The Rottweiler breed is an ancient one, and its history stretches back to the Roman Empire. In those times, the legions traveled with their meat on the hoof -or having live cattle- and required the assistance of working dogs to herd the cattle.

 

The Roman Empire used these dogs to keep away intruders.  These dogs, being the closest thing to what we know as the modern-day Rottweiler, were the "cowhands," herding and guarding the cattle for the Roman armies.

These were intense and fearless animals. They had to be. Not only did these dogs have to control the cattle, they had to fend off wolves and other dangers, the largest danger being those who resisted the Roman invasion.

But this was a breed that was extremely loyal to their own. They knew how to distinguish between an enemy and an ally. And this dog has kept that gift of discernment down to the present day. And this "gift" is very evident in the modern-day Rottweiler: A Rottweiler will not attack his own; he will not attack a visitor if he's been properly socialized that "visitors" are not the enemy; a Rottweiler will protect everything and anything on the property and this includes cats, birds and squirrels.

To understand the Rottweiler, one must understand where they came from. They are not and never have been "attack" dogs, they are "protection" dogs. And they are loyal to the point of giving their own life to protect -- even if it is to protect a cat, bird, or a squirrel on "their" property.

 

One route the Roman army traveled was through Württemberg and on to the small market town of Rottweil. The principal ancestor of the first Rottweilers during this time was supposed to be the Roman war dog, local sheepdog the army met on its travels, and dogs with molosser appearance coming from England and The Netherlands.
 

During the Roman Empire, these Rottweilers and other war dogs even made up large dog-only platoons, which would be sent to attack enemy forces.

 

This region eventually became an important cattle area, and the descendants of the Roman cattle dogs proved their worth in both driving and protecting the cattle from robbers and wild animals. It would be a brave villain who would try to remove the purse around the neck of a Rottweiler Metzgershund (Butcher's Dog of Rottweil).

However, by the end of the 19th Century, the breed had declined so much that in 1900 there was only one female to be found in the town of Rottweil. But the build up to the World War I saw a great demand for "police dogs," and that led to a revival in interest for the Rottweiler. Its enormous strength, its intelligence, and its ability to take orders made it a natural weapon of war.

From that time, it has become popular with dog owners, and in 1935 the breed was officially recognized by the American Kennel Club. In 1935, Rottweilers were exhibited in Britain at Crufts. In 1966, a separate register was opened for the breed.

The first Rottweiler club in Germany, named DRK ("Deutscher Rottweiler-Klub" — German Rottweiler Club) was created the 13 January 1907, and followed by the creation of the SDRK ("Süddeutscher Rottweiler-Klub" — South German Rottweiler Club) on the 27 April 1907 and became the IRK (International Rottweiler Club). The DRK counted around 500 Rottweiler, the SDRK 3000 Rottweilers. The goal of the two clubs was different. The DRK want to produce working dogs and didn't take lot of care in the morphology of the Rottweiler. The main stud dog of this club was Lord von der Teck. The IRK tried to give an homogeneous morphology according to their standard. One of the main stud dogs of this club was Ralph von Neckar. One dog emerged and gave us the base of the actual Rottweiler type: Lord von der Teck son of Lord Remo vom Schifferstadt.

On 14 August 1921 the two clubs merged to become the ADRK (Allgemeiner Deutscher Rottweiler Klub) which is now known as the official German Rottweiler club. The first currency of the ADRK was : "Die Rottweilerzucht ist und bleibt Gebrauchshundezucht" (The Rottweiler breeding is and remains the breeding of a working dog)

 

A popular misconception about the Rottweiler is that the breed was bred for dog fighting.