Living with a Rottweiler, put out by Barron's Press, was released in the United States in 2001. However, it was originally published "across the pond" in Britain a year earlier. The book is intended to be an introduction to the breed, but I quite enjoyed it myself.
On the whole the layout of the book is easy to follow and very lively. Printed on high quality paper, the book contains very nice full-color photos of some excellent representatives of the breed.
Since the book is intended as an overview for people new to the breed, it is not a very in-depth study. However, it does contain nice history of the breed. It also touches briefly on the various stages of a Rottweiler's life as well as various health concerns of the breed.
On the whole, I liked the book as an overview, although I didn't agree with some of the things said in it. For example, at one point, the author suggests letting a puppy chew on a rawhide bone to keep it occupied when it is alone. Now, I don't want to get into an argument on whether or not a dog should have rawhide. However, no matter what their opinion is on the bones, most dog experts do not recommend allowing a dog to chew them unsupervised.
Likewise, while I was sometimes made uncomfortable by some the author's statements, at the same time I liked the fact that the author didn't downplay certain aspects the Rottweiler's personality, such as stubbornness and dominance. Her main goal is to point out these aspects of Rottweiler ownership and basically tell the reader that this is NOT a dog for everyone.
To paraphrase, she says that the Rottweiler can be an excellent dog with the right owner. However, it you not the type of person who can handle such a dog, then the noble Rottweiler does not deserve to be owned by you. And I think most of us Rottie lovers can agree to that.
Another thing that I really liked about this book was the writer's strong stance about overexerting young dogs. Putting too much strain on joints that are still developing can lead to major orthopedic problems. And since Rotties are so slow in maturing, owners must be careful of pushing their dogs until the animal is at least over a year old (if not more). The writer takes every opportunity she gets to push this fact home.
Go To Page: 1 2
