Rottweiler are US!

by Sharon Sysel

(Omaha, NE)

We have been proud owners of not one, but three Rottweiler's. The first was Skeeter who we thought could never be replaced. He was beautiful and weighed 130lbs at his top (winter) weight, but mostly his weight was around 120lbs.

Skeeter had 28 weeks of obedience training and took to it like water. Skeeter was house broken in one week. I never had to say a command twice and he never tried to "bolt" out of the house or away from us the way little dogs have a way of doing.

He was great around children, but to keep him safe there was always close supervision when children were present due to his size. Skeeter loved to be squired around in the car as he loved going for a ride. We lost him to "lymphoma cancer" at the age of eleven years. He was truly a great companion.

Our second Rotty was named "Butkis." He also had 28 weeks obedience training and was certified "Good Canine Citizen."

Training was easy for this one too. He was housebroken in 2 weeks as he was older (22 weeks) when he joined our family.

Butkis loved walking and fishing. He was a soul-mate to both my husband and I. We lost him to "lymphoma cancer" at the age of eight. Butkis was an incredible companion.

Our current Rotty is Diesel. He lives up to his name as he has lots of playful energy! Diesel has only had 7 weeks obedience training to date. He is attentive, knows his commands and stays by my side. This dog is as great as the other two and hopefully will enjoy a nice long life.

Adjectives I would use to describe all my little guys would be stoic, proud, mature, loyal, and good-natured. I cannot say enough good things about Rottweilers. If you are a responsible owner, train them, respect that aggressive play should not be in your training then this breed would be good for anyone.

The only drawback is their size as you will need strength to train them to walk gently as they do not know how strong they become. They cannot be left alone or "chained" outside as they are truly "pack" oriented and only live to be by your side.

Do not put them in harm's way by not supervising as they are incredible family members and deserve your loyalty as well.