Rottweiler Development head size

[anna30]

We have a rescue Rottweiler that is about 13 months old. He does not seem to have that broad Rottweiler head. Does this come later??? Actually, he is trim and tall. He is 26.5" inches tall and weights 110Lbs. He is very trim. Actually he almost seems to have a body of a large doberman. Since we do not know his bloodline, what is the norm?

[Skip]

Originally Posted by anna30

We have a rescue Rottweiler that is about 13 months old. He does not seem to have that broad Rottweiler head. Does this come later??? Actually, he is trim and tall. He is 26.5" inches tall and weights 110Lbs. He is very trim. Actually he almost seems to have a body of a large doberman. Since we do not know his bloodline, what is the norm?

There is still a variance in different pure-bred rott bloodlines..but is it possible that the dog is not a pure-bred? Happens a lot with rescues...sometimes they will guess on the closest breed that the dog appears to be. Some breeders have told me that on some lines the head is the last to fill out.

[anna30]

Skip,

I do not know 100% if he is purebred. The story I got was he was running loose in a neighborhood and was picked up as a pup. He looks pure breed but I cannot know for sure. His dew claws have been removed which several breeders told me that they usually don't due this unless the dog is purebred.

[frontierrots]

height always comes first

breadth of head and body come last sometimes they are not done maturing until 3-5 YEARS old

I usually tell people tonot even look at their 1 year old males because most are narrow weedy creatures :)

[rottielover2004]

Harley is almost 16 months and he still is very narrow and weedy looking, LOL Diane

[anna30]

Thank you everyone. Sounds like he still has a chance to fill in a bit.

[Gunsey'sMom]

Oh my, sounds like you my be in store for a beautiful beast!! : )

[anna30]

We hope so. Mainly we just want him to be healthy and a good family pet. This is the first time we have ever had a Rottwieler as part of the family. I was always scared to have one because of the bad publicity. Now I realize how great a pet they can be with love and care.

[debbiej]

When I got Boris everyone guessed he was over 2. I thought his body looked puppy-ish but when I looked at his teeth, I thought he might be even older. his bottom teeth were quite crooked and crowded together and the rest were quite 'old' looking, although they cleaned up nicely with a few raw bones. my vet guessed him to be 18 months at the youngest on his first visit. Well, I've had him a little over a year, and his head has really widened the last 3-4 months. In fact his teeth are now a lovely fit and bite and quite straight. He has changed so much recently in looks, I keep looking at him thinking, 'wow, he looks good, where is my horse-faced, gangly boy?"

[Fast4dr]

I dont know if I agree. While it comes in at full development, I think you can tell quite a bit about head type from the puppy stage. While it doesnt give the whole story at a young age, it does give some indication of whats to come.

[frontierrots]

Originally Posted by Fast4dr

I dont know if I agree. While it comes in at full development, I think you can tell quite a bit about head type from the puppy stage. While it doesnt give the whole story at a young age, it does give some indication of whats to come.

Sure, the head structure BEFORE 4-5 months old, but after that they often plain out, lose the stop, get narrow looking etc. Not all lines but a lot of them

I always pick the best head at birth and have yet to be wrong, but believ me they don't look anything like that as a older pup and I always dispair that I was wrong and then maturity comes as does the head

[Fast4dr]

...which is precisely what I was saying...;)