Papers and Reg.

[Angn'Ben]

Hello, I'm new here and fairly new to Rotties. I have one, my baby, since he was 8 weeks. Now he's almost 7 months and 70 lbs. I have 2 questions (and am hoping I'm in the right diss. grp.);
1. His dad was supposed to be 180 lbs. Is this really possible? Everyone I speak to doesn't believe me.
2. He has no papers but is gorgeous. *Perfect* markings and temper. Is there any way to get him registered?

[Michele Baxter]

Hello there. Welcome to the Board!
First, I guess it is POSSIBLE that a rottweiler could weigh 180# but it's not LIKELY. He would be grossly out of standard, and/or overweight. A mature male rottweiler should weigh anywhere between 110-125lbs. give or take a little either way. There is no weight standard, but there is a height standard. For males it's between 24-27 inches measured at the withers(from ground to top where shoulders meet neck). People tend to vastly exaggerate the size of rottweilers. I prefer one underweight instead of over. I'm dealing with getting weight off of a senior dog right now, and trust me it's hard. Also, it's bad on the joints to carry extra weight. Since our breed is predisposed to hip problems it's a good idea to control the weight from the beginning to avoid any undue strain.

Secondly, there is no way to obtain AKC papers without the mother and father being registered and the subsequent litter being registered. However, you can obtain an ILP number on your dog by filled out the form on the akc's website (www.akc.org) and sending in pictures to show he is purebred. This ILP number will allow your dog to compete in AKC sponsored obedience, agility, etc. competitions. Everything except conformation showing. He can also be neutered and compete. Hope you have considered this option. Good luck and have fun!

[German Vanegas]

Well put Michele. I actually saw a 180 lbs male Rottweiler that his owner bragged about it so much. To me it looked like a hog. Obvioulsy the overweight dog didn't make it, sadly he died from heart complications... By the way, the dog's owner not only didn't believe me and challenged my knowledge when I pointed-out that his dog was grossly overweight, but he also told me "What do you know? This dog comes from "pure" German lines!" (as in: dogs in Germany are bred to be fat and huge ?!?!). The poor dog paid the price for his owner ignorance... which it happens more often than not.

[This message has been edited by German Vanegas (edited August 14, 1999).]

[LucyJ]

At obedience class the other night a woman who was watching said to me: "I hope you know that Rottweilers get really big. My male was 185 lbs.!" I guess we know why he is no longer with us... http://www.rottweiler.net/rottie/frown.gif

[judy v]

I breeder here in Nevada who I highly respect has the perfect answer when someone tells her of their 180+ pound rottweiler: "I'm sorry."

[BigBear]

I have heard worse...someone told me that he had two rotties.. a female and a male...and they both weighed 250 each! I tried to hold back the laughter... and said in a common voice..."Ohhh... I bet they are nice looking" guess I had idiot written across my forehead that day... or he thinks I did.. http://www.rottweiler.net/rottie/smile.gif needless to say, I never did get to see the dogs he said he had...

[German Vanegas]

At a Petsmart store I once saw this huge nice looking dog that caught my immediate attention, due to its massive size. I estimated around 200+ lbs but I couldn't tell what breed was. I approached the owner and asked him "Wow! What breed is that". The guy answered me with a bad attitude (like "stay away from me before you get bitten!") by proudly saying: "An English Mastiff crossed with Rottweiler!". "Aaaaahh!" I replied "a mutt!". Needless to say the guy didn't take it well, but I had to go because I was with one my dogs who was intensively staring at the Mastiff-Rott, whom in turn was showing obvious fear and the desire to flee... By the way, I wasn't trying to be rude, I was actually attempting to make conversation with this "unique" dog owner... but evidently, owning such huge big dog made the owner felt like he was the "king of the block". Too bad.