rottweiler - Temperament, Miscellaneous

A German breed of dog, developed around the Alpine town of Rottweil to protect and herd cattle; agile, with heavy muscular body and neck; powerful muzzle and short soft ears; short black and tan coat; tail docked short; popular guard dogs; attracted adverse publicity in the late 1980s, following reports of several fatal attacks on children.

Rottweiler
The Rottweiler is a muscular breed.
Country of origin
Germany
Common nicknames
Rottie, Rotty
Classification and breed standards
FCI:	Group 2 Section 2 #147	Stds
AKC:	Working	Stds
ANKC:	Group 6 (Utility)	Stds
CKC:	Group 3 - Working	Stds
KC (UK):	Working	Stds
NZKC:	Utility	Stds
UKC:	Guardian Dogs	Stds

A Rottweiler is a medium-large, robust and powerful dog breed originating from Germany.

A Rottweiler's eyes are a warm, dark brown—any other color may not be acceptable as part of the "pure breed".

Naturally, Rottweilers are a tailed dog.

The chest is deep and should reach the dog's elbows, giving tremendous lung capacity.

Temperament

In the hands of a responsible owner, a well-trained and -socialized Rottweiler can provide both excellent personal protection and loving companionship. A badly trained or insufficiently restrained Rottweiler, however, can be extremely destructive, and pose a significant physical threat to its owner or other humans or dogs on account of its size and strength.

The Rottweiler is typically a dominant dog, and they can resort to aggressiveness in unfamiliar situations. The Rottweiler's large size and incredible strength make this an important point to consider, and for this reason the Rottweiler is a breed that only experienced dog owners should consider. Rottweiler owners who are not aware at the outset of the breed's aggressive nature often have difficulty handling such dogs when they reach adulthood.

The Rottweiler Welfare Association offers the following advice for would-be Rottweiler owners:

Like all dogs, the Rottweiler needs to be trained properly and controlled at all times No-one should own a Rottweiler unless they are absolutely sure they can control it, and are willing and able to devote time and effort to teach the dog good basic manners The Rottweiler has a natural guarding instinct. Do not do anything (for instance, rough play) to enhance this guarding instinct No Rottweiler should be in the sole charge of a person such as a child who is not capable of controlling it Any person who owns a dog should be aware that he will be devoted to and feel protective towards his household. One route the army travelled was through Württemberg and on to the small market town of Rottweil.The principal ancestor of the first Rottweilers during this time was supposed to be the Roman war dog, local sheepdogs meet during the travel, 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 droving and protecting the cattle from robbers and wild animals. But the build up to the World War I saw a great demand for "police dogs," and that led to a revival in interest for the Rottweiler.

From that time, it has become popular with dog owners, and in 1935 the breed was officially recognised by the American Kennel Club.

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 Rottweiler German Club) on the 27 April 1907 and became the IRK (International Rottweiler Club). The DRK want to produce working dogs and didn't take lot of care in the morphology of the Rottweiler. One dog emerged and gave us the base of the actual Rottweiler type: Lord von der Teck son of Lord Remo vom Schifferstadt.

On 14 August 1921 the two clubs merged to become the ADRK (Allgemeiner Deutscher Rottweiler Klub) which is now known as the official German Rottweiler club. The first currency of the ADRK was : "Die Rottweilerzucht ist und bleibt Gebrauchshundezucht" (The Rottweiler breeding is and stay the breeding of a work dog)

Miscellaneous

The first Rottweilers

Lord Remo vom Schifferstadt (around 1907) Lord von der Teck (Around 1913) Ralph von Neckar Max von der Strahlenburg Leo von Cannstatt Ido vom Köhlerwad Reichssieger Hackel vom Köhlerwad Reichssieger Alex vom Zabergäu Odo vom Ellernbrook SchH III Sieger 1948, 1949

In popular culture

Muzzle/Scout and Gerta from Road Rovers Good Dog Carl "Snot" (from the National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation movie) "Missy" of Joss Stone "Max" from the Punisher comic book "Dracula" of Phil Anselmo "Cofi" from the movie Amores Perros The unnamed satanic Rottweiler which protected Damien in the horror film The Omen The unnamed Rottweiler guarding the cemetery in Pet Semetary Triumph the Insult Comic Dog a puppet dog appeared from Late Night with Conan O'Brien and MTV2.

Dog attacks

In recent years, the breed has received some negative publicity, often due to a lack of understanding of the nature of the breed on the part of the owner. Unscrupulous breeders have produced dogs with highly aggressive tendencies and some owners have used the dogs as guard or protection dogs. Other owners may acquire a Rottweiler for a family pet, but neglect to properly socialise and train the animal, resulting in a dangerous, unpredictable dog who makes the rules.

The portrayal of Rottweilers as evil dogs in several fictional films and TV series, most notably in The Omen, has contributed to this negative publicity.

Despite the media's fascination with Rottweilers who run afoul of canine behavioural standards, people who have experience with properly raised individuals can attest to the Rottweiler's friendliness and often clownish nature. Nevertheless, this breed is not for the inexperienced or uninvolved dog owner, or anyone who lacks the physical strength to handle the Rottweiler.

As a result of recent dog attacks involving the breed, some German Länder put the Rottweiler on an index of dangerous dogs.

On 27th September, 2006 a fifteen month old boy was attacked by a Rottweiler and suffered injuries to his face after a severe mauling, in Middleton-on-Sea, West Sussex, United Kingdom. The owner of the dog volunteered to have the dog destroyed after it was seized by police.