If you don’t have a Rottweiler or are not involved with the breed, then it might come as a big surprise that the typical Rottweiler (American Rottweiler) you see here and again, walking around your neighborhood or being portrayed often in a negative light on the Most of the media, it is actually a world apart from the original German Rottweiler, the German Rottweiler.

The German Rottweiler has its roots in the Roman Empire and is considered by many to be one of the oldest sheepdogs. The Rottweiler was used for various activities in different periods of history. In ancient times. The Rottweiler was used to herd and protect livestock, while in modern times it was used primarily as a guard dog by the military and police. Therefore, the Rottweiler is a multifaceted breed capable of multitasking and is highly intelligent, loyal, eager to work, and has a lot of confidence.

Now, there are two basic differences between kennel organizations like AKC and ADRK. At the beginning of the 20th century, Germany had a few existing Rottweiler clubs covering the expanse of Germany, and it was in the 1920s that they all came together to form the Allgemeiner Deutscher Rottweiler Klub (ADRK), that is, the general German Rottweiler Klub. Now this organization has maintained for almost 100 years a strict standard and guidelines on what the Rottweiler should be, since after all the Rottweiler is German and they wanted to preserve the Rottweiler for what it is (a working dog), and for so for this day they have the best Rottweilers. In Germany, one cannot just breed any Rottweiler that one likes, be it a Rottweiler with papers and a Rottweiler without papers, as can be done in America, but there is a procedure for it.

If you’ve ever looked at an imported German (pink paper) pedigree, you will notice that there is a detailed paragraph for every Rottweiler in that dog’s pedigree. These paragraphs are officially “criticisms” of the Rottweiler given by ADRK certified judges. These criticisms come when you bring your Rottweiler to Zuchttauglichkeitsprufung (called ZTP or BST) which translates to “breeding suitability test”, and officially certifies that a Rottweiler is acceptable as breeding stock. In Germany, a Rottweiler must meet this grade before being bred and hence the claim that this particular Rottweiler is within the standard and is an ambassador for the breed. This type of “screening”, so to speak, helps eliminate weak genetics and ensures that the Rottweiler breed will continue to improve. The ZTP also tests the working ability of dogs, because a Rottweiler that is not capable of working is not a Rottweiler. It just falls into the group of all other Molossian races and is not distinguished.

If I can put it into an analogy, it would be like seeing a really sporty looking car on the street passing a Geo. The car may seem fast, but in reality it is not. The Rottweiler is the same, you might see one that looks great, but if it can’t do what it’s naturally supposed to do, which is function, then it’s not a true Rottweiler. The Germans test the working ability of dogs with Schutzhund. Schutzhund is like the police dog training that most people have seen, consisting of the dog biting a man dressed in a padded suit with sleeves to bite. But it’s a bit more complete than just biting. Schutzhund consists of 3 parts: obedience, protection and follow-up.

Now, I can keep talking about Schutzhund for the next hour, but the gist is that it makes the Rottweiler completely controllable, confident, and ready to execute whatever command its owner asks of it. The obedience part does just this, the Rottweiler is tested in various ways in its ability to listen and perform the tasks that its owner commands. The Protection part is set to obedience, as the Rottweiler is commanded to find the perpetrator (in Schutzhund he hides behind teepee-type blinds), get as close to the perpetrator as possible, and bark constantly to acknowledge his owner who has found, and await orders from the owners. Lastly, tracking not only tests the Rottweiler’s olfactory ability, but also its general mental strength and ability to find items accurately. This is just the very basic explanation, I will write a very comprehensive article on Rottweilers and Schutzhund shortly.

So the ZTP criticizes the appearance or conformation of the dogs, and also these 3 phases of schutzhund. The point is that this type of testing is critical if you want to preserve the integrity of a breed like the Rottweiler.

In America, on the other hand, there is none of this. There was a large influx of Rottweilers that were imported from all over Germany and Europe and registered in the 70s and 80s, which at one time the Rottweiler was one of the most registered dogs with the AKC in the 80s. AKC has almost no regulations Rottweiler-specific when it comes to breeding, as ADRK has, so for the last 30-40 years, anyone with a Rottweiler was able to breed any other Rottweiler, regardless of the German standard, and thus resulted in the American Rottweiler.

Now, one of the first things you will see when placing a German Rottweiler next to an American Rottweiler is that the German Rottweiler has a tail. Tail docking has become part of the German standard in the early 2000s and is banned in most of Europe. In America, the vast majority of breeders still do it, as it is still legal. Another point aside is that if you come across Rottweiler breeders who say they breed German Rottweilers, but see the docked tails, they are obviously not following the ADRK standard and they are not breeding German Rottweilers.

Another difference that you will see right away is the huge difference in size between the two. German Rottweilers tend to be much larger and more compact than typical Rottweilers. German Rottweilers have heavier bones, thicker necks, wider chests, larger headdresses, more pronounced stops (arched foreheads), shorter snouts, deeper chests, and will not have as long legs as American Rottweilers.

The German Rottweiler also tends to learn much faster than American Rottweilers and has inherent guard instincts that are more pronounced than typical Rottweilers. The German Rottweiler will also have a more pronounced and much darker pigmentation of the eyes and mouth.

This was just a general introduction to the differences about the real German Rottweiler and the rest. If you find someone suggesting that their Rottweiler is a German Rottweiler, first ask who their parents or grandparents are and Google their names to see if they are real ADRK registered German Rottweilers. And of course, don’t ask them this if you see that it has a docked tail, as it is most likely not a German Rottweiler.