AKC German Rottweilers
ALL ABOUT THE ROTTWEILER
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Italy.
SPECIAL SKILLS: Watchdog, guard-dog, and family pet.
SIZE: The shoulder-height is (25 – 31 in) for dogs and 56 – 63cm (23 – 28 in) for bitches.
COAT: The breed has a not very long, thick and coarse outer layer of hair with a thick under layer. The coat is always black with brown markings. Long haired examples occur occasionally but are not considered desirable. A white chest marking is also not desirable.
CARE REQUIRED: The Rottweiler is relatively easy to care for. Use a rubber glove to remove loose hairs during shedding as you’ll find it works better than a normal brush. If you wish to make the coat shine, there are special lotions which can be used. Keep the claws short and the ear passages clean.
CHARACTER: The Rottweiler is intelligent, obedient, unconditionally loyal to its handler and family, and is vigilant, protective, brave, strong, imposing. It can be jealous. A Rottweiler will defend its family and property to the end. Most of them have a tendency to become loyal to one person.
TRAINING: Rottweilers can be rather dominant in nature and therefore require an equable, calm handler who is confident and always fair. Teach the puppy what it may and what it may no do and hold consistently to this. The breed is extremely sensitive to your voice so use it for praise as well as blame.
A varied training program gives the best results with this dog. Generally it is necessary to be more forceful with the dogs than the bitches, which have a slightly gentler nature. Rottweilers are ideally suited for security work and defense dog training and sports, although the Mechelen Belgian Shepherd can be trained more quickly for this type of work.
SOCIAL BEHAVIOR: When a Rottweiler has been consistently brought up and trained, it will be loyal to its family and a good playmate for the children. Cats and other household animals will be accepted unquestioningly, provided the dog has had positive experiences with them when young. Some Rottweilers can try to dominate other dogs and want to assert themselves. Friends and relatives of the family are normally enthusiastically welcomed, whereas strangers can get no nearer than the sidewalk. The Rottweiler is an outstanding watchdog.
EXERCISE: Make sure that a Rottweiler gets plenty of exercise because it needs it. Running in the woods and in open country makes it very happy and it has no desire to wander far from you. Swimming or running beside a bicycle are perfect activities for this dog and its also adores retrieving a ball.
