Rottweiler Trivia
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41 free Rottweiler trivia questions with answers — nature quiz, new questions added Sep 2026.
This Rottweiler trivia quiz covers the 'Rottweil butcher's dog' from the Roman legions to the AKC top ten. History questions follow the drover dogs that crossed the Alps with the legions, the free imperial city that named the breed, the butchers who bred it to pull meat carts until the railways came, the rival German clubs of 1914 and 1915, the ADRK's founding in 1921, AKC recognition in 1931 and the mid-1990s popularity peak. The breed section walks through the FCI standard: the 1-to-1.5 muzzle ratio, 42 teeth and scissor bite, black-and-tan markings and the AKC's ten-percent rule, the trotting gait, tail rules, height and weight, coat and shedding, plus the studies on temperament, life expectancy, hip and elbow dysplasia, cruciate disease and cancer. Working questions cover the Rottweiler's intimidating cattle-herding style, and culture rounds it out with Good Dog, Carl, The Omen and Jake the Coventry hero. Questions run from easy to expert with a difficulty score on each, so it suits a family quiz or a serious Rottie owner. Every answer was checked against Wikipedia and breed references and each question carries its citation. Also try our Dogs and German Shepherd quizzes.
30 of 41 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01The Rottweiler is named after a town in which country?
Germany
Germany: Rottweil, in the country's south-west, was a busy livestock-trading town, so its drovers needed strong dogs to move the herds and guard their masters.
Q 02The Rottweiler's old name, Rottweiler Metzgerhund, translates as what?
Rottweil butchers' dog
Rottweil butchers' dog: the town's butchers bred the dogs purely for usefulness, to herd livestock in their yards and drive cattle to market.
Q 03According to the FCI standard, the Rottweiler's origins go back to which era?
Roman times
Roman times: drover dogs are said to have marched with the legions, guarding the men and driving the cattle that fed them.
Q 04What replaced the Rottweiler's droving job in the mid-19th century?
Railways
Railways: once cattle travelled by train the drover dogs had no work, and the breed came close to disappearing before its 20th-century comeback.
Q 05In 1910, after official trials, the Rottweiler was formally recognised for service with which body?
The police
The police: when forces tested breeds for service in the early 1900s the Rottweiler proved highly suitable, which gave a dog that had lost its droving work a new career.
Q 06Which guard dog, bred around 1890 by a tax collector for protection, is thought to carry Rottweiler blood?
Dobermann
Dobermann: Louis Dobermann also kept the local dog pound, so he could pick the toughest dogs to breed from, and the Rottweiler is thought to have been among them.
Q 07Despite its cattle-driving past, the Rottweiler is shown in which American Kennel Club group?
Working
Working: the group gathers breeds developed to guard property and assist people, which is where the AKC has classed the Rottweiler since recognising it in 1931.
Q 08On market trips, cattle dealers are said to have tied what around their Rottweilers' necks?
Their money purses
Their money purses: the takings travelled home around the dog's neck because few robbers on the road would try their luck with a Rottweiler.
Q 09Beta, a tough Rottweiler, is second-in-command of a villain's talking-dog pack in which Pixar film?
Up
Up: Beta is lieutenant to pack leader Alpha among explorer Charles Muntz's dogs, whose collars turn their thoughts into speech until a squirrel distracts them.
Q 10Which pope did critics nickname 'God's Rottweiler'?
Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI: as Cardinal Ratzinger he ran the Vatican's doctrine office, and critics coined the name for his readiness to silence dissent.
Q 11Which bite does the breed standard demand of a Rottweiler's 42 teeth?
Scissor bite
Scissor bite: the upper incisors closely overlap the lower ones like scissor blades, while an overshot or undershot mouth disqualifies a dog under both the FCI and AKC standards.
Q 12What colour must a Rottweiler's nose always be?
Black
Black: the FCI standard lists a pale or spotted nose, which it calls a butterfly nose, among the breed's faults, and the AKC standard also demands black every time.
Q 13How does the breed standard describe a Rottweiler's eyes?
Almond-shaped, dark brown
Almond-shaped, dark brown: the AKC standard calls yellow eyes 'bird of prey' eyes and a serious fault, and the FCI standard disqualifies them outright.
Q 21The Rottweiler standard calls for a small tan spot in which position on the head?
Over each eye
Over each eye: both the AKC and FCI standards ask for the spot, and the AKC counts excessive markings as a serious fault.
Q 22What shape are the two rust marks on a Rottweiler's chest?
Downward-facing triangles
Downward-facing triangles: the AKC standard asks for one on each side of the chest, and a dog with no markings at all is disqualified from the ring.
Q 23A 2008 survey of breed club members found Rottweilers more aggressive than average towards whom?
Strangers
Strangers: the same owners rated the breed below average for fear of unfamiliar people, a bold rather than nervous pattern the authors linked to breeds with protection and herding jobs.
Q 14In which 1986 John Hughes comedy does the family Rottweiler chase away a snooping school dean?
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Ferris Bueller's Day Off: dean Ed Rooney sneaks into the Bueller house hunting for the truant Ferris, and the dog chases him off twice, the second time for good.
Q 15In a correctly built Rottweiler, the deep chest should reach down to which joint?
The elbow
The elbow: the standards want a chest about half the dog's height, and the elbow sits midway between withers and ground, so a correct chest just reaches it.
Q 16Historically, where was a Rottweiler's tail traditionally docked?
At the first or second joint
At the first or second joint: only a vertebra or two was left, but the FCI standard now describes a natural tail reaching to the hocks, while the AKC accepts docked or undocked.
Q 17Under the FCI standard, a Rottweiler born with a natural bob tail is treated as what?
A disqualifying fault
A disqualifying fault: a dog born with a stumpy tail is barred from the ring along with kink and ring tails, even though tails docked just as short were long the breed's norm.
Q 18What is the Rottweiler's required gait in the show ring?
Trot
Trot: both the FCI and AKC standards call the Rottweiler a trotting dog, and the FCI lists sluggish action at the trot as a severe fault.
Q 19Besides herding, which of the Rottweiler's old jobs survives as a trial sport today?
Pulling carts
Pulling carts: the dogs once hauled loads to market for their owners, and carting trials keep that skill alive as a sport.
Q 20Rottweilers living in hot climates may be missing what?
The undercoat
The undercoat: the AKC standard accepts that climate affects how much a dog carries on its neck and thighs, yet a total lack of it is still a serious fault in the ring.
Q 24Legend says the Rottweiler's drover ancestors followed marching armies north over which mountain range?
The Alps
The Alps: the dogs are said to have driven and guarded the army's cattle over the passes, then stayed and mixed with the local dogs around Rottweil.
Q 25The Rottweiler is thought to share ancestry with the Appenzeller and Entlebucher mountain dogs of which country?
Switzerland
Switzerland: these Sennenhund farm dogs probably bred with the incoming drover dogs, and the likeness is plain, though a Rottweiler must show none of their white chest markings.
Q 26Rottweilers often compete in which sport that tests tracking, obedience and protection work?
Schutzhund
Schutzhund: a dog must pass all three phases at one trial to earn a title, so a bold guard that cannot follow a scent trail goes home with nothing.
Q 27Rottweilers are especially prone to which cancer, which often shows up as an unexplained limp?
Osteosarcoma
Osteosarcoma: the tumours usually grow in the long bones of the legs, which is why a limp with no obvious cause sends a Rottweiler owner to the vet.
Q 28Rottweiler puppies are often fed slow-growth large-breed food to lessen the risk of which joint disorder?
Hip dysplasia
Hip dysplasia: the ball and socket of the joint fail to fit and grind instead of gliding, and growing too fast makes it worse in a breed already prone to it.
Q 29Rottweilers are among the breeds at higher risk from which often fatal viral disease of puppies?
Parvovirus
Parvovirus: for reasons not fully understood the breed both catches it more readily and dies of it more often than most, so finishing the puppy vaccine course matters.
Q 30Under Ireland's restricted-breed rules, who may hold a Rottweiler's lead in a public place?
Someone over sixteen
Someone over sixteen: the 1998 rules want a handler capable of controlling the dog, so they also demand a muzzle and a strong lead no longer than two metres.