The Beginning

The first time I ever set eyes on a Rottweiler was when a work colleague brought his to work one day. My first thought, when I saw this fine specimen, was WOW. I asked my friend what kind of breed the dog was. I was so impressed with what a powerful looking dog it was, and so very friendly too. We talked about his dog, where he had bought him and the fact that his father actually bred them too. I asked if I could come by and talk to his father to further my knowledge of the breed, but to also let my parents see what I had been talking to them about.




We set a date. My mother was a little wary as she too had never heard of a Rottweiler before, let alone seen one, so we (that is, my parents and I) sat and talked a little about this breed with my friend’s parents. At first we looked at photographs of the breed. Mum was a bit worried, especially of the size, but we were assured that they were gentle giants. So we went on to the next step in our journey into the breed - to encounter one up close and personal. My friend’s father brought in a male, Joe he called him. One look at this beautiful boy and my mother was up and out of the door. Dad and I looked him over. He was very friendly, in fact a bit too friendly at times. “I’ll put him back out so your mum can come back in” his dad said. Mum came back in the look on her face was a picture.



So mums first encounter, you could say, was not a good one. They thought that maybe bringing in their bitch Axa to meet mum might be a better option. Well that did the trick! Axa just loved my mum and wouldn’t leave her side. It was if she was trying to tell her she wouldn’t hurt her. Mum began to relax, and I noticed once she had actually stroked the dog she couldn’t keep her hands off of her.



So, all in all, the first encounter was a success. We talked about the possibility of my getting a Rottweiler, and mum said “read up about them first, be sure that’s what you want”. Of course it was, so I bought as many books as I could find on the breed. I even found out about Rottweiler clubs and dog shows where I could go and talk to breeders. Once this was done, I had made my mind up I wanted one. So, to set my goal in motion, I bought a paper called Dog World to look at the for sale listings, and for sure there was an ad for a male Rottweiler puppy, 12 weeks old. I phoned and made a date to view the puppy. My very first Rottweiler was purchased from a reputable breeder and, as I later found out, a championship dog show judge too.



This was the beginning of my love of the Rottweiler breed of dog.