The Rottweiler

Thompson Catherine, Linda Michels

Description

Whether the reader owns one Rottweiler companion or is a serious breeder with a large kennel, this is an invaluable source of expert reference on the origins of the breed, the Standard, finding a dog, care and training for puppies and adults, activities to be enjoyed and a host of other important subjects. Fully illustrated in glowing color throughout.
Introduction.

1. Profile of the Rottweiler.

2. History of the Rottweiler.

3. Official Standard of the Rottweiler.

4. Finding the Right Dog—Puppy, Adult or Rescue.

5. Living with a Rottweiler.

6. Keeping Your Rottweiler Happy and Healthy.

7. Caring for Your Rottweiler.

8. Grooming Your Rottweiler.

9. Showing Your Rottweiler.

10. Obedience Trials, Performance Events and Other Activities for Your Rottweiler.

11. Headliners.

12. What You Should Know About Breeding.

13. Special Care for the Older Rottweiler.

14. The American Rottweiler Club.

Epilogue.

Appendix A: Organizations and Other Resources.

Appendix B: The American Rottweiler Club Mandatory Practices.

Appendix C: The Meaning of All Those Titles.

Appendix D: The Hall of Fame: American Rottweiler Club Production Awards.

Appendix E: Specialty Winners.

Appendix F: The Thompson wHELPing Box.

Bibliography.

Index.

Sujets

• Breeds
• Pets
• The Rottweiler
• Dogs

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 18 mai 2009
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780470493380
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 6 Mo

Extrait

THE R OTTWEILER

Centuries of Service
L INDA M ICHELS AND C ATHERINE T HOMPSON
Copyright 1998 Linda Michels and Cathy Thompson
Howell Book House
Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., New York, NY
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, [phone], fax [phone]. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Legal Department, Wiley Publishing, Inc., 10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256, [phone], fax [phone], E-Mail: [e-mail].
Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, and Howell Book House are trademarks or registered trademarks of Wiley Publishing, Inc., in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
For general information on our other products and services or to obtain technical support please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 800-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993 or fax [phone].
ISBN 0-87605084-4
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5
Cover and book design by George J. McKeon
Dedication
We dedicate this book to our Rottweilers past, present and future. After all, it was and is our Rottweilers who fill our lives and give us the information to write this book. We will not name names because all of our dogs have held and hold a place near and dear to our hearts. Some achieved greater success than others, some had long lives, others very short ones, but all were important to our education in Rottweilers.
They gave unquestioning loyalty and devotion. They saved us from dangerous situations, listened to our sad tales of woe and brought smiles to our faces. They taught us humility. They taught us perseverance. They gave us great highs when successful and tore out our hearts when they were sick or had to be put down. For all these reasons and some we did not say, this book is for them.
Acknowledgments
I must thank my husband, Greg, who has allowed and encouraged my involvement with Rottweilers. Without his constant urging, common sense and devotion I would not have taken on this project.
I would also like to thank Hermann Heid, who entrusted me with my first Rottweiler, and Felice Luburich, who has mentored me through the years, graciously sharing her knowledge of the breed and dogs in general.- Cathy Thompson
First and foremost, I thank my husband, Bill, who has shared my love for Rottweilers and who has unselfishly allowed me to take most of the credit for the success of our breeding program and knowledge of Rottweilers and dogs in general. He has supported me through this project without complaint.
I thank Jane Justice for her help and ideas with this book. She has researched and supplied me with many topics for these chapters. She has also been a great friend and mentor over the past ten years. She is a commonsense dog woman on whom I often rely for sound advice. The Rottweiler is very lucky to have Jane.
Sue Suwinski introduced me to Rottweilers and is responsible for laying the foundation for my thirst for knowledge of dog behavior, structure and realism in breeding dogs. She taught me that considering beauty only is a disservice to any breed. I thank her for her generosity of knowledge and patience with a novice who phoned her almost every day for five years. I thank her for giving me a lifetime of enjoyment with Rottweilers. She is ultimately responsible for my being able to write this book.
Lastly, I thank all of the dog people in the Finger Lakes Kennel Club and Ithaca Dog Training Club who have known me longer than I have owned Rottweilers. I was a member of both clubs for two years when my son died in 1978. My non-doggy friends stayed away, afraid of saying something wrong; the dog people dragged me to lunch, dog training and dog shows for months. They are responsible for my sanity.- Linda Michels
There are many more people who have taught us so much about Rottweilers and dogs in general. You may not even know who you are, but we thank you, too, for making this book possible.
Contents

Introduction

1. P ROFILE OF THE R OTTWEILER

King of His Domain

Things You Should Know

2. H ISTORY OF THE R OTTWEILER

The Evolution of the Rottweiler

How the Rottweiler Got His Name

The Rottweiler s Neighbors

Clubs for the Breed

Establishing the Breed in the U.S.

Early Champions

From Not to Hot

Famous Owners

3. O FFICIAL S TANDARD OF THE R OTTWEILER

The AKC Standard of the American Rottweiler

General Appearance

Size, Proportion, Substance

Head

Ears

Neck, Topline, Substance

Forequarters

Hindquarters

Coat

Color

Gait

Temperament

Disqualifications

4. F INDING THE R IGHT D OG -P UPPY , A DULT OR R ESCUE

Think Health First

Expect Questions

The Sales Contract

The Pedigree

Registration Papers

Rottweiler Rescue

Boy or Girl?

5. L IVING WITH A R OTTWEILER

A Close Companion

Helpful Handling

Rottweilers and Children

Your Big Dog

Toys and Games

Equipment You ll Need for Your Dog

Your Rottweiler s Adolescence

Desexing Your Rottweiler

6. K EEPING Y OUR R OTTWEILER H APPY AND H EALTHY

Your Dog s Diet

Crates

Veterinary Care

Fleas

Ticks

Common Health Concerns

Health Red Flags

7. C ARING FOR Y OUR R OTTWEILER

Rottweiler Essentials

8. G ROOMING Y OUR R OTTWEILER

Teeth and Nails

Bathing Your Dog

9. S HOWING Y OUR R OTTWEILER

Learning to Show

Entering a Show

The Big Show

Your Turn in the Ring

Professional Handlers

Bear in Mind
10. O BEDIENCE T RIALS , P ERFORMANCE E VENTS AND O THER A CTIVITIES FOR Y OUR R OTTWEILER

Obedience

Tracking

Agility

Herding

Other Fun Events

Therapy Work

Schutzhund

Search and Rescue
11. H EADLINERS

Rottweiler Firsts
12. W HAT Y OU S HOULD K NOW A BOUT B REEDING

Evaluating Your Rottweiler

Evaluating Yourself

Why Breed?

If You Think You re Ready

The Male

The Stud Contract

Bring in the Bitch

The Mating

The Bitch

Bitches and Puppies

Risks and Rewards
13. S PECIAL C ARE FOR THE O LDER R OTTWEILER

The Aging Process

Signs of Old Age

Nutrition

Exercise

Grooming

Introducing Another Pet

When the Time Comes
14. T HE A MERICAN R OTTWEILER C LUB

ARC Specialty Shows

Not Just Show Dogs
E PILOGUE
A PPENDIX A Organizations and Other Resources
A PPENDIX B The American Rottweiler Club Mandatory Practices
A PPENDIX C The Meaning of All Those Titles
A PPENDIX D The Hall of Fame: American Rottweiler Club Production Awards
A PPENDIX E Specialty Winners
A PPENDIX F The Thompson wHELPing Box
Bibliography
Index

(Thompson)
Introduction
After Cathy s nearly thirty years and Linda s twenty-one years of sharing our lives with Rottweilers, having the chance to write about them gives us the opportunity to give back to this marvelous breed a little of the love our dogs have given to us. This book also gives us the chance to pass on to others the practical knowledge and insight given us by our wonderful mentors.
We both have shown and trained Rottweilers in conformation, obedience and almost all performance events. We have also gained a wealth of knowledge from one of the most difficult of all dog-related volunteer jobs-we have taught household obedience classes. It is amazing how much you can learn about your own breed by teaching novice owners to train their unruly adult dogs. Through our hands-on experiences, we try to give sound advice to educate Rottweiler owners on the correct character, temperament and care of the breed.
It is our hope that this book will help all Rottweilers to find the proper homes, and all owners to find the proper Rottweilers-matches that will bring immeasurable joy to both dogs and owners.
Both authors have been very active in national and local Rottweiler, all-breed and obedience clubs. We have both held about every position in a dog club, from cleanup to show chairman at dog shows and gopher to president at club meetings. We have served on or chaired just about every committee, too, which has helped immensely in authoring this book. We are grateful for all our experiences and challenges.
Linda P. Michels has been active in the sport of dogs since 1976 and with Rottweilers since 1978. She has bred Rottweilers using the kennel name Lindenwood. She has trained and shown Rottweilers in conformation, obedience, tracking, Schutzhund and flyball, and was a Chief Tester for the American Temperament Society. She has also shown and attempted to train Samoyeds, a Siberian Husky, a Pug