If you have the space to accommodate a pet, you may be looking at different sizes to see what the right fit for your household would be.
Rottweilers are an exceptionally loving breed once you have built a bond with them. The only cause for concern may be, do you have enough room to fit this large breed!
In this article, we are going to discuss how big do Rottweilers get, and when exactly do they stop growing!
They may have a bad reputation, but as a Rottweiler owner myself, this stereotype does not fit the many Rottweilers I have come across! So, let’s find out about these friendly giants!
Table of Contents
How Big Do Rottweilers Get?
Rottweilers as a breed are known to be large dogs, but will differ in size depending on their parents, and how much you feed and exercise them.
Males
Male Rottweilers are the bigger sex overall and can weigh anything between 49kg to 60kg! However, 60kg is above average for most Rottweilers, and we need to ensure that you are not just overfeeding your dog!
If your Rottweiler goes over this size range, then he would be classed as overweight. This comes with a myriad of health concerns and conditions, as Rottweilers are also predisposed to heart problems, diabetes, joint problems and even cancer.
This means that if we overfeed our Rottweilers, we are amplifying the possible underlying issues of this particular breed.
With my own male Rottweiler, we feed him twice a day, which contains a portion of whatever meat we have, and a natural blend of dry foods. He also has a treat such as, a pig’s ear, most days to keep him occupied when we go out.
However, this may be too much for your own as we are fortunate enough to live within the countryside, so he will get an hours walk in the morning and an hours walk in the evening, so will be burning off a lot of this. The vet has confirmed that he is of a healthy weight of 56kg!
Rottweilers are can also be tall! The average male Rottweiler we be between 60 – 69 centimetres tall! This can be daunting for some people that have not come across Rottweilers before!
Females
Females as their male counterparts, but that does not by any means make them small! A female Rottweiler can vary in size but will be between 34kg to 47kg! Which is obviously a big difference!
Again, this will mostly be due to how big their parents are. However, just like the males feeding and exercise will also contribute to their size greatly too!
In the first year of having a puppy, it will need a diet of mostly protein to ensure that it grows to its full potential! However, just like the males, we want to ensure we are not overfeeding our pets, as we do not want to cause them any health problems! This can lead to unnecessary pain and stress for you and your dog, not to mention the expensive vet bills!
The Difference
There may be a slight difference in size, whether you decide to get a male or female Rottweiler, and there are definite benefits to both! With a dog this big, you need to make sure you have access to places for them to run around and burn off a lot of energy, as a dog this size can be hyperactive at times, and more so if not exercised enough!
Always ensure you have the means to accommodate such a big dog, as we always want to make sure we are providing the best life for our pets.
(Have you ever wondered whether you should get a male or female rottweiler?)
When Do Rottweilers Stop Growing?
Now we know just how big Rottweilers can get, it may be worthwhile knowing, when do Rottweilers stop growing?
The average Rottweiler will grow to over 4 times the sizes of what it is as a puppy, that you can take home. Looks may be deceiving, as I know when I first got my Rottweiler, he seemed tiny! He is now a massive lump, that thinks like a small dog, so will happily try to sit on my lap whenever he can! Rottweilers certainly do not have a lack of personality for their size.
Rottweilers will grow continuously until they are between 1 and a half to 2 years old. However, something you may notice is that they tend to get stockier after reaching their height potential.
With my own Rottweiler, he stopped growing in height at the age of 2. Although, in the past 3 coming up to his third birthday, he has become increasingly bulkier! So, at first you may think that your Rottweiler hasn’t grown to their full potential, just as I did, but just notice the change up to their third birthday. This is normal for most Rottweilers unless they are over or underweight.
How To Tell Your Rottweiler Has Stopped Growing?
As we previously stated, your Rottweiler will stop growing between the ages of 1 and a half to 2 years old. But there may be signs that your dog has reached his or her maximum growth potential.
Parents
Your Rottweilers parents, will the biggest indicator of how big and tall your Rottweiler grows. If you notice just before the two year mark, that they are roughly the same size or weight as the parents, then this means they are of their maximum growth.
However, like we previously mentioned, they may still bulk out until the 3 year mark, but will look similar to their parents still.
Growth Rate
Rottweilers will show the most significant amount of growth rate between new born and 8 months old, when they will start looking like an adult dog.
After 8 months, you may not notice their growth as much, as with my own Rottweiler, I don’t notice how big he has gotten unless I have to go away for a little while!
Vet Checks
Your Rottweiler will need to have its booster injections after 1 year, so the vet will then do a routine check up for any signs of illness, but also take their height and weight.
This will then give you a better understanding of how much more growing your Rottweiler is going to do. However, if they are over or under what they should be at that age, your vet may encourage you to feed your Rottie less or more. Over or underfeeding can cause problems with growth in big dogs, that they may have to deal with for the rest of their lives. Always ensure you take the vets advice!
After the 1 year booster injections, you will want to take your Rottweiler in for a check-up every 6 months or yearly if they seem fine. The vet will then be able to advise you on how they are growing and how much they still have left to grow.
Overeating
If you start to see the amount of food that your Rottweiler is consuming is contributing to their weight in a negative aspect, then you may want to cut their food, or walk them more. With overfeeding, you will start to understand that they have stopped growing and now this amount of food is affecting them negatively, so take your vets advise on food portion sizes.
Rottweiler Growth Stages
Just like humans do, Rottweilers also go through transitional growth stages. You may find that you can deal with the dog version of a moody teenager or a toddler tantrum at time too!
The Rottweiler growth stages are as follows:
Developmental stages
In the first 12 days of a Rottweiler being born, then will mostly eat and sleep, just like a human. They cannot generate their own body heat, so will rely on their mum and the rest of the litter to keep them warm.
Between 13 and 21 days old, Rottweiler puppies will then start to open their eyes, and their ear canals will also begin to function properly.
Between days 20 and 23, puppies will develop their milk teeth. This means that they will be able to start consuming solid foods. They will also be able to start wagging their tails and will be more vocal and begin to socialise with the litter properly. They will also be able to engage in their surrounding areas, so will begin to wander and it would be a very good idea to allow them to experience everything in their environment.
Up until 49 days, it is fundamental that puppies stay with their mothers, as they begin to understand how to behave as a dog! Because they are also building bonds with the rest of the litter, it is key that they go through this process as it helps them to socialise with other dogs in the future. Removing puppies too early from the litter and mother can mean that they develop emotional and socialisation problems, which can mean bigger problems for the owner.
In the first 12 weeks of your puppy’s life, and after the 21-day mark, we want puppies to socialise with humans as much as possible. This is because they will learn to listen to their future owner and understand training commands, and how to interact with people. It is also at this stage where if not trained properly or looked after properly, they may deal with social problems with regards to people, as they may not feel safe.
The ‘Teenage’ Months
Between 4 and 8 months, puppies will start to understand what they can and cannot do. This means with lack of training or commands from the owner, they may possibly run wild!
We want to practice our training and commands for between 10 – 20 minutes every day, so we continually reinforce what we expect from our dogs. It will then take between 5 – 8 times/days of this repetition for your puppy to remember and comply.
Using positive reinforcement is the best approach with Rottweilers as they can be a stubborn breed. Use treats and a positive tone, whilst also petting your Rottweiler to let them know they are doing a good job! Becoming negative can cause them to feel scared or unsettled, which may exacerbate any problems you experience in the future, not to mention that they may become aggressive if scared.
Maturity
It is between the ages of 1 – 4 years where we consistently need to keep up the work of training that we have implemented with our Rottweilers. They are fantastic additions to any family, but are known for being very protective, so over the first few years they are going to experience a lot of things, and they will look to you for guidance and how to react.
It is also important to socialise your dog with others between the first few years of you having them. They will come across a lot of different characters and will be able to deal with each dog’s personality uniquely. A lack of dog socialisation means that they may become aggressive or scared and risk being attacked if they are on the opposite side and are too playful.
Again, Rottweilers can be classed as at maturity between the ages of 2 and 3 years old, so we want to pack as many good habits into that time period as possible.
How To Make Sure Your Rottweiler Grows Properly
Now we know the time frame in which your Rottweiler is going to grow and what stages it will go through in its first few years, we want to make sure that we have all the right information on how to make sure your Rottweiler grows properly!
Now, we hope that we are fully informed of our puppies past and parents problems, but that may not always be the case. In that sense, their is little we can do but get help from a vet if there are underlining issues. However, there are definitely ways we can contribute to help make sure they grow properly.
Exercise
Exercise is fundamental for your Rottweilers growth. Many may suggest that walking your Rottweiler for 30 minutes a day is sufficient. However, I would say that due to the fact that Rottweilers are a big breed, I would suggest an hour at least.
We walk our own Rottweiler between 1.5 – 2 hours a day, and he always seems happy and not overly boisterous as he does plenty of running around.
Another thing I may suggest if you do not have time for 2 hours daily (1 hour in the morning and 1 hour in the evening), is ensuring that you have a ball that they can play fetch with. I know when my own Rottweiler is exceptionally active that day, throwing a ball for him to fetch definitely tires him out for the evening!
Toys are always good for dogs anyway; it helps with their boredom. The other benefit of giving your dog toys is that they can be helpful with cleaning their teeth, and we want to ensure that our pets teeth are healthy! If your Rottweiler becomes too bored, he/she could run riot across the house!
Diet
You can ask your vet what particular foods would be good for your Rottweiler if you need advice. I would recommend a protein heavy diet while they are growing, as it will help them to form their muscles better.
With dry food, we want a specific brand that customs their food to large dogs specifically. This is because the food has been formulated for bone growth in mind, which is helpful when you have a dog that is prone to joint and bone disorders, as previously mentioned.
I would also recommend feeding your dog after they have been walked, as doing so before can cause stomach problems. This can include intestine twisting, which is unnecessary pain for you dog. It can also lead to vomiting and painful bloating for your Rottweiler, which we don’t want even if they are fully matured in growth.
Socialising
As we mentioned previously, socialising your Rottweiler is imperative to how it grows. This is for mental purposes rather than actual physical growth. We want to ensure that your dog feels comfortable around other dogs, and people of all ages so we face no problems in the long run.
However, when socialising always remember to keep an eye on your Rottweiler. They can become scared in certain circumstances, and we do not want to put the fear of others into them or have them respond in a negative way.
Training
Training is vital for a dog’s mental growth. They will learn that you are their owner and learn to respond to any commands that you give them. We want to make sure that our Rottweilers are always calm and relaxed in any given situation so we do not have to deal with negative reactions that could go awry.
Putting a routine in place when you first get your Rottweiler would be the most ideal way of training. They will be accustomed to this routine and always know what to expect next during the day and evening.
We have found a routine that really works for us, which goes as so:
7-8 am – Morning walk for an hour
8.30 am – Breakfast
10.30 am – Treat time
He will then usually sleep or play with his toys for the majority of the day. Someone is always usually home, so he enjoys a cuddle often too!
5-6 pm – Evening walk – we will take the ball as well, so he gets a good run around!
6.30 pm – Dinner time
11pm – We usually go to sleep at this time, so we will let him out to go to the toilet and then he will get in his bed and sleep until morning.
Your schedule may differ, but this routine works perfectly for us! I would say 95% of the time we have a very calm and relaxed dog, who causes little problems. It is only if something unexpected happens, for instance if people are setting off fireworks, he will become very stressed out. In cases like this we allow him to sleep in the bedroom.
Interested In Training Your Rottweiler The Right Way?
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Vet Checks
Taking your Rottweiler to the vet is helpful to know that you are doing the best you can with helping your dog grow to its full potential! They will be able to explain everything you are doing right, or possibly wrong in helping your puppy thrive! They will also give you tips and advice on how to best look after your Rottweiler.
What Can Affect Your Rottweilers Growth?
Worms – A puppy that has developed an infestation of worms will have its growth stunted until the problem is rectified. This is because the worms infesting your puppy will take all the nutrients from the food that your puppy relies on to grow. However, you may notice that your puppy appears bloated due to having worms. Once treated they will need to be fed adequately and you will see the bloating go down.
Starvation – We want every puppy we own to have the best life possible. So, if the puppy has suffered previous abuse and starvation that their growth may be stunted. Your Rottweiler would need to have a drip from a vet to get nutrients and water back into their system. Once they have been treated by a professional, feeding should continue as with any normal puppy and you will find they start to gain weight and grow again.
Over exercising and overfeeding – This won’t stop the growth of your Rottweiler puppy; however, you may find that too much of either will cause problems with joints and bones while they are still growing. Seek advice from your vet if you are finding either of these an issue.
In Conclusion
We now know that Rottweilers will stop growing in height at around 1.5 – 2 years old, however, they will continue to fill out until around the age of 3.
If you are doing the things pointed out in the article, you should find little issue with how your pet is growing.
Although, we do advise if you are having problems with anything, please consult your vet who will be able to decide what is best for your Rottweiler from a medical point of view.
