Breed · Dog

Rottweiler

Roman drover’s dog settled in the German town of Rottweil, moving cattle and guarding the butcher’s takings for centuries.

A well-bred, well-raised Rottweiler is a self-assured, affectionate, surprisingly silly family dog with an off-duty calm that bigger-egoed breeds never manage. It is also fifty kilograms of muscle with a guarding heritage, which means the margin for lazy ownership is zero: socialisation, training and inclusion in the family are not enrichment for this breed, they are the licence to own it. Check your local rules before you fall in love, and then buy from the kind of breeder whose dogs make the case for the breed.

At a glance

Lifespan: 9–11 years
Adult weight: 38–55 kg
Daily exercise: 90–120 min
Trainability: High; it wants a competent leader
Alone time tolerated: Moderate; poor if excluded from the family
Shedding: Moderate
Noise level: Low; watches more than it barks
With children: Good with its own, always supervised — sheer mass
With other pets: Variable; raise together and manage introductions

Colours · 2 listed

Black with rust to mahogany markings. There are no other colours; anything sold as one is not a Rottweiler bred to any standard.

Black & rust
Black & mahogany

Right for you if

You have handled strong dogs before and enjoy structured training as a lifestyle.
The dog lives inside as family; guarding is a byproduct, never the job description.
Ninety minutes of daily exercise plus training is your genuine baseline.
You have checked your council and insurance position on the breed and are comfortable.

Wrong for you if

This would be a chained yard guard. That arrangement builds the dog the headlines are about.
First dog, or a household that will skip training when life gets busy.
Nobody in the house can physically manage the dog on its worst day.
Local keeping rules for the breed would make ownership a running battle — check before you commit, not after.

What to ask a breeder

The UK Kennel Club’s good-practice list for the breed is hip and elbow scoring plus the DNA test for juvenile laryngeal paralysis and polyneuropathy, with LEMP DNA and eye testing alongside.¹ This is a heavy, fast-growing breed; the joints carry all of it, so ask for the scores in writing and compare them to the scheme average yourself.
Ask what heart screening the parents have had, by a cardiologist and by name, and ask the breeder what their dogs have died of and when — you are listening for a straight answer given without flinching.
Meet the mother and judge the temperament you would be taking home: confident, steady, indifferent to strangers rather than suspicious of them. In this breed the mother’s nerves are non-negotiable.
Keeping rules for powerful breeds differ by state and council, and they change. Confirm your local position before you commit to a puppy — the existence of the rules is the point; the details are your council’s to state.

Sources

Rottweiler — breed health and pre-breeding screening. The Royal Kennel Club 2026. Accessed 2026-09-04. United Kingdom The Royal Kennel Club The UK Kennel Club's published screening lists for the breed: good practice is the JLPP DNA test plus hip and elbow schemes; best practice adds LEMP-2 DNA and eye testing.

Every source here was checked, not recalled. Where this page makes a health statement and no source appears against it, that is not an oversight we have hidden — it means the claim is not yet sourced, and the build reports how many are in that state.

Availability, registration and keeping requirements differ from place to place. Check the rules where you live before you commit to any animal — we describe animals, not law.