is there a physical difference between american and german rottweiler

[chibi-boy]

I have a 2 1/2 year old male rott and since I've had him I've been asked if he were german or american. I purchased my boy without papers for a discount so I couldn't tell them. So if there is a way to tell the difference at a glance, could someone out there please tell me. Thanks so much

[~Robin~]

Well, I'm certainly far from an expert but this is what I've gathered (corrections welcome!): German rotts tend to be larger, and they also tend to have that gigantic, blocky head with a shorter snout.

American rotts are a little smaller, with more of a long face and smaller head.

[DogLover]

I've heard the same thing that Robin has, but once I asked about it on one of the Rottie e-groups and some people said there is a difference, others said there was no physical difference.

[norcal420]

You may want to search the archives because this topic has been brought up before. It's my understanding that the German and American breed standard are nearly identical (except Germany now requires the tail be left on), therefore there are no differences between the two. It's simply a matter of where the dog was born.

DR & Chevy (a California Rottweiler)

[JonandMichelle]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by norcal420:
It's my understanding that the German and American breed standard are nearly identical (except Germany now requires the tail be left on), therefore there are no differences between the two. It's simply a matter of where the dog was born.
</font>

That would be correct

[TrinityRun]

Norcal's got it goin' on!! LOL

Searching the archives is an excellent suggestion. This is something you should do your homework on so you may educate any future people as to the difference.

There is only ONE Rottweiler.

[German Vanegas]

A reputable breeder strives to maintain the Rottweiler within the standards officially established and approved for the breed. It does not matter that a Rottweiler is born in Germany, Austria, Belgium, Hungary, Spain, Australia, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Canada, United States, etc., etc. As long as the Rottweiler is bred within the desired standards of the breed, then there should be no difference. Of course, you find oversized Rottweilers, but they are not bred up to expected standards.

[Mojave's Mom]

German-

I thought that Germany either does, or used to have, a slightly different standard for the Rottweiler (the AKC equivalent in Germany vs the AKC)??

I totally agree with you that a reputable breeder will stay within the standards (as much as possible.)

[rottweiler_fancier]

I noticed a few things different but that may just be people in different regions who have different opinions on what matters most in the Rottweiler. The one thing I noticed is that German/European Rottweilers generally are better muscled than American Rottweilers - possibly due to the fact that German has more rigid preformance test that virtually require a dog to be in perfect shape. But of course with the growth of Shutzhund in America, there's bound to be more American dogs that have better muscles.

[Surreal]

Rottweilers from Germany have a German accent and so on...

[German Vanegas]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Mojave's Mom:
German-

I thought that Germany either does, or used to have, a slightly different standard for the Rottweiler (the AKC equivalent in Germany vs the AKC)??

I totally agree with you that a reputable breeder will stay within the standards (as much as possible.)</font>

I go by ADRK and FCI standards, but even AKC standards are pretty much within the desired standards. In any case, AKC does not call for a "smaller, less blocky head" Rottweiler

[poohbearsmom]

Surreal - LMAO!!!!! That's what I thought, too! Too funny!!!!

[Chuck]

I think the German vs American bred reference started years ago. It was easy to tell the difference about a decade ago. Lately more North American breeders are doing Siegers, Schutzhund and studying lines/pedigrees so you can not really tell the difference with their dogs. Unfortunately there are still a lot of breeders in North America that are just breeding anything to anything and it is usually easy to tell the difference with these dogs.

If you got a dog without papers and fora discount then I would suspect it is from a few generations of American bred dogs.

[German Vanegas]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Chuck:
...
If you got a dog without papers and fora discount then I would suspect it is from a few generations of American bred dogs.</font>

Of course you find "backyard breeders" using that false argument "German v. American", but we know better than that

[~Robin~]

Well, like I suspected, I was wrong. I swear though, I've heard this 'German vs American' distinction so often, I really thought there might be something to it. My apologies.