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Dalmatian Rottweiler Mix: What You Need To Know

dalmatian rottweiler mix

Mixed-breed dogs may not be worth as much money as their purebred counterparts, but they can be just as lovable, intelligent, and useful as any other dog.

While some people might turn up their noses at a mutt dog, the more intelligent people know that it’s all about the ingredients in the mix.

Because it’s a little harder to research mixed breeds, we decided to help you out somewhat. Normally, you would have to research two different breeds and analyze the results of that research alone.

Instead, we hope this article will give you a good idea of what to expect from a Dalmation/Rottweiler mix.

About The Rottweiler

If you want a dog that can be both a teddy bear and a guard dog, the Rottweiler is an ideal choice. As you might guess from their faces, they are members of the bulldog/mastiff family (a group more properly known as the Molossoids).

They are always black and tan and are pretty large. The males range between 95-and 130 pounds, while the females are normally 80-100 pounds.

In height, these dogs range between 22-and 27 inches, with the females being approximately two inches shorter on average.

In case you don’t know, dog height is usually measured “at the withers,” which is an old-fashioned way of describing the tops of the dogs’ shoulder blades.

With a life expectancy of about 10 years, these dogs provide humans with a lot of love and companionship. At the same time, they are some of the best protectors that you could ever imagine.

The Rottweiler is a very old breed and is named for a town in Southwest Germany. They seem to have been introduced to that country by the ancient Romans, who employed these dogs for security purposes.

Most often, they were used to guard the horses so that the soldiers could be freed up for other tasks. Thus, it’s not surprising that the Rottweiler has been used for military and police work ever since.

About The Dalmatian

The Dalmatian is a long and lanky breed, and it is probably best known for its work in firefighting. In fact, the Dalmation is often used as a mascot and symbol by firefighters for this reason.

Originally, however, the Dalmatian was a guard dog from Eastern Europe (Croatia, to be exact). The early people of this region (Slavic tribes, presumably) were highly dependent on horses for a variety of purposes, and the Dalmatian was employed to guard the horses and wagons while their owners were away.

Everyone knows that Dalmatians are white with black spots, making it easy to spot a dog of this breed. Sometimes, these spots will be more like a dark brown than a black, but their coloration does not vary any more than this.

These dogs weigh about 45-70 pounds and stand about 19-24 inches tall. One interesting thing is that there doesn’t seem to be a significant difference between males and females when it comes to height and weight. This is probably because of the fact that both sexes have the same sleek build.

What To Expect From Your Dalmatian Rottweiler Mix

By now, you have become a little bit more familiar with the source breeds from which your dog came. So, let’s talk about how those two breeds are likely to mix, and what kinds of results we can expect.

Appearance

So, the first question is: Will they have the spots? There is no sure answer, as you can tell by looking at examples like this one.

However, most of these dogs will have spots. At the same time, the number of spots and their coloration can vary a lot. As you can see, some of them are covered in spots, while others have very few. Some will even take on a deep black color.

Based on what we see, it looks like the genes of one parent or the other will be dominant, at least in regards to coloration. To put that in a simpler way: a Dalmatian Rottweiler mix will either look mostly like a Rottweiler or mostly like a Dalmatian.

You won’t see as much mixing of features here. Our first example looked a little more like a Dalmatian, while many other pups take on the color pattern of a Rottweiler. Thankfully, these dogs are always short-haired, which means less shedding.

As for the build, you are probably looking at a dog with a medium-thick build. Dalmatians are built for speed while Rottweilers are built for power, so you’re going to get a dog that falls somewhere between those two extremes.

Dalmatians are so fast that they have sometimes been used for racing, while Rottweilers were once used to pull large wooden carts.

Thus, we have two completely different builds for two completely different purposes. When we put them together, we get a dog that is both fast and strong.

Height And Weight

To figure out the approximate height and weight of your Dalmatian/Rottweiler mix, we will simply average the numbers that we already have.

The minimum height for a Dalmatian is 19 inches, while the minimum for a Rottweiler is 22 inches. Thus, we have an average height of 20.5 inches for your mixed-breed dog.

So, why are we choosing to average the numbers? The answer is very simple. When it comes to genetics, the qualities of different individuals mix like the ingredients in a well-made stew. When these “ingredients” mix, their qualities will meet in the middle.

For instance, if you mix something spicy with something that is not, you will get something less spicy than the original.

This principle is the entire basis of selective breeding, which is responsible for the creation of all dog breeds.

So, the average minimum height for these two breeds is 20.5 inches. Therefore, your mixed-breed dog will probably stand at least that height. We can calculate the maximum height in the same way, which gives us a maximum height of 25.5 inches.

Now, we apply the same principle to estimate their weight. The minimum weight for a Rottweiler is 80 pounds, as opposed to 45 pounds for Rottweilers.

There’s a big difference here, so you can expect a little more variation. So, our minimum average weight is 62.5 pounds.

The maximum weight for a Rottweiler is 135 pounds, as opposed to 70 pounds for a Dalmatian. When averaged, this gives us a weight of 102.5 pounds.

Of course, you should remember that these are average figures, and are only intended to serve as a ballpark estimate.

As we mentioned earlier, genetics do not always produce a perfect mix, and this is due to the existence of dominant and recessive genes. Still, this should give you a better idea of what you can reasonably expect.

Behavior And Personality

When it comes to behavior and personality, you are in luck. If you are familiar with either Dalmatians or Rottweilers, you will probably have an easy time with this breed. This is the case because Dalmatians and Rottweilers are very similar in terms of behavior.

We can really see that this is true when we look at their origins. Both of them were created to guard other animals (particularly horses).

While they have been used for many other purposes, both of them were shaped by a common need for livestock protection. As such, you can expect the behaviors of these breeds to be quite similar.

When you mix two things that weren’t all that different in the first place, you don’t get much change. Both of these breeds tend to be highly protective of their masters, so be careful that those protective instincts don’t get triggered on accident.

Both of these tend to be very energetic breeds, so you will want to give them plenty of exercise and playtime.

Breeds like this need strong guidance at an early age. If you allow them to establish bad habits in their youth, it will be very hard to correct the problem later on.

We would recommend that you crate-train them if they are going to be kept in the house, as this is the easiest option for a stubborn dog.

On that note, your dog is likely to be a little stubborn. Both of these dogs are known for having an intelligent streak, and this sometimes keeps them from obeying their masters too much.

To put it simply, they are smart enough to question why they should listen to you, and you have to make sure they understand the answer to that question.

Instead of correcting your dog with pain or the fear of pain, you should make use of their natural desire to please their master. Dogs naturally live in a hierarchical society in which the alphas make the rules.

As such, it is natural and proper for them to seek the approval of the alpha dog (which is you). Of course, you are not a dog, but that is the role you must play. You must adapt to their ways because they cannot fully adapt to ours.

Lifespan

Since the Rottweiler has an average lifespan of 10 years, and the Dalmatian has an average lifespan of 12 years, you can reasonably expect that your Rottweiler Dalmatian mix will live somewhere between 10 and 12 years. This one should be obvious, but we thought it should be mentioned anyway.

Health Issues

For every breed, there are certain health problems that are more likely to occur. First, let’s look at a health statement regarding Rottweilers.

We can see that this breed is a little bit more prone to hip dysplasia, which is a fancy way of saying that they will often develop hip problems as they get older. For such a large breed of dog, this kind of thing is not uncommon.

Cancer has been detected in Rottweilers before, but it doesn’t seem all that common. However, heart problems seem to be a little more common.

This might be due to the larger amount of muscle that must be supplied with blood, forcing the heart to work harder. Rottweilers are also a little more prone to elbow problems, so that’s another thing to watch.

Now let’s look at a health statement regarding Dalmatians, one of the most common health problems is deafness.

For one reason or another, many Dalmatians are born deaf, so make sure that your breeder has given you a dog that can hear. Otherwise, you will not be able to train them with verbal commands. Kidney stones are also quite common.

Who Should Own A Rottweiler Dalmatian Mix?

If you want a good protection dog, a Rottweiler Dalmatian mix seems to be a great choice. Both sides of their genes will be inclined to protect you, and that is worth more than gold. Who cares about having a purebred show dog when you can have one that keeps you and your family safe?

At the same time, you are probably going to have an energetic dog that needs a lot of attention. You will need to channel that energy into various activities, even if you are just teaching them to do useless tricks like fetching sticks.

These things still reinforce your role as the master while giving the dog a good workout. Without guidance and an outlet for their energy, dogs like this could easily develop aggression problems.

Conclusion

It is impossible to predict the results of this kind of breeding, but that is part of the fun. Still, we don’t see how you could go too wrong with a Dalmatian Rottweiler mix.

As with chemistry, some things mix well together while other things….well, not so much. However, we think this is definitely a good mix. Some people even consider this mix to be a new breed, which is usually called a “Rottmatian.”

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