"The Rock" Onzuka

Here is a little pictoral of our family's pride and joy and (pain in the a**). His name is The Rock because he IS the most electrifying dog in sports entertainment.

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These pictures were taken on July 11, 2001. He is about 15 1/2 weeks old and is about 34lbs. As you can see, I am in the process training him to bite candy asses and jabronies. The gi in the bottom pictures was Brandi's, but not anymore. The Rock is also the newest member of the Relson Gracie Team. I apologize for the picture with the Hard Rock Cafe hat, that was totally the wife's idea. As you can see in the picture, The Rock is not very happy with it either.

 

Rottweilers are excellent companions and great guard dogs! If you are looking for a large dog, but are a little detered from getting a Rott because of all the stories you have heard, let me tell you about Rottweilers. Generally, a dog is a product of his environment just like a child. If an owner beats or mistreats a child, the child will grow up with behavioral problems, why would you expect different from a dog?

Just look at these pictures. Do they look like dangerous dogs to you? I apologize in advance for the slow loading of this page, but I just had to include all these pictures.

Four males (The Rock is on the far right, always the rebelious one)	Two females

The Rock's Litter Statistics:

Breed: German Rottweilers Total litter size: 6 puppies Number of males: 3 Number of females: 2 Date of birth: March 25, 2001 Place of birth: Kapolei, Oahu, Hawaii AKC certified: Yes, both parents were AKC certified and all puppies come with AKC papers

Parents:
A picture of the parents are below. Both parents are certified by the American Kennel Club (AKC) as German Rottweilers. The German line are said to be generally larger than the American line of Rottweillers, although some say the opposite. Both dogs have an extremely good temperments and have NEVER shown any aggressive tendencies. The parents are from two different breeds in order to produce a strong litter. This is the first and only litter from these two dogs and it is generally said that smaller litters produce healthier puppies. Sam (father of the litter) is thin because he is only 1 1/2 years old and was experiencing a growth spurt and cannot eat enough to keep up.

	Father: Name: Sam Mother: Name: Xena
Sam* & Xena		Sam*

*Keep in mind that at the time of this picture Sam was only about 1 1/2 years old, so he has about 1 1/2 more years to fill out.

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Pictures just one month earlier:

These pictures were taken on April 15th, 2001. The puppies were already very active and exploring the area.

This was probably the last time we were able to line them up like this without holding everyone of them.

History of the Rottweiler:
The Rottweiler is said to be descended from the drover dogs of ancient Rome. These mastiff-type dogs accompanied the Roman Legions across the Alps herding their cattle and guarding their camps. One such camp, on the banks of the Neckar River in what is now southern Germany, was the origin of the town of Rottweil (named for the red tile roofs of the villas built by the Romans). Through the mid-1800's, the cattle trade flourished in Rottweil, as did the Rottweiler Metzgerhund (butcher dog), who drove the cattle to market and returned with the filled purses of their masters around their necks. As rail transportation became the primary means of bringing cattle to market, the dogs were used less frequently. Legend has it that by 1905 there was but one Rottweiler left in the town of Rottweil. By the early 1900's though, the Rottweiler gained popularity as a police dog. Several Clubs were formed, and in 1921 united as the Allgemeiner Deutscher Rottweiler Klub (ADRK). In 1931, the first Rottweiler was admitted to the AKC Stud Book. Through the 1970's, the Rottweiler was a fairly uncommon dog in the United States, ranking in the middle of AKC registered breeds in terms of number of dogs registered. In the early 1980's the Rottweiler began a meteoric rise in popularity, and has been the second most popular AKC breed since 1992.

Characteristics and Temperament:
The Rottweiler is a medium-large, powerful dog. His compact and substantial build denotes great strength, agility and endurance. On average, males will range from 95 to 135 lbs and 24" to 27" at the shoulder. They are more massive throughout with larger frame and heavier bone than bitches. Bitches will range from 80 to 100 lbs and from 22" to 25" at the shoulder. Animals can be found which are taller or shorter than these measurements, however, they are not considered typical by the breed standard. The Rottweiler is ALWAYS black, with clearly defined markings on cheeks, muzzle, chest and legs as well as over both eyes, that range from tan to deep mahogany. His coat is straight, coarse and of medium length, with an undercoat varying in degree based on climatic conditions. The Rottweiler is a calm and self-confident dog, who has an inherent desire to protect home and family. Personality may range from highly affectionate to extremely aloof. He is not shy nor highly excitable. He is an intelligent and highly trainable dog. He is also very much a companion, often following their family members from room to room in the home. Because of his size and strength, it is imperative that he receive proper socialization and obedience training from an early age. Nervous, shy, excitable or hyperactive individuals are exhibiting traits which are undesirable in an animal the size and strength of the Rottweiler and should be avoided.


Miscellaneous Information:
I have been receiving a lot of emails concerning Rottweilers. I thank them for the emails, but by no means am I a "Rottweiler expert." I just passed on info that I learned from books or from other Rottie owners. Here are some of the information that I have gathered or experienced first hand. Please feel free to email me with additional information that I missed or items that you do not agree with.

First off, there are some things that are inherent in Rottweilers:
- They are naturally loyal dogs and very protective of their family. This does not have to be taught.
- They generally choose one person to be the master or alpha. They will want to stay close and follow that person around and keep them in view at all times.
- They are family dogs and like to be around the family, not in isolation.
- They are smart dogs so you can keep them entertained by teaching them tricks or putting them to work (fetching the paper or pulling a wagon). If they are bored, they will find their own entertainment.
- Bigger is not necessarily better, the bigger the dog is, the more prone to hip dysplasia (mine needed surgery after a year) and larger dogs live shorter lives. Also they will need more exercise to keep that extra weight muscle instead of fat that puts strain on the dog.

Picking out a puppy:
1) Hold them in your hands like a baby facing you and see if the dog looks you in the eye or turns away (if he looks at you in the face, he may have trouble with authority)
2) Drop your keys or a bowl to make a loud noise and see which puppy approaches to investigate the bowl (this shows courage and that he will not run in the face of danger)
3) Squat down and call to the puppies to see which one comes to you (again weeds out the timid pups)
4) The biggest pup will not necessarily grow into the biggest (my dog was the largest of the litter, but his brother is 30lbs heavier and larger)
5) A dog is like a child and is a product of their environment. If you give them a lot of love and treat them nice, they will be part of the family and inherently protect the family. For the current owners, just watch to see how the puppies and adult dogs are treated. Are they well behaved or cower when the master comes by? This could mean that they get hit as punishment.

There are certain ways to make sure that a Rottie knows their place in the heirarchy of the family too.
1) You slowly introduce children to the dog or if he is a puppy you let your kids play with him (supervised of course so the kids don't do anything mean to him). Let your dog lick your kids and basically show his love to your family.
2) Some people say that if he is an indoor dog or an outside dog that can see your family eat, you always feed him after your family has finished (dogs are pack animals and the alpha's eat first, the subordinate dogs eat last). I have never done this.
3) Training, training and more training. This is the most important! Take your dog to multiple obedient courses to make sure that you and everyone in your family can command your dog. I have my daughter practice training with him so he knows that she is higher on the food chain then he is. After he gets larger, usually the man of the house will have to train him so that the corrections are given with enough force to deter disobience. My wife and daughter can't pull the training collar (ie choker chain) hard enough to make him listen sometimes. Always remember the order (Call the dog by name, give verbal command, then give a correction if the dog did not respond. If you give a stay command, do not give it more than twice, instead pull the dog to the same spot so that they learn, that they have to listen to the first command and won't be able to do anything else until that command is followed).
4) Training is an ongoing task. Every so often you have to go over the commands so that your dog is familiar with them and stays obidient.

Please feel free to email me with any comments, suggestions, or info on Rotties.

     Last updated 1/2/04.