ROTTWEILERS, THEIR HISTORY AND HERITAGE BY JOAN KLEM, RODSDEN ROTTWEILERS, REG. WITH SUZAN GUYNN, CAMMCASTLE ROTTWEILERS I n the introduction to her 1984 book, The Complete Rottwei- ler, Ms. Muriel Free-
dogs—those formidable proto-Mas- tiffs which fought in the coliseums and then accompanied their masters over the Alps, herding and guarding the livestock. As sites of civilization arose along the legions’ roads, so did various types of dogs. One road led to an army encampment on the Neckar River in what was to become the state of Swabia in southern Germany. This camp flourished as a trading center and was eventually called Rottweil (Rote Wil, after its red-tiled roofs). Here, a remarkable breed of dog developed which eventually became known as the Rottweiler. An often-repeated story in “Rott- weiler lore” holds that the butchers of medieval Rottweil depended on their dogs to assist with business. These butchers’ dogs, or Metzgerhunds, were first used to help the butchers herd cattle to market; then, after the cattle were slaughtered, the dogs pulled the butchers’ carts. Finally, when the meat was sold, the purses were tied around the dogs’ necks to keep the money from bandits or per- haps from any butchers who might spend too much time in the beer hall! This favorite yarn illustrates that the Rottweiler developed as a drover, draft dog and guard dog and that with these purposes came the necessary traits of endurance, strength, loyalty and, above all, intelligence. Such a versatile dog kept busy in the manner described until about the mid-19th century, when railroads replaced droving for getting livestock to mar- ket and using dogs as draft animals was ultimately outlawed (due in part to abuses). Our helpmate, the Rottweiler, then fell on hard times as his customary jobs were being eliminated thanks to industrial progress. If instincts, or shall we say talents, are not used, will they be lost? Apparently not, at least in the case of the Rottweiler. More than a century after herding ceased
to be a part of the Rottweiler’s profes- sional repertoire, American Rottwei- ler fanciers petitioned the American Kennel Club to allow the Rottweiler to compete in AKC herding events based not only on the breed’s herd- ing heritage, but primarily on docu- mented proof in modern herding tri- als that the instinct remains strong in the breed. In 1994, the American Kennel Club made the Rottweiler one of the rare exceptions to its rules and allowed a designated breed in the Working Group, the Rottweiler, to compete in herding trials usually restricted to the designated breeds in the Herding Group. Herding ability didn’t save the breed in the late 1800s. Those traits mentioned previously—endurance, strength, loyalty and intelligence, were found to fit the requirements needed for guard dogs, and the Rott- weiler’s talents were put to new uses with the police and military. With suitability for those tasks, the more modern Rottweiler was developed. The Rottweiler we recognize today really began with the formation of the first Rottweiler Club in Germany. We need to remember that the early Rott- weiler cubs were organized by prac- tical, hard-working tradesmen whose goal was to develop a similarly practi- cal, hard-working dog that would be fit to serve them in their livelihoods. Initially, function was stressed above everything else. The first Standard for the breed was written by the first club—a com- bined club for the Rottweiler and the Leonberger in 1901. The Leonberger is a large, long-coated breed devel- oped in Leonberg, Germany. The characteristic heavy mane in male Leonbergers is supposed to give the dog a lion-like appearance and reflect the city’s name. The Leonberger is also probably descended from Roman dogs, making them Swabian cousins of the Rottweiler.
man shares an ancient Plu- tarchian anecdote about a 5th Century B.C. Athenian general called Alcibiades who paid a fortune for a very handsome dog only to
mutilate it for his own notoriety and political diversion. She poignantly wrote, “Man’s mentality has changed little in 2,500 years. There are still those who will pay an enormous price for a dog and then, either delib- erately through guile or accidentally through ignorance, proceed to per- vert the nature of the animal it took so very many generations to develop and for which they paid so high a price,”—a fitting lead-in for her larg- er effort to impart “an appreciation of the Rottweiler’s great heritage, a desire to preserve that heritage and the knowledge necessary to pass it on to future generations.” Ms. Freeman’s prophetic illustration serves well as a siren to those who count themselves as true guardians of today’s Rottwei- ler and his remarkable story. Perhaps the most senior living guardian of the Rottweiler heritage is AKC and International Rottweiler Judge Joan Klem (see her included bio). She and her niece, AKC and International Judge Susan Rademach- er, co-authored the 1996 book, The Rottweiler Experience, an extraordi- nary chronology of Rottweiler heri- tage and lore. The following breed history is reproduced in portions from this extensively researched and prepared publication: IN THE BEGINNING We surmise that the Rottweiler descends from one of the “work hors- es” of antiquity. When the Romans spread into Europe around 74 A.D., they brought along the Molosser
S HOW S IGHT M AGAZINE , N OVEMBER 2017 • 277
Powered by FlippingBook