Marta,
the only dog in my house that I would consider doing Schutzhund with is my Golden, Crash. All the others have too soft a mouth .

Dee Dee, I agree with everything you say about breeding and about rescue. We have a rescue girl in our home named Marion Louise. She was found running around a commercial parking lot and I was called because she's a Rottie. She was heartworm positive, pregnant and had never been in a house and was therefore not housebroken. We treated her heartworm, spayed her and I housebroke her (took 3 months) and at the end of the housebreaking period, she was sleeping in bed with us. She'll be with us forever. I am on the Board of Directors of the Gulfstream Guardian Angels Rottweiler Rescue organization and we've placed dozens of good Rotties into good homes over the past 12 months. I am constantly amazed at the sweetness of the dogs we see come into rescue. There are those that are just too aggressive and we don't place them. But the others, we place them in good homes and give them a life.

We have bred 3 litters in 10 years. I've never bred any bitch more than twice and I hope I never will. I only breed when I want to keep a puppy for myself. You're right. There are too many dogs out there and far too many Rottweilers that have been abandoned for all the wrong reasons. Our breeding program is predicated on finding good homes. That is the key to making sure our dogs don't end up in Animal Control.

I'll send some headshots of Mr. Rowdy and his grandson Sundance this week. Thanks for giving me a reason to set up a portrait session .

In my view -- prejudiced beyond all understanding -- Rottweilers are very powerful dogs that want to be trained and want to be led. My Rotties understand their role in our household. All Rotties need to have that basic understanding. I've only been challenged by a Rottie once in my life -- thank you Lord -- and I won that confrontation. That dog crawls into my lap whenever I see him now and licks my face to tell me I'm his alpha. They are tough enough to challenge but smart enough to accept the answer. Which makes them smarter than most people .

Photos to come.

Jim