What is the difference between a German rottweiler and an American rottweiler?

A German rottweiler is born in Germany, and an American rottweiler is born in the USA. All German rotweilers born after June 1998 (and some American rottweilers) have a tail, other than that, there really isn't much difference. Size, heads, bone and temperament is not indicative of a dog being of German or American lines, as some backyard breeders would lead you to believe. In fact, aside from the tail, the breed standards between the FCI and America are almost identical. Regardless of where a rottweiler is born, it is one breed, and all rottweilers belong to the same breed.

Germany is where the rottweiler breed originated. It is an old breed, descended from the roman drover dogs. To this day, many great rottweilers are still bred in Germany, and in the US from select dogs imported from Germany. Both of our dogs are bred from pink/red papered German imports, but are American rottweilers since they were both born in the US.

One big difference between Germany and the US is how dogs are registered, tracked and bred. In the US, anyone can breed a purebred dog to another purebred dog of the same breed and register the litter with the AKC. In Germany, breedings are approved by the breed warden - a representative appointed by the national rottweiler club (ADRK), that personally oversees and approves litters. Without the breed warden's approval of a litter, it cannot be registered. Every puppy is tattoed at eight weeks of age, and that number is used to track the dog throughout its life.

Before a rottweiler is bred in Germany, it must meet specific criteria, part of which includes passing a Ztp test. This breed suitability test requires an obedience title (BH), hip and elbow clearances, a conformation evaluation that includes weights, measurements and proportions, and includes a written evaluation of the dog by an ADRK judge (kormeister), and a temperament test. Further, one of the dogs must have earned a title in schutzhund. If the dog fails the Ztp and is ever bred, its offspring cannot be registered.

This information is entered into the annual Kor book, and in the ADRK database (Dogbase), which encompasses all registered rottweilers and breedings in Germany, and keeps track of dogs from birth to death. Every breeding, every litter, every title, hip/elbow ratings, every ztp and korung evaluation is included in this database. It gives a breeder access to invaluable information about the dogs contained in a pedigree, written evaluations done during the dog's ztp, hip/elbow scores, and the ability to evaluate breedings by co-efficients and probabilities of certain traits on breedings. This is an extremely valuable tool that assists breeders in planning breedings and in making good breeding decisions.

Generally, in the US, reputable, code of ethics breeders tend to focus more on genetic health by clearing hearts, eyes, hips, elbows, and thyroid before breeding. Their dogs are typically titled in conformation, and some will also have working titles. In Germany, it is unlikely that any dog will have more than just hips and elbows cleared. Generally speaking, US breeders tend to breed more versatile dogs that can work in obedience, schutzhund, carting, agility, therapy, tracking and conformation. In Germany, most rottweilers are bred for and worked in schutzhund. In the US, most reputable breeders whelp and rear puppies in their homes, paying particular attention to early socialization and development, whereas in Germany, most dogs are kept and kenneled outside.

However, no matter where a rottweiler is born, breeding top quality dogs is is an art of balancing genetics, pedigrees, knowledge, experience, and a little bit of luck, which is not exclusive to any particular part of the world, Germany or otherwise.

The goals and ethics of an individual breeder's breeding program are what really makes the difference in what is being produced, not country of origin. Some breeders focus primarily on breeding for working ability, others for soundness & genetic health, others for temperament, and yet others for structure and type.

There are a lot of breeders out there that like to say they are breeding German rottweilers, when in fact they are backyard breeders, breeding from unproven dogs that may have some German imports in the pedigree, and try to pass their puppies off to unsuspecting buyers as "German rottweilers". If a dog is born in the US, it is not a German rottweiler, period. German rottweilers are those dogs that are imported directly from Germany, but just because a dog is imported from Germany does not mean it is a quality dog. Some of these German dogs are sold to people in the US because the dog isn't good enough to be used in a German breeding program. Germany's rejects are often what gets dumped over here in the US with breeders that are inexperienced and new to breeding. Be cautious, don't buy into the hype, and do your research on a potential breeder very carefully.