The Rottweiler is muscular and massive dog breed, which can be a daunting beast or calm canine depending on its personality and owner. With his large head and fascinating black-and-tan markings, this breed has become prime preference of many pet lovers. If you also want to become a proud owner of this loyal canine, then this is a must read article for you. In this article, you can read all the important information about this magnificent dog breed.

General Information:

Some interesting facts about Rottweiler:

• Rotties are one of the oldest dog breeds in the world having descended from the dogs which were used by the Romans to drive the cattle herd that fed the army as it marched through Europe.
• In the 12th century, Rotties were also known as the 'Butchers Dog' or 'Metzgerhund' as they were used to protect the money of Butcher on trips to and from markets.
• Rotties are slow to mature. Generally, they are not considered mature or adult until around two years of age.
• Rottweilers have average life expectancy between 7 and 10 years.
• Many Rottweilers 'talk'. It is a low, grumbling sound (not growling). This sound is like cat purring.
• Despite the big size of Rotties, they always want to be cuddled with their owner. So, don't be surprised when your Rottie desperately tries to climb into your lap.
• These dogs can be medium to large in size. They require well determined owners; hence, they are not suitable for the first time owners.
• Rotties can become obstinate and hard to keep; therefore, they need a leader having true qualities of leadership.
• With strong jaws and bite force, these dogs are considered to have one of the greatest bite forces in the entire Canine world.
• Owing to well developed muscular bodies, Rotties need exercise on regular basis. In addition to this, these dogs are known for their good running speeds. Rotties can run up to 25 mph or even more.
• These dogs need capacious place to live in. Further, these dogs are prone to obesity and need special care for that.
• Rottweilers are known for their high affection towards their owner. It is a mistaken belief that these dogs can attack people around them. The best way to judge a Rotties is to judge their owners, as the behavior of Rotties is totally depends upon the training.
• At the time of birth, Rotties are vigorous. A healthy puppy weighs around 1.3 lbs at the time of birth. The puppies are playful, but can be destructive if they are left alone.
• Rottweilers slobber before and after meals, and also at the time of travelling.
• Rottweilers can excel in many activities; some of these activities are tracking, obedience, and carting.
• They are also great service or assistant dogs. Many Rotties work with Police and Search & Rescue team. They are good therapy dogs.
• Rotties are not innately guard dogs. They are thinking dogs that carefully look at any situation before taking action.
• Rottweilers may experience separation anxiety. So, you should know everything about separation anxiety if you are considering this dog.

Is Rottweiler dog breed suitable for you?

Additional Information about Rottweiler:

History:

Descended from the Molossus (a mastiff-type dog), Rotties' ancestors marched to Germany with the Romans for driving the herd of cattle that sustained the Romans. As the army traveled, mating of the big dogs with the native dogs laid the foundation of a new dog breed.

Southern Germany was one of those areas through which the Roman army passed. Roman armies set up their colonies in southern Germany to take the benefit of soil and climate, which were appropriate for the agriculture. They also built villas which were roofed with the red tile.

More than 600 years later, when they were building church, the town inhabitants unearthed the site of the ancient Roman baths and discovered the red-tiled villas. This discovery inspired a new name for this town, which was "das Rote Wil" (means the red tile).

Over many years, Rottweilers thrived as a market place for the cattle (the German equivalent of a Texas cow town). The Roman Molossus dogs' descendents drove the herd of cattle to the town for butchering purpose. In order to ensure safety from the thieves after selling their farm animals, the cattlemen put their purses around the neck of their Rottweilers after returning home. In addition to this, Butchers used these dogs to pull carts loaded with the meat.

Almost extinct in the 1800s, this breed again thrived in the early 20^th century due to the dedicated efforts of breeders centered in Stuttgart. On January 13, 1907, the DRK (Deutscher Rottweiler-Klub (German Rottweiler Club)) was founded in Germany. On April 27, 1907; the SDRK (Süddeutscher Rottweiler-Klub (South German Rottweiler Club)) was established, which later became the IRK (International Rottweiler Club).

In the year 1931, this breed was first recognized by the AKC (American Kennel Club). Rottweilers are known for their many talents including herding, tracking, guarding, watchdog, search and rescue. In addition to this, they are known for guiding for the blind people, police work, carting, competitive obedience and Schutzhund.

Description:

Before understanding their description, let us understand anatomy of Rottweiler:

Rottweilers have massive, muscular, powerful body. Their head is wide with rounded forehead. The muzzle of this dog breed is well developed and the teeth meet in a scissors bite. The nose of these dogs is wide and it is black in color. The lips of these dogs are black in color and the inside mouth is dark. Their dark eyes are medium-sized and almond shaped. Some Rotties have blue eyes or some may have one brown and one blue eye.

The triangular ears of these dogs are carried forward and their tail is customarily docked. Note: docking of tails is not legal in many parts of Europe. The rear dewclaws of these dogs are often removed. They have broad and deep chest. These dogs have hard, short and thick coat type. These dogs have black with rust to mahogany markings on the muzzle, cheeks, paws and legs. In addition to this, a red color with brown markings also exists. These dogs have deficiency in their hair gene which makes the coloring a lighter red. All the description is summarized in the tabular form:

Personality

Rottweilers are known for their gentle disposition. They love their human companions and when trained properly they make a gentle companion. The kind nature of this dog breed makes it caring dog that will protect his human companions with extreme devotion if he sees the requirement for doing so.

Undoubtedly, the Rottweiler is a powerful dog breed. While defending himself, he can cause damage therefore this breed needs to be well socialized and bred sensibly. Many people believe that Rotties are a reactive dog breed. Actually, aggressive Rotty is generally the result of the reckless and careless ownership, less training, and poor or no socialization.

A large, strong breed of dogs like the Rottweiler can be a perilous if it is not properly trained or treated poorly. Like any other dog breed, Rottie will develop aggressive behavior if he feels worried or threatened. These behaviors of Rottie can be very problematic for you and your family. When you point out that your Rottie is becoming aggressive towards you and your family, you should immediately seek help through the training. This aggressive behavior of your dog is a result of the bad socialization and poor communication; hence, it must be dealt with carefully.

If you don't provide proper training to your Rottie, you will create a negative temperament in your Rottie. Further, you should never yell or hit at your Rottweiler when they are showing aggressive behavior or becoming disobedient, or during training sessions. When you abuse or yell at your dog, they become fearful which is the primary cause of aggression and weird behavior in your dog. When dogs become scared, they start defending themselves and may attack on you. Therefore, you should always choose the reward system while providing training to your dog. It teaches your canine companion that the good behavior yields good reward, and the bad behavior gets no reward.

Rottie is a territorial dog breed. It is common to see the Rottie showing the guarding behavior towards the strangers or other pets. These dogs were genetically engineered to watch out for the threats. A carefully trained, well socialized and properly cared, Rottie may never show guarding behavior. A well trained Rottie will be a good playmate for the kids. A well socialized Rottie will also accept other dogs, cats and other household pets.

Health problems with Rottweiler

Just like humans have the potential to inherit any particular disease, canine have also the potential to develop certain genetic health problems. You should never purchase your dog from the dog breeder who doesn't provide a health certificate on puppies. A reputed dog breeder will be honest and will tell you about all the health problems associated with the breed.

Rotties are prone to some health problems, such as:

• Hip Dysplasia- This breed of dogs is mostly affected by the hip dysplasia, which is a genetic irregularity in which the femur head does not fit correctly into the socket of hip. This medical condition varies from mild to severe. Severe hip dysplasia is extremely painful and often requires medical surgery to correct it. After the surgery, some dogs are likely to develop arthritis when they become old.
• Heart Disease - In Rotties, sub aortic stenosis is common form of heart problem which can lead to the canine congestive heart failure.
• Cancer – This breed of dogs may suffer from Bone Cancer. You should be well aware of different types of cancers in dogs and ways to prevent them.
• Rupture of the Cruciate Ligament – This medical condition occurs when the ligaments in the rear legs ruptured. It causes lameness and instability.
• Bloating (also known as Gastric Dilation & Volvulation or GDV) – this medical condition occurs when the stomach of the dog fills with gas and distends rapidly then abnormally twists. It is very fatal and can result in death of dog.
• Entropion – In this medical condition, the eyelid of dog turns inwards which cause irritation in the surface of the eye.
• Skin Irritations and Canine Allergies- You should learn different types of canine allergies and ways to treat them
• Demodectic Mange – It is type of parasitic disease, which causes skin irritation and hair loss
• Canine Parvovirus – It is a very virulent and serious viral illness that generally (but not always) affects the young dogs or puppies and can kill them within the 24 hours.
• Osteochondrosis and elbow dysplasia of the shoulder and knee also occur in this dog breed.

In addition to this, Rotties are prone to other medical conditions including vonWillebrand's disease (it is an innate disease that affects the ability of blood clotting), Addison's disease (a disease of the adrenal gland), hypothyroidism, folliculitis and gastroenteritis.

Not all of these medical conditions are detectable in a growing Rottie, and it is quite difficult to envisage whether your puppy will be free of these medical conditions, therefore, you must find a renowned and trusted breeder who is committed to breeding the healthiest dogs. You should also ask independent health certification of the parents of the dog (and if possible grandparent also). In this way you can well aware of the possibility of various innate heath issues in your dog.

Canine obesity is one of the most popular health issues now these days. Remember that you can protect your canine from the obesity by learning some effective ways to treat canine obesity. The ideal weight of Rotties is 75 to 110 pounds. You should remember this ideal weight of Rottie and provide them food exercise to maintain their weight. Remember that obesity is the root cause of many other health issues.

What to feed

You should note that the amount any dog eats depends on his age, size, build, metabolism, and activity level. Just like people, dogs don't need the same amount of food. It is obvious that a highly active dog like Rottie will need more than a couch potato dog. You should also remember that the quality of dog food you buy also makes difference, i.e. the good quality dog food will nourish your dog.

The recommended daily amount for your Rottie is 4 to 10 cups of optimum quality dry food in a day, which is divided into two meals. You should purchase premium quality commercial dog food from the reputed vendors of the industry so as to ensure its quality and reliability.

In addition to this, you should keep your Rottie in good shape by measuring his food on daily basis and try to feed him twice a day rather than leaving out food all the time. If you're unsure whether your puppy is overweight, you can give him the hands-on test. First, look down at him and look his waist. After that place your hands on the back of your dog, and now thumbs along the spine of your dog, with your fingers spread downward. You can easily feel but not see the ribs of your dog without having to press hard. If you cannot, it means you dog need less food and more exercise.

Rotties have double coat. Their straight medium-length outer coat is coarse and dense, lying flat on their body. Their soft, downy undercoat is present on the thighs and neck, and the thickness of undercoat depends on whether you live in a warm or cool climate. The coat of Rottie is shortest on the ears, head, and legs; and longest on the breeching (the hair on the hind thighs).

Rotties shed moderately, but their coat requires little grooming. You should brush the coat of your Rottie weekly with a soft bristle brush or rubber hound mitt in order to keep the hair and skin healthy. Your Rottie will have a heavy shed in spring and fall, which is known as "blowing out" the coat. In this season, you dog will need to be brushed frequently in order to get rid of all loose hair.

You should provide bathe to your Rottie as you desire or only when your dog gets dirty. You can bathe your canine companion weekly only with the gentle dog shampoos (if you don't want to harm his shining coat).

You can clean the ears of your pooch as needed with a solution recommended by your vet. You should not use cotton swabs inside the ear of your dog, as they can push gunk further down into it. You can also learn some easy techniques to clean puppy ears at home.

If you don't want to get the scratch marks on your precious items, you should trim the nails of your pooch regularly, generally every couple of weeks. The nails of your dog should never be so long that they click on floor. Don't forget to brush the teeth of your canine companion with vet-approved pet toothpaste. For this matter, you should learn some effective tips to brush your dog's teeth.