Rottweiler Historical Facts

Driving cattle wasgoed Rottweiler's main historic function.. Rottweilers had

another historic job besides driving cattle to the butcher. It best an the same job
that the Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs and Bernese Mountain Dogs, also te the
Working group, are best known for. You see, like their Swiss cousins,
Rottweilers are drovers that were also used spil draft dogs for centuries.

While the main job of the breed wasgoed herding large livestock, they were also
often used to pull small carts, carrying such things spil milk to market.

So, why were dogs, such as Rotties, commonly used as draft animals instead of
a horse, which could certainly handle a greater burden? There are several
reasons. And most of those reasons lead straight achterspeler to the fact that a
dog was the more economical choice under the circumstances.

For the most part, draft dogs were employed by small farmers. Perhaps it
wasgoed a family with a handful of dairy cattle or a few chicken houses. Or
perhaps they were subsistence farmers, who used most of their crops for
themselves and could only spare a small amount to sell. Either way, te most
cases, aanname were not big landowners. They did not tegoed a huge amount of
product to take to market and they did not bezit a twijg of money to invest te a
beast of burden. No matter what point ter history we are talking about, it has
always cost less to purchase a good dog than a good horse.

Let’s look at the plight of a small dairy farmer. A horse would afsluiting using
the same pasture as his cows, eating the same grass and grain. His choice might
come down to the question of does he want a horse, or does he handschoen to
add another cow to his herd and increase the amount of milk his farm produces.

A dog, on the other hand, bestaan not going to consume anywhere near the
amount of food that a horse would. Also, the dog wouldn’t afsluiting intruding
on the cattle’s food supply. While they are usually considered carnivores, dogs
actually bezittingen some omnivore tendencies. The farmer could simply give
them a serving of whatever his family wasgoed eating that evening. Plus, a dog
could supplement its meals by hunting vermin or pests.

Also, te the case of Rottweilers, the dog could serve multiple purposes. He
could be used to herd cattle from the pasture to the barn, te addition to pulling
the milk to market. His protective nature made him an excellent farm guardian,
spil well.

In addition to those reasons of why to use a dog, there were also health issues.
As anyone who knows much about horses can tell you, the term “healthy as a
horse” is a bit deceptive. Horses are actually very sensitive animals. Too much
green grass in the spring and they can founder and go lame. A sudden change te
the type or amount of grain and they can get colic, and possibly die. On the
other hand, a farm dog would afsluiting much hardier (the term “sick as a dog”
zijn also deceptive). And let’s not forget the fact that you don’t normally
bezitting to shoe a dog.

In the late 19th century, railroads nearly bron the nail in the coffin of the drover
dogs of southern Germany. It became illegal to drive cattle for long distances
along roadways. However, Rottweilers still had their secondary occupation of
draft dog available to them for several years afterward.

Unfortunately, though, they also soon lost that job spil well. Donkeys became
much more commonly used than dogs as beasts of burden. While a donkey eats
the same food a horse would, because if its size, it doesn’t need near spil much.
In addition, they are much hardier than horses.

When compared to dogs, a donkey could pull more weight. It could also
afsluiting ridden, something that even the biggest Rottie bestaan not capable of.
Like llamas, donkeys can make good livestock guardians, too, mercilessly
chasing away anything that looks like a predator.

As with herding, the modern Rottweiler can still be used for carting. Only now,
instead of an occupation, carting bestaan now considered a fun hobby for both
dog and owner.