weight

[tomsdog]

Originally posted by ROTTSVILLE
Thanks judi for the reply, and if german agrees with it then......well it must be right !!!!. One other point though, is that the breed standard says bitch (fully grown ) should be between 90 and 110 lbs, wouldnt 85 pounds, be technically under the standard. Also in therory i would have thought that even a bitch over 100 lbs, say up to 110 should(in theory) still be able to perform as a working dog , by definition of the breed standard, wouldnt you agree. One other point is, god some of these rots sound massive at such a young age, what will they end up like.My liddle 85 pounder sounds even smaller now, but as you rightly point out she is very agile and fit, and i dont suppose from now to full maturity, that she will put she will put on much more weight ?????........i feel happier about my mini-rot now !!!

I would feel more comfortable with a rottie that was a little small or lean, than one that is over size and/or heavy. The vet thinks my bitch is the right weight for her size, but I think if she keeps growing and fills out, that she will have a lot more chance for health problems than your dog.

[German Vanegas]

Originally posted by Judi W

My big concern is youngsters who are heavied up to mature adult weight. I see these dogs in the ring, and the sad thing is after they turn 3 most disappear off the face of the earth. Their backs bounce up and down when they move and they tend to fall apart early. Please do not ask your youngsters to resemble a 4 or 5 year old. Let them mature naturally and what will be will be. I don't expect any of mine to be fully developed until 4 years of age.

I agree with Judi W's entire follow-up reply, particularly the above excerpt. I like to add that the structural soundness of the working dog is being wrongly changed for a plump massive dog with limited functionability. The quest for giant dogs have incited some questionable breeders to transform the working capable Rottweiler into a fat huge dog, mostly for the "show" ;)

Be aware: an oversized Rottweiler is not a working Rottweiler, neither a "better' dog. Please, try to follow the standards of the breed. If anyone's particular taste is for giant heavy dogs, I hate to "burst your bubble" but the Rottweiler is not one of them. If that's what you prefer, a huge large dog, then get an English Mastiff, a Neapolitan mastiff, a St. Bernard, a Bullmastiff, a Newfounland, etc. but let the Rottweiler breed as it should be, according to established standards

[CarolineS]

The ADRK, AKC and CKC breed standards don't give weight specifications. The FCI standard give 112 lbs as the approximate weight for a male and 92 lbs as the approximate weight for a female. I would guess these would be the desired weights for a Rottie of "ideal" height and proportion, 25 - 25.59 inches for a male and 23.62 - 24.01 for a female. That only leaves about one more inch in height for each sex without being out of standard. A top end weight for a bitch of 110 lbs sounds like a fat dog according to this.

You may see approximate weight ranges in books or magazine articles, but I think the actual standards stay away from it because it is so variable. It is entirely controlled by the owner and nature has nothing much to do with it.

Most people tend to think Rottweilers are "muscular". People are always marvelling over my older dog's "muscles". This is a real joke because her exercise these days consists of a 40 minute to an hour sedate walk each day. No way she's "muscled" with this kind of exercise, in fact she is constantly dieting to keep her weight around 85 lbs. A couple of walks a day do not put condition on a dog, it takes a lot more than that. Make sure what you think is "muscle" is not really a little extra weight. ;)

[Jamie & Odin]

Well, I guess I don't have to worry about Odin being overweight. He seems a lot lighter than many of the dogs mentioned. He is just about a year old, 24 inches and weighs a whopping 70 lbs!

[Barbara Surplus]

I have a two and a half year old male who weighs around 95 pounds. He's in lovely shape and not inclined to gain weight I feel because of his raw diet. With winter here, I'm feeding him quite a bit more and yet it's hardly noticeable.

Judi, I'd be interested in knowing what program you follow to allow your dogs to mature slowly and naturally.
Barbara

[Judi W]

None. I just know my lines are not going to be bodied out, the girls - until about 3 and the boys age 4. Most Rottweilers of any lines are not physically mature until age 3 plus. I simply do not ask or expect them to look mature at an earlier age therefore I don't try to stuff them up. The boys who (not be design particularly) are pretty big kids, make me laugh because although they have their heigth and structure, look like they've been run over by the road roller in width until age 3. So what do I do? Well, they get obedience titles and go herding and do tons of things while learning to stack and bait but they don't go into the breed ring until they're ready. Takes patience if all one has as a goal is the breed ring. If you want a well-rounded dog with letters before and after their names, there is a lot to do while waiting. I am disturbed at the loaded with fat youngsters trotting around the ring with their backs bouncing up and down and rolls of fat behind the shoulders just because an owner is in such a hurry. They've not even had their certifications yet but they're out there spending a fortune, the pup is living on the road, and yes, many finishing before you even know what you have. You don't have to be smart to fatten up a dog. You do have to be patient to let them mature naturally and for Pete's sake have a life!

[frontierrots]

The standard states that middle of the standard is preferred. That is a 23 1/2" bitch. A 23 1/2" bitch in good weight and NOT fat will weigh 80-86 lbs and that is no where near 110 lbs

[Judi W]

What I said. And these are still puppies. Those weights reflect mature adults and one should not ask youngsters to be the weight of a 4 or 5 year old. Their structure is not ready for it.

[ROTTSVILLE]

Thanks for the replies judi, you have answered all my initial points,and i am now reassured that 83 lbs at 14 months is ok, and that its infact a good thing that she's not up in the mid 90 pounds or so yet. PERHAPS SHE'S NOT A MINI-ROT AFTER ALL!!!!

[CarolineS]

If someone walks up to you and tells you your dog is "too small for a Rottweiler", immediately assume they haven't got a clue about the breed. It happens to me all the time...Maggie is about 23" and weighs 85 lbs. I can't think of any other breed where people feel they have the right to just walk up to you and immediately start pontificating on the size of your dog. These are usually the same people that, after criticizing your dog's size, feel free to start in on the dog's temperament. You know, it's not a real Rottie because it's not snarling at everything in sight! Lord save me from ignorant rednecks.

[1rottiemom]

Originally posted by TwitEm
My Rottie is 10 months and weighs only 70 pounds. She was the runt of the litter, however and weighed only 5 oz at birth. The female Rottie I had who died in a fire almost three years ago weighed 125 pounds at age three--she was huge, as tall as the kitchen table, and way over size for a female Rottie. She was not fat. I don't really know what the typical wt. and size is. TwitEm

TwitEm - we have something in common - I too have lost a puppy to a fire. It was devistating. Was it a house fire?

[German Vanegas]

Originally posted by CarolineS
The FCI standard give 112 lbs as the approximate weight for a male and 92 lbs as the approximate weight for a female.

F.C.I. standard refers to a proportionate ideal working weight for males and females Rottweilers. Nobody could ever convince me that a 140 lbs male Rottweiler is working capable, simply because the extra weight has a detrimental negative effect on the dog's agililty, stamina, endurance, not to mention health.

Diane (Frontierrots) made another good point, and I qoute her: "The standard states that middle of the standard is preferred. That is a 23 1/2" bitch. A 23 1/2" bitch in good weight and NOT fat will weigh 80-86 lbs and that is no where near 110 lbs".

[RottnKid1]

Something that I've found is that many people make assumptions about a dog's weight and they also exaggerate. Most people guess Boss' and Shiloh's weight at about 150 lbs. In actuality, they weigh only 115 and 118 lbs. Of course, there are those poor dogs who do weigh far too much to do the work they were meant to do.

[German Vanegas]

These are the size and weight standards from the Allgemeiner Deutscher Rottweiler-Klub (ADRK), translated to English is: General German Rottweiler Club, adopted from the Federation Cynologique Internationale F.C.I.:

Size and weight

Heigtht at withers:
For males is 61 - 68 cm.

61 - 62 cm is small
63 - 64 cm is medium height
65 - 66 cm is large - correct height
67 - 68 cm is very large

Weight:
approximately 50 kg (110 lbs.)


Heigtht at withers:
For bitches is 56 - 63 cm.

56 - 57 cm is small
58 - 59 cm is medium height
60 - 61 cm is large - correct height
62 - 63 cm is very large

Weight:
approximately 42 kg (92 lbs)

[German Vanegas]

Originally posted by RottnKid1
Of course, there are those poor dogs who do weigh far too much to do the work they were meant to do.

Indeed there are plenty of them... sadly enough.