[Lady B]

In my perspective and from personal experience I truly believe it is the breeders' responsibility to sort this situation out. Of course this places another onus on the subject. If all breeders follow a strict COE there are many peope who would not make the cut no matter how much they truly wanted a Rottie in their life or even if they had the means. But a true conformationally and temperamentally correct Rottie is simply not for just anybody. Unfortunately there are many breeders who are not COE. And that is where my experience started. With a puppy mill breeder.

Lady-B came to us second hand and because I wanted to know everything about her, her lines and where she came from I took the time to go there. I was shocked and appalled at what I saw there. The dogs were kept in 30x30 pens on a hill with one dog house for two dogs (an adult and a juvenile). There was no shade and the only shelter was the dog house. There was fresh straw in these pens but still it was pretty muddy most of time, being in the Pacific NW and hotter than hades in the summer. He ran this like a business but did have a large staff to socialize the dogs. But none the less it was a business and he did not ever pose any questions to a potential buyer. He marketed these dogs just like a fast pitch salesman would. There were rows upon rows of Rotties. It was clean but that is all about I will say for it.
Over the years I have encountered many Rotts from this "place" and I can always tell where they came from without asking.

Lady does not represent the Rottie breed by any stretch. She is an inch above the male standard. And we both have suffered through hypo-thyroidism (a genetic issue) and two blown out ACL's (repaired) and chronic allergies. Temperamentally, Lady would have been put down for some of her behaviors by a breeder. But I worked through those issues and she is a wonderful, loving, well socalized big girl today. Lady today looks like a cross between a GSD and a Rottie with head muscle atrophy. I have spent thousands for her care and it has been suggested to me by other folks in rescue that I should have put her down a long time ago. Well, that is not what I am about. I made a commitment to her and that commitment will remain until Lady no longer has any quality of life left.

My male, Baron, came to me as a wreck and he had been used for Pit Bull baiting. And that is a very long, heart-breaking story. He is a good dog today but it took all of my heart and determination to bring him around.

The point of all this? If all the Rottie breeders had adhered to a COE the breed would not be in the situation it is today. True, many of us would never, ever have come to enjoy life with this wonderful breed. Conversely, there are many out there who should never, ever have any form of life in their care, much less a rock! I have seen more than I want to just in this region alone. And the awful story is repeated across our nation. Because the situation is so dire I have made a commitment to only rescue.

None of us like being dictated to nor questioned as to our intent when we are about to put money down for a dog. But truly, the breed would not be where it is today if a COE had been strictly adhered to when selling the breed. I feel it would have been far better if the Rottweiler breed had been kept exclusive and rare. Yes, many of us on this board would never have come to know just how special they are but in retrospect the breed would never have come to be so maligned and feared by the media and general public. Nor would it have ever come to such awful uses as my Baron.