Working Dogs: Rottweiler

image via Wikipedia

When Roman legions got across the Alps almost 2,000 years ago, they employed this breed's Mastiff-type ancestors as guards and cattle drovers. In time these dogs spread out across the Alps into the southern German village of Rottweil, where they were developed with local dogs to create the Rottweiler. For centuries thenceforth, this robust dog drove cattle to market and functioned as a guard and police dog. Its a stockily built, strong animal, calm and quiet. Its back is short, broad and level, his chest spacious, legs straight, with muscular thighs and quite heavy boned. The head is broad between the ears, with muzzle about as long as the depth of the skull. Its almond-shaped eyes bear a good-humored expression, while its small ears hang flat. The coat is short but really dense and hard.

WEIGHT: 85-110 pounds

HEIGHT: males 24-27 inches; females 22-25 inches

COLOR: black with rust to mahogany markings.

By Tip Writer