History of the Rottie

[mark_sherry]

I'm a history buff and have been doing some research into the history of the breed. I keep coming up with the same old stuff -- they came with the Romans, the Germans used them for herding and carting, etc. (you all know the story). Occasionally, I'll find an interesting tidbit but nothing out of the ordinary.

If you have anything you'd like to add to the History of the Rottweiler, be it documented, myth, legend, folklore, etc., please do!

Knowing more about our noble breed will help us "know" our noble breed.

[mark_sherry]

Come on guys. . . can't someone come up with something?!! I was hoping there would be something out there. Like I said, say anything, even if it's folklore, legend, myth, truth. Let's get to know the breed.

[Burnsway]

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&i...weiler+History

As you will see that one search alone will pull up over 13 thousand pages. Probably why no one is posting the information...LOL. That would be quite a lot of typing...:D

[mark_sherry]

Burnsway,

Oh, there are a lot of pages out there on the Rotts history. Unfortunately, they all say just about the same thing. I'm trying to get beyond that by finding out if anyone knows the little tidbits of information that exists that isn't described in almost every detail of the history of the Rottweiler.

To sum up, most articles say the Rottweiler is descended from the mastiff dogs brought by the Romans over the Alps. The Romans used them as drovers, cattle and depot guards, prisoner guards, etc. These dogs eventually settled in southern Germany, bred with some of the local dogs there, and became what we now know as our Rottweiler. Those Germans used them as herding dogs, carting dogs, guard dogs (putting the bag of coins around their necks, etc.). In the 19th century, at the advent of the railroad, herding with dogs wasn't necessary and carting with dogs was made illegal, so the breed almost became extinct until some police agencies found out they made good police dogs. Then, the breed started to become revitalized in the 20th century.

That's the story that 99% of those 13 thousand pages tell. However, I have come across some tidbits of interest, some discrepancies to the standard story, and some folktales that are very interesting. And they all piece together the "story" of the breed. But, they are so intersparsed, it's hard to find them. So, I was hoping others out there would have some to share.

Let me give you an example of what I mean. And these don't have to be "Truth" with a capital T either. Again, legend, etc., is fine.

1. The Rottweiler WAS the breed brought over by the Romans
2. The Rottweiler was used to fight lions and tigers in gladiator fights.
3. Rottweilers were outfitted in armor and sent to battle by the Romans against opposing armies.
4. Rottweilers with spike collars were sent into battle by the Romans to fight dogs of opposing armies.

etc., etc., etc. . . .

None of this is used to condone the use of the Rottweiler in war or in brutality, it's just to find out what the breed's understood history/folklore is. I do know that there is an exhibit at the Smithsonian of a Roman-era dog-armor suit, so that folk-tale may not be far off.

Don't let the cursory story be enough. I'll do the research to and report my findings to this thread as well because I think that we should all have a better knowledge of the Rottie's history. And by the way, thanks for showing the Google search. A much better search than Hotbot.

[livertw]

I have a question about the coloring on the Rotties. I had a black and rust Dachshund with the same markings. My brother's Doberman has the same markings. How did that come about?:)

[mark_sherry]

livertw,
they could be the results of Herr Doberman's crossbreeding experiment in the 1800's with the Rottweiler, the German Pinscher, and various Thuringian shepherds. He was trying to get a terrier type dog with speed and agility with the strength and stamina of a Rottweiler and Thuringian. I think he also mixed a little greyhound in there as well. The black and tan genes of the Rottweiler are probably so dominant that they continue to show through. Hey, this is just an educated guess.
Mark

[babydungeon]

hey, i read somewhere the myth of why thier tails were docked. it was either to prevent cattle from biting them while herding or to keep it out of the way while pulling carts of fish at the harbor. can't remember too much about it but i hope that helps.

[babydungeon]

i also just loved that story that flyballmom put in called "Story-How Rottweilers got their Markings". look in the archives, it's neat.;)

[mark_sherry]

babydungeon,

thanks for adding to the list. that's a pretty reliable explanation as to why the Germans started to dock their tails. I just found an article that went a bit further. It discussed how, when herding, they wanted to dock the tails of the dogs because they always dragged through cow manure and would get infected, especially if they were scratched up already.

There's another interesting story about taxation. If a dog had a tail, it was taxed, so local farmers would dock the tails of their dogs to prove they were working dogs, so they wouldn't get taxed. I guess if you had a dog with an undocked tail, it was considered a luxury item at the time.

I tried to locate the story you alluded to, but I couldn't find it in the archives. Any idea where it is?

Mark

[babydungeon]

when you use the search option type in keywords or the whole title. at the bottom, instead of searching through all open scroll down and search through our archives.;)

[mark_sherry]

I found it! What a great little story! Thanks for pointing me to it.

I've been doing some more research on the Rottie, and after pouring through hundreds of sites, it's apparent that most people are basically retelling the same story from a few authors out there.

Basically, here's where I'd like to take this for now. What do you all think? Was the dog the Romans brought over with them more like our Rottweiler, or was it more like the Neopolitan Mastiff? There seems to be a wide variation of opinion about this out there.

[mark_sherry]

Found a couple of interesting nuggets of info regarding Rotties and spiked collars. One source says German shepherdsmen placed spiked collars around the Rotties necks to protect them from wolves and other predators while they guarded the flocks. By the way, this source indicates that the Rotties were used more to guard the flock and less to herd the flock.

Another source says that the "predecessor" (sp) to the Rotties wore spiked collars during battle, and entire formations were sent in to bite the legs of opposing soldiers who would then be forced to drop their shields, thus exposing themselves to the Romans arrows and swords.

Also, during the Roman times, the Rottie (or its predecessor) not only guarded the cattle, but also guarded the prisoners and supply depots at night while the soldiers slept.

[mark_sherry]

What do you all think? Is our Rottie the same dog that crossed over the Alps with the Romans? Or was that dog the Neopolitan Mastiff?

[babydungeon]

i have no idea, i'm just glad i don't have to send my dog to bite someone with a sword because he probably wouldn't be coming back.:( i wish i could help but you are the first i've heard this from.

[mark_sherry]

babydungeon,

Yea, the reason I started this thread is because I think it's important that we all know a lot about our breed's history and tradition. The one thing that comes across in a lot of threads is that we need to make the public more aware of our Rottie's and to do PR work. In order to do that, we need to "know" the breed and to be able to dismiss any untruths that are out there. So, I thought I'd start this thread to see what is known out there.

The one thing that shows through and through is that Rotties were rough, rugged, and loyal guard dogs. Many historians believe that they were the dogs that crossed the Alps with the Romans. Interestingly enough, people who study and reenact Roman history, use Rottweilers in their camps. These historians have access to information that most of us don't, and they would know.

This is important to know because it establishes the Rottie as one of the oldest breeds known to man. Regardless if he was used in an amphitheater for fighting, his main function was to guard the herd and camp. Making him the loyal companion that he is today. The Romans probably bred him to be a guardian rather than an attack dog, and that's why the breed has its inherent guardian characteristics still today.

Mark