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Rottweiler - The Original SUV

© Wendy Smith

In the past, I often wondered why on Earth the Rottweiler was categorized by the AKC as a Working breed, not a Herding breed. After all, driving cattle was their main historic function. I thought perhaps it was because they have also been used in guard and police work. But that reasoning just doesn't fly. Look at the German Shepherd Dog and the Belgian Malinois. Their use in the police force has far surpassed that of the Rottie and they are firmly sitting in the Herding group.

What was the deal?

Then it hit me. Of course, how could I be so silly? Rottweilers had another historic job besides driving cattle to the butcher. It is the same job that the Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs and Bernese Mountain Dogs, also in the Working group, are best known for. You see, like their Swiss cousins, Rottweilers are drovers that were also used as draft dogs for centuries.

While the main job of the breed was herding large livestock, they were also often used to pull small carts, carrying such things as 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 back 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 was 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, in most cases, these were not big landowners. They did not have a huge amount of product to take to market and they did not have a lot of money to invest in a beast of burden. No matter what point in 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 be 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 want to add another cow to his herd and increase the amount of milk his farm produces.

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

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