Rottweiler

The Rottweiler looks serious. It is serious. It is also a mush when it comes to its family, and a clown when no one is looking.

The breed takes its name from Rottweil, a town in southern Germany. The story goes that the dogs descend from the drover dogs of the Roman legions, who marched over the Alps with cattle. After the Romans left, the dogs stayed.

For centuries, butchers in Rottweil used them to drive cattle to market. Butchers are said to have hung the money pouch around the dog’s neck on the way home. Few thieves tried to take it.

By the 1900s, the Rottweiler had become a police dog and war dog, and the AKC recognized it in 1931. Rottweilers served as messengers and guards in wartime, and they still work as police, search, and service dogs.

At home, a Rottweiler is calm, loyal, and watchful. It bonds hard to its family. It needs training, firm and kind, and regular exercise.

Give it a job and a place by your side. A Rottweiler will guard you without needing to be told.