|
ROTTWEILER HISTORY
part 3. the rottweiler clubs emergence and the breed standard making chronology
Each group adduced proof of the one or another type of dog. The «big» dogs fanciers stressing a point of the guard demanded the massive and high standard establishment. Their opponents were proving with reasons that high dogs are improper for other purposes because they lack stamina and agility.
The discussions were going on and the international cynology hurried to establish the standard. It added fuel to a fire of the German rottweiler–fanciers struggle. Within living memory, tackling each other they sometimes used their fists. That's the place to notice that these discussions were even long before. M. Sizarovsky told that there are two types of dogs from centuries past. Im the middle ages the Swabian highborn used the powerful Mastiffs for the big animals hunting. Between the hunting seasons the dogs were lend to the land keepers and millers. The same time with the vermin population decrease the interest to the rottweilers was decreasing too what led to their guardian and cattle driving use. Later heir breeding was going by these two directions.
There's also the other more popular theory of the breed division on two types. M. Sizarovsky, relating to the Bullenbeisser and Bulldog genesis writes that «…so called Bullenbeisser («bullcrunch») was specially trained to tame the bulls who didn't want to move or was furious. To make the froward animal move the rottweiler bit the bull's legs until he moved». But if the bite was too high it decreased the meat sort so butchers tried to use shorter dogs. That's considered that it was the beginning of the bulldogs breed. We could suppose the same way the two types of rottweilers were selected.
What was the rottweiler's height then? M. Sizarovsky considers that in September of 1981 the height standard had been changed since the 1890. The height was enlarged from previous 50 cm / 23 inches up to now 61 cm / 24 inches (maximum 68 cm / 27 inches). To affirm that that's enough to look at the one of the pictures of this dog of 1886; the rottweiler is shorter but powerful and keeps the bull led bythe butcher.
So if those rottweilers had 50 cm / 20 inches height that's not much more than the contemporary English bulldog has (38—40 cm / 15—16 inches) the ancestors of which were probably higher. So we can suppose that time rottweiler was a bulldog–like. This is logically related to the cattle–driving breed and demands to them. To fight a bull the physically selected runty dogs were needed so that the bull couldn't counterattack, agile but very massive, with a wide scull–bones what was very important in the fighting.
It remains to add that the guardian dogs keeping the massiveness and proportions of the smaller brothers were higher so that had more power. However the power advantage decreased their agility and stamina what limited their use area by the guard while the small rottweilers were more universal. They were more hardy and efficient.
These smaller dogs were the prototype for the contemporary rottweilers. But it's wrong to consider the guard the only use of the higher dogs. In the middle ages they had been used for the bargain transportation and house guard. They weren't available to drive the cattle because they couldn't bear the exhausting trip. It's to mention here that there was no purposeful selection and both types dogs were inbreeding freely. As a result there are some larger and more massive dogs nowadays. The dog–keepers usually prefer larger coarse and beefy dogs which usually loose such guard–valuable qualities as malice and the power.
Certainly rottweiler went through the centuries with some changes but he saved his ancestors exterior which had been improving for more than 2 thousand years. The breed was mostly shaped 80 years ago when the ADRK started to care about it. So some contradictions were related to the height, coat and the head shape. Thanks to ADRK the «korungmeisters» (specially trained the rottweilers evaluators according the contemporary standard requirements) institute is developing. In the beginning of 70s the uniform exterior of rottweilers was important; the desired phenotype was propagandized — athletic, bony dog with the large, dry, well–shaped head. The huge attention was paid to the proper anatomy and the copulas strength.
At the end of XX century the ADRK is under the pressing: the standard is changed to disqualify the tailless dogs. 6th of April, 2000 the newest «German» rottweiler standard is published; the tail cut is abolished and the proper rottweiler tail shape and position are a like with the Labrador's ones.
|
|
1883
Page 3
