rust markings is important and should not exceed ten percent of body color. Serious Faults--Straw-colored, excessive, insufficient or sooty markings; rust marking other than described above; white marking any place on dog (a few rust or white hairs do not constitute a marking).
Disqualifications--Any base color other than black; absence of all markings.

Gait
The Rottweiler is a trotter.
His movement should be balanced, harmonious, sure, powerful and unhindered, with strong forereach and a powerful rear drive.
The motion is effortless, efficient, and ground-covering.
Front and rear legs are thrown neither in nor out, as the imprint of hind feet should touch that of forefeet.
In a trot the forequarters and hindquarters are mutually coordinated while the back remains level, firm and relatively motionless.
As speed increases the legs will converge under body towards a center line.

Temperament

The Rottweiler is basically a calm, confident and courageous dog with a self-assured aloofness that does not lend itself to immediate and indiscriminate friendships. A Rottweiler is self-confident and responds quietly and with a wait-and-see attitude to influences in his environment.
He has an inherent desire to protect home and family, and is an intelligent dog of extreme hardness and adaptability with a strong willingness to work, making him especially suited as a companion, guardian and general all-purpose dog.
The behavior of the Rottweiler in the show ring should be controlled, willing and adaptable, trained to submit to examination of mouth, testicles, etc.
An aloof or reserved dog should not be penalized, as this reflects the accepted character of the breed.
An aggressive or belligerent attitude towards other dogs should not be faulted.
A judge shall excuse from the ring any shy Rottweiler.
A dog shall be judged fundamentally shy if, refusing to stand for examination, it shrinks away from the judge.
A dog that in the opinion of the judge menaces or threatens him/her, or exhibits any sign that it may not be safely approached or examined by the judge in the normal manner, shall be excused from the ring. A dog that in the opinion of the judge attacks any person in the ring shall be disqualified.

Health

his breed is susceptible to ACL damage. Prone to hip dysplasia. Tends to snore and overeat. Also prone to entropion (narrowing of the slit between the eyelids).

The Rottie will do okay in an apartment if it is sufficiently exercised. They are relatively inactive indoors and a small yard will be sufficient.

The Rottweiler needs plenty of exercise. You can't give these robust dogs too much work or exercise; they thrive on it. They need to be taken on a daily walk or jog. Running in the woods and in open country makes them very happy and they have no desire to wander from you. Swimming or running beside a bicycle are perfect activities for this dog and it also loves retrieving a ball.

Live to about 10-12 years.