Rottweiler

Calm and watchful; devoted at home, wary of strangers.
A Rottweiler
Photo: Fabian Roudra Baroi
Adult male
43–54 kg
95–119 lb
Adult female
37–46.4 kg
82–102 lb
Lifespan
10.6 yrs
Class · Watchdog
also Working, Companion

What it's like

By temperament the Rottweiler is calm, self-assured and watchful. It is devoted to its own household but reserved with strangers. The breed reached Britain in the nineteen-thirties and is now a familiar guard and companion dog there.

Owners who rated their dogs' everyday behaviour found Rottweilers close to the typical dog on independence and on friendliness with other dogs. Breed is only a small part of any one dog's personality, so meet the dog before you decide.
Day to day
Activity
A good daily walk and play
Intelligence
Learns readily, likes games
Handler demand
Needs an experienced owner
With people
Affection
A lap or leaning dog
Loyalty
Sticks close to its people
Independence
Cooperative, with its own ideas
Around the home
Sensitivity
Hardy, takes a busy home in its stride
Voice
Barks to alert, then settles
Prey drive
Chases; needs managing
Breed explains only about 9% of how individual dogs differ in behaviour1. Meet the dog. A good breeder breeds for temperament as well as health, and matches each puppy's personality to the right home2,3.
Is a Rottweiler right for you?
Take the breed matcher

Living with one

A Rottweiler's medium-length coat moults most as the seasons change, so brush a few times a week and daily through the moult. It needs a moderate amount of exercise compared with other breeds. In UK vet records, its risk of heat-related illness was not measurably different from a Labrador's.

Size and growth

A Rottweiler is a giant dog, heavier than a German Shepherd and lighter than a Great Dane. Males end up clearly heavier than females. It is one of the lightest giant breeds.

It is a powerful, compact dog with a broad head, a deep chest and a level back. Its coarse, straight outer coat lies flat over an undercoat on the neck and thighs. The standard coat is black, with clearly defined rich tan on the cheeks, muzzle, chest and legs and above each eye. Since tail docking was largely banned in Britain, most British Rottweilers have a natural tail.

Puppy growth

Reference curve · community data appears as owners log
Rottweilers reach half their adult weight at about 5 months. They grow fastest between 4 and 5 months old. They keep growing past their first birthday, longer than a Beagle does. Most males grow into the size large-breed puppy foods are made for.
Fully grown
13 mo
Both sexes, at 99% of adult weight7
Male
Female
Shaded: expected range
02040602m4m6m9m12m18m
02040602m3m4m6m9m12m18m
Age
Male
Female
2 months
7.5–9.4 kg 16.5–20.7 lb
6.4–8.1 kg 14.1–17.9 lb
3 months
12.0–15.1 kg 26.5–33.3 lb
10.4–13.0 kg 22.9–28.7 lb
4 months
17.8–22.4 kg 39.2–49.4 lb
15.4–19.3 kg 34.0–42.5 lb
5 months
24.2–30.4 kg 53.4–67.0 lb
20.8–26.1 kg 45.9–57.5 lb
6 months
30.0–37.7 kg 66.1–83.1 lb
25.8–32.4 kg 56.9–71.4 lb
7 months
34.6–43.4 kg 76.3–95.7 lb
29.7–37.3 kg 65.5–82.2 lb
8 months
37.8–47.4 kg 83.3–104.5 lb
32.5–40.7 kg 71.7–89.7 lb
9 months
39.8–50.0 kg 87.7–110.2 lb
34.3–43.0 kg 75.6–94.8 lb
10 months
41.1–51.6 kg 90.6–113.8 lb
35.4–44.4 kg 78.0–97.9 lb
11 months
41.9–52.6 kg 92.4–116.0 lb
36.0–45.2 kg 79.4–99.6 lb
12 months
42.4–53.2 kg 93.5–117.3 lb
36.4–45.7 kg 80.2–100.8 lb
15 months
42.8–53.8 kg 94.4–118.6 lb
36.9–46.2 kg 81.4–101.9 lb
18 months
43.0–53.9 kg 94.8–118.8 lb
37–46.4 kg 82–102 lb

Health and lifespan

Vets record these more often in Rottweilers than in crossbreeds. Bone cancer, which is life-limiting, stands out as far more likely. Elbow joint disease (serious) and an inward-rolling eyelid (moderate) are much more likely. Blood-vessel cancer and lymph node cancer, both life-limiting, are more likely. These are figures for the breed as a whole, not a prediction for your dog.
Listed by likelihood level, highest first, then by how serious it is, then by name. These are 5 of 13 measured; lab-confirmed figures only fill places the vet-record studies leave empty.
  • Bone cancer
    Far more likely
    Impact: life-limiting
  • Elbow joint disease
    Much more likely
    Impact: serious
  • Inward-rolling eyelid
    Much more likely
    Impact: moderate
  • Blood-vessel cancer
    More likely
    Impact: life-limiting
  • Lymph node cancer
    More likely
    Impact: life-limiting

Lifespan

In UK vet records, the typical Rottweiler lived to about 10 and a half years, longer than the typical giant breed.

Where it comes from

The Rottweiler takes its name from Rottweil, a livestock-market town in south-west Germany, where mastiff-type dogs thought to have come north with Roman armies became drovers' and guard dogs for butchers and cattle dealers. Farmers heading home from market would tie their takings to its collar. Tested for police service early in the 20th century, it was officially recognised as a police dog in 19104,16.

The Rottweiler's fortunes followed the cattle trade. In the nineteenth century, cattle droving declined, so the dog lost its work and nearly died out. It was remembered locally as the Rottweiler Metzgerhund, or butcher's dog. Enthusiasts revived it in the early twentieth century and formed breed clubs that later merged into a single German club. During the First World War it served the German army as a messenger and guard. The breed was developed to drive and control cattle and to guard people and goods. That work called for strength, stamina and a steady nerve.

Breed standard

The Rottweiler is judged against standard no. 147, in group 2, Pinscher and Schnauzer, Molossoid and Swiss Mountain Dogs4.

Questions people ask

General guidance for dogs rather than a measured Rottweiler figure: most females have a first season somewhere between six and fifteen months, and cycles then settle to roughly every 180 days. Smaller breeds tend to start earlier and larger ones later, so a giant breed is most likely at the late end.

Compare with related

Doberman Pinscher
Pinschers & molossoids · Medium
German Shepherd
Sheepdogs & cattledogs · Large
Cane Corso
Pinschers & molossoids · Giant
Dogue de Bordeaux
Pinschers & molossoids · Giant
Or compare the Rottweiler with any breed you choose
Track your own Rottweiler
Log a minute a day and watch them sit on these curves. Free.

Sources

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Parts of this page were written by AI ·