Dates back 2000 years!
It's presumed the Rottweiler is a descendent of the Italian Mastiff, since the
Romans used to keep a short-coated herding dog. Drover dogs, as they were know,
were mainly used as herding dogs during the Roman Empire's expeditions to
conquest Europe, since the Roman legions carried their meat "on the hoof".
One of the many military campaigns has led the Romans to the region of present
day Rottweil (Rote Wil - german: red tile roofs), a small town in the south west of
Germany. This early settlement later became an important trading center and
Here, Rottweilers continued to thrive, working as herding and butcher dogs
(Metzgerhund), driving and protecting the cattle. Rottweiler dogs were also used to
pull carts, and merchants used to tie money pouches around their necks, to keep
the money safe from robbers.
In those days, two kinds of Rotties were bred. The carts were pulled by large dogs
and the smaller Rottweilers were used for herding, as they were less likely to byte the
cattle, causing them injury. They were also more agile, lighter, with greater stamina.
Because small Rotties were bread mainly for their skills, and not for their
appearance, some color variations consisting of white and red patches, have
appeared in the breed. The large Rottweiler dogs have set the standard for what is
the Rottweiler today.
The 19th century marked a milestone in Rottweiler history, as railroads began
transporting livestock to market, and donkeys were more and more often used to
pull carts. This led to a steep decline in the breed, which was close to being extinct.
At the beginning of the 1900's Rottweiler dogs became popular again as they were
used as police dogs.
The year 1901 saw the forming of the first Rottweiler club, the Rottweiler and
Leonberger Club, under which the first Rottweiler breed standard appeared. During
the First and Second World Wars, Rottweiler dogs were used as guard dogs, but
also as ambulance, messenger and draught dogs.
The Deutscher Rottweiler-Klub (DRK) or German Rottweiler Club was established in
Germany, on the 13th of January of 1907, followed by the Suddeutscher
Rottweiler-Klub (SDRK) or South German Rottweiler Club on April 27, 1907, which
later became the International Rottweiler Club (IRK).
During the year 1921 the two clubs unified to form the Allgemeiner Deutscher
Rottweiler-Klub (ADRK) or General German Rottweiler Club, having worldwide
recognition as the Rottweiler home club. By the year 1924 ADRK has published its
first stud book.
Rotties were first introduced to America by German immigrants, and by returning
American Kennel Club (AKC) in 1931.
After that the Rottweiler breed became very popular, but unfortunately this lead to
careless breeding for profit, and negative traits began to emerge. As a
consequence, Rottweiler dogs gained a bad reputation.
Unfortunately nowadays the Rottweiler is still viewed as dangerous by some
people. But we tend to forget about animal cruelty and irresponsible ownership.
Never before in the entire Rottweiler history was it mentioned that Rotties were
aggressive. People who know and respect the breed can truly say that Rottweilers
are great dogs, who love working and make great family pets.
When we see Rottweiler history going back such a long way, and that Rottweiler
dogs have been devoted to us since ancient times, we can acknowledge that
Rottweilers truly are the best dogs in the world, and that's why we love them so
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