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 market place. 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 much! |
THE TRUE HISTORY OF THE GERMAN ROTTWEILER |
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