Rottweilers are menacing-looking dogs that are fearless and strong with an endless supply of endurance and confidence. These dogs can be family dogs as well as working dogs which is why they are called all-purpose dogs. However, these bad boys can also be super affectionate, loyal and obedient with humans which is what makes them amazing companion dogs.

So if you are also planning to get a Rottie or already have one but wonder how big these doggos are capable of growing, well, then you are at the right place. That is exactly what I am going to tell you about. So with that said, let’s learn how big a Rottweiler can grow.

On average, a male Rottweiler can grow 95 to 135 pounds (43 – 61 kg) in weight and 24 to 27 inches (60.9 – 68.5 cm) in height while a female Rottweiler is able to grow 85 to 115 pounds (38.5 – 52 kg) in weight and 22 to 25 inches (55.8 – 63.5 cm) in height. Thus, these dogs are generally considered as medium to large-sized dogs.

However, a Rottweiler’s final size is usually determined by a number of factors such as health conditions, genetics and the maintenance given from the pet-parent. Therefore, keep in mind that one Rottweiler is different from another when it comes to their size.

Not to mention, there is a little difference in size between males and females but it is completely a common phenomenon not only in every dog breed but in all animal life as a whole.

Nonetheless , both female and male Rotties have the potential to surpass their average weight and height ranges and achieve a quite superior growth.

The maximum size a Rottweiler can grow

Rottweilers are descendants of the Molossus and a mastiff-type dog. These ancestor breeds have marched with Romans to German and been used to drive the cattle while the Romans were travelling around the world, conquering lands. 

So you probably can imagine how strong and resilient these dogs must have been but wait till you learn how big these two breeds could grow, which is even more impressive.

Sizes of the parent breeds (that make up the Rottweiler dog breed):

The Mastiff-type dog was used by Romans and belongs to the Ancient Greece. These dogs have been used as war-dogs and fighting dogs during the Roman Empire. Also, these hounds have weighed 150 to 200 pounds (68 – 90 kg) with a height of 27 to 30 inches.

The Molossus is a dog breed that also belongs to the Ancient Greece but today, the breed has gone extinct. However, they have weighed 55 to 100 pounds (24.9 – 45 kg) with a height of 20 to 30 inches.

The maximum size of the modern day Rottweilers:

Now imagine a combination of The Molossus and the Mastiff-type dog. Well, It has to be superior dogs with outstanding genetics. Now that is what we call the Rottweiler today.

With the genetics of both the parent breeds, the modern day Rottweiler is able to reach a maximum weight between 130 and 145 pounds and as these dogs are longer than they are tall, their maximum height can usually be 27 to 30 inches.

So, that is the maximum size of the standard Rottweiler (German Rottweiler) but there is another Rottweiler breed named “Roman Rottweiler” also known as colossal Rottweiler or Gladiator Rottweiler that can grow as large as the standard Rottweiler or sometimes, even larger.

I mean by their name, you probably can get an idea right.

When does a Rottweiler finish growing?

On average, a Rottweiler takes about a year to reach its full height but when it comes to the weight, the dog normally takes 2.5 to 3.5 years to gain weight and fill out with a lot of muscles and a bit of fat.

In other words, it takes approximately 2.5 to 3.5 years for a Rottweiler to finish growing fully in terms of final weight and final height.

However, Rottweilers generally have a slow growth rate. So they take their time in maturing both physically and mentally which is why you as the pet-parent must not force the dog to grow any faster or bigger than the dog genetically can.

One more thing to keep in mind is that, sometimes, a Rottweiler pup may mature faster physically than mentally and in that case, it is not easy to determine whether your Rottie has become a mature dog solely based on its looks .

What is the lifespan of a Rottweiler?

The average lifespan of a Rottweiler is 8 to 10 years. Unfortunately, for some Rotties, it is even shorter such as 6 to 8 years but on the other hand, some pet-owners are also lucky to see their Rottweilers live longer and be with them for 11 to 12 years.

It all depends on the dog and its health conditions. If your Rottweiler has good genetics and is well taken care of with love and sufficient vet-care, there is a better chance, it will live for over 10 years.

For example, one of the oldest Rottweilers to ever be on record is a Rottie named Bort who was 13 years old as of 2018 and lived in in Holliston, Massachusetts

(Currently we have no knowledge on whether the dog is still alive or not).

Growth chart of female and male Rottweilers – Height and weight growth

Growth chart of male Rottweilers

Age	Height (Inches)	Weight (Pounds and kg)
4 weeks	4 – 8” inches	4 – 10 lbs (1.8 – 4.5 kg)
8 weeks	10 – 13″ inches	11 – 22 lbs (4.9 – 9 kg)
Three months	14 – 16″ inches	23 – 38 lbs (10.4 – 17.2 kg)
Four months	16 –  18″ inches	38 – 48 lbs (17.2 – 21.7 kg)
Five months	18 – 20″ inches	46 – 58 lbs (20.8 – 26 kg)
Six months	19 – 22″ inches	60 – 69 lbs (27.2 – 31.2 kg)
Seven months	21 – 23″ inches	70 – 78 lbs (31.7 – 35.3 kg)
Eighth months	22 – 24″ inches	76 – 84 lbs (34.4 – 38 kg)
Nine months	22 -25″ inches	85 – 98 lbs (38.5 – 44.4 kg)
Ten months	23 – 25″ inches	90 – 108 lbs (40.8 – 48.9 kg)
Eleven months	24 – 26″ inches	95 -115 lbs (43– 52 kg)
One year	24 – 27″ inches	95 –120 lbs (43 – 54.4 kg)
One and half years	25 – 27″ inches	95 – 125 lbs (43 – 56.6 kg)
Two years	26 – 27″ inches	100 – 135 lbs (45.3 – 61.2 kg)

Growth chart of female Rottweilers

Age	Height (Inches)	Weight (Pounds and kg)
4 weeks	4 – 8” inches	3 – 6 lbs (1.8 – 3.6 kg)
8 weeks	10 – 12 inches	10 – 15 lbs (4.5 – 5.4 kg)
Three months	12 – 14 inches	22 – 35 lbs (9.9 – 15.8 kg)
Four months	14 –  16 inches	30 – 46 lbs (13.6 – 20.8 kg)
Five months	15 – 17 inches	40 – 58 lbs (18.1 – 26.3 kg)
Six months	16 – 18 inches	56 – 66 lbs (25.4 – 29.9 kg)
Seven months	17 – 20 inches	62 – 72 lbs (28.1 – 32.6 kg)
Eighth months	19 – 22 inches	68 – 76 lbs (30.8 – 34.4 kg)
Nine months	20 -23 inches	70 – 82 lbs (31.7 – 37.1 kg)
Ten months	20- 24 inches	72 – 88 lbs (32.6 – 39.9 kg)
Eleven months	22 – 24 inches	75 – 95 lbs (34 – 43 kg)
One year	22 – 25 inches	80 – 100 lbs (36.2 – 45.3 kg)
One and half years	23 – 25 inches	90 – 110 lbs (40.8 – 49.8 kg)
Two years	24 – 25 inches	95 – 115 lbs (43 – 52.1 kg)

How to know whether your Rottweiler is growing HEALTHY and HAPPY?

When a Rottweiler is growing well and happy, there are certain behavioral and physical characteristics it shows. However, if the dog does not show those positive traits, then you surely have to recall everything you are doing and ensure the Rottie is being well taken care of.

Behavioral and physical characteristics when the Rottweiler is growing healthy and happy

• Love you and your family
• Affectionate with kids
• Is polite and greets friendly strangers
• Always prioritizes protecting its human family
• Gets along with other dogs
• Usually, sheds moderately but on the shedding season, you can see noticeably a lot of shedding
• Normally, drools a lot specially compared to other dogs
• Can easily gain weight
• Really easy to train
• Obeys your commands well
• Learns commands fast as Rottweilers are a highly intelligent breed
• Extremely playful and keen to do activities anytime
• Easily gets triggered to bark and occasionally, howl too

But what if the Rottie is not happy

• The Rottie becomes aggressive
• Does not obey your commands
• Difficult to train
• Becomes hostile towards strangers regardless of their friendliness
• Keen on wondering off
• Attacks smaller animals
• Growls at you
• Starts chewing a lot

How to make sure your Rottweiler grows well and reaches its maximum size?

For a Rottweiler to be healthy and grow into its maximum size, you have to properly take care of it. Feeding the right foods with right amounts, treating the dog with sufficient vet-care and making the dog do enough exercise are the basics and it will result in an outstanding growth.  

However, it will not only help the dog reach its genetic limits in growth but also prevent possible health complications and stay healthy mentally and physically.

So here are the three ingredients to ensure good growth and overall health of a Rottweiler:

1. Right foods in sufficient amounts
2. Plenty of exercise
3. Preventing diseases

01 – Right foods in sufficient amounts

Rottweilers love eating. So they are always hungry. Even their behavior can change sometimes when they want to eat such as being aggressive and hyper or being overly close to you with a sad and cute expression on their face while tilting the head.

However, these dogs are carnivores. So meat is extremely a crucial component of their diet. 40% of protein, 15% of fat and the rest of the diet can be carbohydrate and micro-nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, omega-3 fatty acids and fiber.

Proper amounts of foods

A healthy and mature Rottweiler that is active, can consume foods worth of 2100 to 2500 calories a day. The reason I am mentioning the food amount in calories instead of number of cups is that calories give us more of a clear idea as to how much a Rottie is eating.

Since Rottweilers can easily become obese due to eating more foods than it needs, it will be difficult to control their eating habits without knowing the exact amount of foods they are eating which is why I encourage you to use a calorie counting approach.

So based on the health condition of the Rottie, you can feed the dog such as to lose weight, gain weight or maintain weight.

However, the calorie intake differs from one Rottweiler to another based on its age, activity level, gender and the dog’s current size.

Let me give you a guide about calorie intakes

There is an equation to calculate the calorie intake of your Rottweiler based on its age, activity level, gender and the current size.

It is done by multiplying the body weight of the dog in pounds by a specific number which can be different based on the dog’s age and activity level.

Here is the equation:

The calorie intake = the body weight in pounds * the specific number (which I am giving you below based on different ages)

So here are the instructions on how to calculate

From birth to 2 months old:

Calorie intake = body weight in pounds * 30

From 2 months old to 5 months old:

Calorie intake = Body weight in pounds * 22 or 23 or 23.5 or 24 or 25

• If the puppy is not active, then the calorie intake is body weight * 22 or 23
• If the puppy is moderately active, the calorie intake is body weight * 23.5
• If the puppy is active, then the calorie intake is body weight * 24 or 25

You see, depending on the activity level, the number that the body weight is multiplied by, changes. If the dog is active, then the numbers are 24 or 25 meaning the dog will get a higher calorie amount to compliment the dog’s high activity level.

If the dog is not active, the dog’s body weight is multiplied by 22 or 23 which means the calorie intake is suitable for Rottweilers who are not active.

Lastly, if the dog is moderately active. That means the body weight is multiplied by 23.5. This gives a calorie intake that is also moderate to match the mild-activity level of the dog.

From 5 months old to the rest of the dog’s life:

Calorie intake = Body weight in pounds * 18 or 19 or 20 or 21 or 22

• If the puppy is not active, then the calorie intake is body weight * 18 or 19
• If the puppy is moderately active, then the calorie intake is body weight * 20
• If the puppy is active, then the calorie intake is body weight * 21 or 22

Just like the one above, this also has the same method. 18 and 19 are for dogs with lower activity level, 20 is for moderate activity level and 21 and 22 are for dogs with high activity level.

Proper types of foods

The most optimal diet for a Rottweiler is a mix of dry foods such as dog-foods and wet and fresh foods such as human foods.

This way, the dog will get a perfect balance of all nutrients. So do not just give one kind such as only dry foods.

The reasons as to why you should give the Rottie both dry and wet foods are that:

One, the dog gets bored of eating the same foods. So with both kinds of foods, there is more variety.

Two, only dry foods do not offer a lot of nutrients, they mostly contain carbohydrates and lack other essential nutrients. So a mix of dry and wet foods is the way to go.

Here are some of the best dry foods:

• Royal Canin – Rottweiler Adult Dry Dog Food
• Royal Canin – Dry Dog Food for Rottweiler Puppy
• Blue Buffalo Life Protection  
• Eukanuba – Breed Specific Rottweiler Adult
• Taste of the wild High Prairie Grain-Free Dry Dog Food
• American Journey Salmon & Sweet Potato Recipe Grain-Free Dry Dog Food
• Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream Grain-Free Dry Dog Food
• Zignature Zssential Multi – Protein Formula Grain-Free Dry Dog Food
• Instinct Raw Boost Grain-Free Recipe Dry Dog Food
• Nulo Freestyle for puppies – turkey, cod & sweet potato recipe (Canned Dog Food)

Here are wet and fresh foods:

Meat and Fish	Vegetables	Fruits	Dairy Products	Other
Cooked Chicken	Green Beans	Cranberries	Milk: Limit	Cooked white rice
Beef	Broccoli	Apples	Cottage Cheese: Limit	Whole Grain or Plain White Bread
Cooked Salmon	Carrots	Cantaloupe	Cheese: Limit	Cooked Pasta
Cooked Eggs	Corn	Blueberries	Plain yogurt	Cashews
Cooked Turkey	Sweet Potatoes	Pineapple		Peanuts
Cooked Tuna	Asparagus	Watermelon		Oatmeal
Ground meats such as ground Chicken and Lamb	Pumpkin	Blackberries		Almonds
Cooked Mackerel	Broccoli	Mango		Popcorn
Cooked Shrimp	Cooked Potatoes	Strawberries		Peanut Butter
Lamb Ribs	Mushrooms	Oranges		Honey: Limit
Cooked Pork		Cherries
		Coconut

Fish, eggs and meats are rich protein-dense foods

Fruits and Vegetables are great for vitamins and minerals

Dairy foods are safe but you should have a limit when feeding them. Since Rottweilers are carnivores, Dairy products may not be the best and most compatible foods for the dog. Thus, they might give the dog digestion issues. So moderation is better in dairy foods.

Pasta, rice and bread are excellent carbohydrate sources and other foods such as peanut butter and popcorn are also great for treats. Plus, when feeding nuts such as Cashews and Almonds, keep it to a limit.

02 – Plenty of exercise

Rottweilers in nature, are extremely active dogs. So they need at least two hours of exercise a day to stay happy and healthy. Lacking enough exercise can lead to many issues such as obvious physical conditions like obesity and also behavioral issues such as hyperactivity and aggression.

Here are great activities your Rottie will love doing

• Going on long walks
• Accompanying the dog with you on hikes, camping and biking
• Playtime in the yard such as fetch, tug, hide and seek
• Playing with flirt sticks
• Swimming
• Hide and seek with foods and toys (You hide treats and let the dog find them itself)

03 – Preventing diseases for a healthy growth

Rottweilers are quite healthy dogs in general and are not prone to many diseases but still there are certain health conditions that a Rottie could be susceptible to, just like any other dog breed.

Whether your Rottweiler will have a health complication like that or not, is mainly determined by the dog’s genetics and lifestyle. However, as the owner, you are the one that can play the major role in preventing any harm to the dog from all those health issues.

Now, you may wonder how to do that. Well, you firstly need the knowledge of the diseases and their symptoms the dog could get. That way, you will be able to detect the indications of a disease and bring the Doggo to the vet’s office ASAP and save him/her ultimately.

So here are the diseases and their symptoms

Aortic stenosis

This is a heart disease that is specifically common to large dog breeds such as Rottweilers. Basically, if a dog has this health issue, it means the aortic valve of its heart is having a narrowing and therefore, the blood struggles to flow out of the heart to be distributed to the rest of the body. Aortic valve Is the valve which is responsible for pumping the blood out of the heart to the entire body.

Symptoms:

• Struggle to breathe
• High breathing
• Low pulse
• Overall weakness physically
• Arrhythmia
• Less excited to do any activity
• No desire to exercise at all
• Heart murmurs

Cancer

Rottweilers are prone to number of cancers such as of bones, lymph nodes, bladder, soft tissues and blood vessels. However, Lymphoma is the most common and impacts Rottweilers much more than it does other dog breeds.

Lymphoma forms anomalous lymphocytes that are a form of white blood cells. Since white blood cells are everywhere throughout the body, it is easy for the cancer also to be distributed to the entire body of the dog.

Symptoms:

• Rapid weight loss
• Sudden changes in appetite
• Sores and wounds that do not heal
• Swelling abnormally
• Foul-smelling breath
• Changes in bathroom needs
• Lethargy
• Signs of depression
• Coughing
• Struggling to breath
• Bumps and lumps underneath the skin

Hip Dysplasia

Hip Dysplasia is basically caused by an incorrect formation of the hip socket and because of that abnormal formation, the ball and the socket of the joint do not fit right to work fluidly. Eventually, a Rottweiler with this condition could end up not being able to move properly at all. Plus, the worse and final form of this issue can even lead to arthritis.

Symptoms:

• The dog does not want to do any activity, not even its favorite ones.
• Starts having limited range of motion
• Thigh muscle loss
• Grating sound when the dog moves
• Too much swaying
• No desire for walking, running, rising or jumping

Elbow Dysplasia

This is a condition that occurs when the formation of the elbow joint is incorrect just like the hip joint issue in Hip Dysplasia. This can cause quite a lot of pain within the forelimb when the Rottie tries to walk or rise or attempt any movement whatsoever.

Symptoms:

• The dog heavily limps when trying to do an activity
• Swollen and puffy elbows
• Lethargy
• Pointing the paws outwards while the elbows are at an irregular angle

Entropion

This is a malformation of the eyelids where the eyelid can only be rolled inward and then, it results in the eyelid’s hair on the surface to be rubbed against the cornea which can cause quite a bit of pain to a Rottweiler. Eventually this condition can affect the vision of the dog and in the worst case scenario, the eyes can get damaged permanently.

Symptoms:

• Irritation in eyes
• Watery eyes
• Tearing excessively
• The skin around the eyes is thickened
• Eyes are only half open all the time
• Looks difficult to open the eyes
• Signs of depression and Sadness
• The dog looks like it struggles to do activities with unclear vision
• Lethargy

Ectropion

This is an abnormality where the lower eyelids roll outward which can affect both the eyes and also, result in making the lower eyelids to look droopy. This condition can be occurred due to the genetics or loose and droopy skin of a dog.

Symptoms:

• Redness in the eyes
• Irritation in the eyes
• Fur below the eyes has turned a brownish looking color due to tears
• The bottom eyelid’s protrusion
• Look of discomfort
• Pawning at the eye
• Pink eyes
• Bacterial conjunctivitis that keep recurring

Final Thoughts

Rottweilers are an excellent dog breed that grow to be medium to large-sized dogs (Weight – 85 to 135 pounds, Height – 22 to 27 inches). Although there is a size-difference between male and female Rotties, they both are capable of reaching an above average size respective to their average sizes. When it comes to the maximum size, a Rottweiler can top to even 145 pounds with a height of 30 inches.

These dogs have a slow growth and also, a short lifespan of 8 to 10 years which is the only negative thing about this breed but rest assured, there are Rotties that have lived over 10 years. So there is potential for sure . However, to ensure your Rottweiler live longer and achieve its maximum size in the healthiest way, you simply have to pay attention to 3 aspects: The diet, exercise and vet-care.

In other words, raising a Rottweiler basically comes down to 3 components. One – feeding proper foods in enough amounts. Two – ensuring the Rottie does plenty of exercise. Three – proving adequate vet-care and of course, along with an unlimited amount of affection and attention too. So the doggo will be able live a long and happy life.

Featured image credit: Image by K L from Pixabay