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rottweiler history
part 1. the breed genesis and prevalence theory
Using the famous cynologists works let's try to give an intent look at the «rottweiler breed», it's long, dramatic a bit history which set a seal on it's external appearance and inner life.
…Rottweiler roots are the shepherd mastiff type dogs known since the ancience. We can see the different Roman bred dogs on the Roman mosaics of the year 180 of our era. There are still well–preserved dogs spoils found on the castles places and in awashed wells. Rottweilers ancestors had been brought to Europe with the Roman invaders legions. That's impossible to set the exact start date of the breed spreading in Europe but we can assert that the breed has more than two–thousand–year history.
Contradictory sources and insufficient information feed the argues about this breed destination in Rome. That's a well known that rottweilers had been used as not fighting dogs but as the drivers of the cattle that was the meat reserve for the Roman legions but we also suppose what it wasn't the one rottweilers use as soon as it would be unpractical. Written roman theoretic and warlords sources tell that some part of food the soldiers had been carrying by themselves and the other they could get on the occupied territory what was the usual invader armies feature. The Roman historian Cornelius telling about the Roman army defeat in the Ist century invasion of Germany mentioned that the most difficulty of that campaign was impassable roads and bogs. It would be absurd to drive the cattle to feed 10–thousand army in such circumstances. They had been leaving the cattle with escort dogs. That's why there
are so many Roman dogs settled in Germany.
The situation changed when the occupied territories became the Roman provinces. The Holy Roman Empire was tied by the net of war ways and fortresses; one of such fortresses — Rottweil — was built on the crossroad behind the Alps in the year 74 of our era. This place was that one all breed history is associated with. That's the place to count the rottweilers breed history as the history of the cattle driving and guardian dogs from. Ancient Roman rottweilers ancestors (looking like the Molossians dogs who got their name from the one of Greek ethnicities inhabited the Epirus and were famous by their hunter dogs) were inbreeding for ages with the outlandish and local shepherd dogs and possibly with the powerful fighting dogs. For almost three–hundred–year Romans presence in the South German the new breed which got the «Roman dog» name had been formed.
Many breeds genesis is still unknown. But that's indisputable that the dog evolution shall be examined parallel to the culture and the farming history. So long ago due to the outlandish and local dogs inbreeding the large group with a distinct featured animals had been distinguished. The cynology considers that group the shaped breed. That would be wrong to think those dogs were looking like the contemporary rottweilers. That special type can be defined as a succesful result of the best fighter dogs, shepherd dogs and the wide mug British and Netherlandish bulldogs qualities fusion. The Mastiffs features are the powerful bones, highly developed muscles, special head structure with the distinct brow to mug transition, and special shoulders placement which is important for the front limbs setting and free elbow motion. This is advantage for not only running but also the fighting both human and animal.
There's no single opinion for that between the cynologists. So a half of century ago Strebel considered the only Roman rottweilers genesis theory was potent so set the rottweilers in a row with the English Cur Dog and Istrian dog and denied the Bulldogs roots of rottweilers. H. Korn proposed to pay attention to the intellectual and psychic dog inner life aspects which often overtrump the exterior and anatomy in the genetic relations establishment.
Explaining the rottweilers and other Mastiffs (the German boxer first of all) similarity we could see the exterior likeness. Such seldom repeating feature as «wide mug» is a very exponential for the historical excursus though undesirable. M. Sizarovsky leaves the matter of the alliance degree between the rottweiler and Bullenbeisser (the old type of German boxer). In Czechia, Germany, Bavaria and even in the Vurtemberg the boxers were also used as the butcher's dogs and cattle drivers.
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Old Rottweil
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Old Rottweil blazon
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Rottweil blazon
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Dealing with the kinship with the other Mastiffs it does matter to remind the Greater Swiss Mountain dog. Let's keep in mind that in the XIII century the Swabian butchers trade covered not only the nearest areas but also the foreign lands. Cattle round up to the Rottweil markets was the most intensive from the Switzerland and Vurtemberg. The similarity between the rottweiler and Swiss dog, as D. Naymanova said, makes the guess of their inbreeding probable. Accepting that the German researchers G. Shwarovsky and M. Ulrich put the rottweilers to the same type with the Swiss dogs are in due to similar color. The marks on the breast, limbs and mug on the rottweilers pups the same with Greater Swiss Mountain dog have.
So using the seldom features splitting (actually the color) it's possible to find the other breed part in the rottweiler breed shaping. Enlisted above authors opinions follow the L. Dobroruka's concern that the rottweiler as the Greater Swiss Mountain dog relates to the Roman legions herd guardian dogs type. Swiss dogs and rottweilers also have a lot of similarities in the behavior: they have good abilities to guard and hound, and fight.
Aforesaid lets to conclude that the rottweiler breed is the product of the complex inbreeding of many ancient molossians and mastiffs dogs. The rottweilers kinship with the Greater Swiss Mountain dog is apparent; there's also a bit of certainty in the genealogical relation to the Bullenbeisser. But all these breeds just enriched the rottweiler breed itself the distinct type of which came to Germany with the Roman chariots.
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8000 years B.C.
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