Amidst your research into your next new dog, have you ever thought that a purebred was not the right fit?
Whether health concerns or no breed matches all your criteria, you may choose to get a hybridized dog.
You may even want to delve into a complex mix of more than two breeds, such as the German Shepherd Husky Rottie mix.
A German Shepherd Husky Rottweiler mix is a stunning black and tan dog with upright ears and a dense double coat.
It ranges in size between a small and large GSD. It has a husky-like head with extra broadness in the face and power in the jaws.
The tail curls over the back. GSD Husky Rotties are energetic, loyal, watchful, and intelligent.
They make great companions for active individuals and families with older children and another large dog.
Is a German Shepherd Husky Rottweiler mix right for you?
Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Get a German Shepherd Husky Rottweiler mix
No dog breed is appropriate for everyone, and the Shepherd Husky Rottie mix is no exception.
- Large size
- High activity, rambunctious, especially adolescent puppies
- Can be aggressive, especially if not well socialized
- Tend to be immune-compromised as pups, making them particularly susceptible to parvovirus (a virus that affects the inner lining of the small intestine)
- Difficulties with training
- High prey drive
- Shed
Reasons Why You Should Get a German Shepherd Husky Rottweiler mix
German Shepherd Husky Rottweiler mixes are devoted, loving, and driven, making them exceptional pets for active families who enjoy hiking or want to take their dog jogging. This mix has several benefits.
- Potential guarding ability, excellent watchdogs
- Striking appearance
- Engaged
- Loyal
- Intelligent
- Can participate in numerous activities
- A well-trained dog is obedient and responsive
Appearance, Personality, Coat and colors, Lifespan, and Traits of a German Shepherd Husky Rottweiler Mix
Overview of Parent Breeds: GSD, Siberian Husky, Rottweiler
There are a few different types of huskies. Moreover, several generic mixed breeds and sledding dogs are commonly referred to as huskies.
We will specify the Siberian Husky. When someone intentionally tries to create a husky cross, the Siberian is the breed they will commonly use. Moreover, the traits of a Siberian Husky are consistent and straightforward to describe.
Dog Table
| German Shepherd | Siberian Husky | Rottweiler | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Country | Germany | Russia | Germany |
| History | Line 5500 yrs. old | Line 9500 yrs. old | Line 4000 yrs. old |
| 1st Breed Standard | 1899 | 1908 | 1901 |
| Purpose | Herding, guarding | Assist hunting, hauling supplies | Butcher’s dog – driving cattle, guarding |
| Head | Sl. domed | Wedge | Massive, block |
| Ears | Upright, large | High set, prick, small | High set, folded, medium |
| Eyes | Almond, medium, dark | Oblique, often blue | Almond, wide-set, dark |
| Muzzle | Long, square | Medium, strong | Sl. shortened, square |
| Topline | Level to sloping down | Level | Level |
| Tail | Long, brush, back level | Medium, brush, curled over back | Docked or long, rope-like, high |
| Coat | Short to medium-long dense double | Short dense dual | Medium-long flat wavy, less dense undercoat |
| Colors | Tan-pointed (black, blue, liver, or Isabella with tan), solid black, blue, or brown, or sable, panda | Red, black, wolf gray, white; white markings common | Tan-pointed – black and tan |
| Traits | Guard dog, versatile, athletic, fast, lots of stamina | Escape artist, light and nimble, sled dog and racer | Guard dog, versatile, agile for size, watchful |
| Lifespan | 10 to 13 years | 12 to 15 years | 8 to 10 years |
Appearance of GSD Husky Rottie Mix
Your mix can have various appearances, but most of the time you will notice the strong characteristics of the husky first.
A GSD Husky Rottie has a hint of a wedge shape to the head that is smaller and more refined than the Rottie. Its face will appear broad around the eyes and have prominent cheekbones.
The jaw will look heavier than you would expect for a purebred Husky. The muzzle is slightly shorter than the Shepherd and broader and stronger than the Husky.
The ears are usually medium-sized and upright, although they can sometimes be semi-prick. It is common for them to veer to the sides in a relaxed dog, just like a husky.
This mix’s eyes are almond-shaped and set at a slightly oblique angle. They are often blue or a mixture of blue and brown.
All parent breeds have thick strong necks, well-built shoulders at a 90-degree angle from the humerus, and sturdy limbs. The mix will have all these qualities but appear more muscular and heavier than a Siberian husky.
Huskies are the most compact of the group, but all of the contributing breeds are slightly longer than they are tall. You will notice this rectangular silhouette in your hybrid.
Most likely, her topline will be level, and she will have powerful hindquarters with moderate angulation through the hocks and stifles.
Your dog’s feet will be compact with arched toes.
The croup will be slightly sloping, and the tail will curve over the back. Your GSD mix will have a deep broad chest although not as wide as the purebred Rottie.
Coat
Your pet will have a thick double coat. The outer coat can be short, medium, or medium-long and will be straight or wavy and hard to the touch.
Most often, your dog’s coat will be short and straight. In contrast, the underfur will be dense, soft, and woolly.
The Rottweiler bloodlines often create less density in the undercoat, but you are still likely to see profuse shedding in the spring and fall.
Shepherd Rottweiler Husky mixes shed moderately the entire year. Their coats protect them from the winter cold, snow, and ice, and insulate them against the sun’s rays and heat in the summer.
The German Shepherd carries a rare gene whereby the dog has a very thin undercoat. This phenomenon also occurs frequently in the Rottweiler, so a rare mix of the three breeds may have a thin coat with longer hair.
Colors
The predominant color of the GSD-Rottweiler-Husky mix is black and tan, although the tan points do not usually follow the typical patterns seen on the German Shepherd or the Rottie. A saddle is not typical of this mix but may show up rarely.
You will commonly see stunning and dramatic patterns on your dog’s face. Many of these tan-pointed dogs also have white markings on the chest and sometimes the toes. Other possible colors are listed below.
- Solid white
- Liver and tan
- Red and white
- Solid black
- Black and white
- Sable – can be banded hairs of red, brown, and black or a wolf gray
- Blue and tan or solid blue
Personality
Your dog’s temperament has a greater range of expressions than his appearance. His disposition can directly link to the proportions of each breed. Most dogs have a majority of the following personality characteristics.
- Loyal
- Affectionate to the family
- Tendency to bond to one person (GSD) – you can work to socialize such dogs with all family members
- Love to run (husky)
- High energy
- Driven
- Suspicious of strangers (GSD and Rottie) – some with more husky influence are friendlier or quicker to warm up to visitors
- Watchful
- Bold
- Fearless and self-assured
- Slow to attack if at all
- Intelligent
Traits
The Shepherd Husky Rottie’s traits are somewhat consistent because the three contributing breeds share many desirable features.
- Work ethic
- Herding – Rottie and GSD
- Guarding instinct – Rottie and GSD
- Hauling – Rottie and husky
- Escape artist – Husky
- Predatory drive
- Athletic – powerful, fast, and agile, tremendous stamina
Lifespan
You can expect your Rottie mix to live between 11 and 14 years. A large gene pool and moderate size may lower the risk of some inherited disorders such as hip dysplasia, heart disease, and degenerative myelopathy.
German Shepherd Husky Rottweiler mix Puppies for Sale
It is much easier to find a German Shepherd Husky mix, GSD Rottie cross, or Husky Rottweiler mix for sale than a GSD Siberian Husky Rottie mix. The former three are designer breeds, and there are plenty of sellers who attempt to meet the demand for them.
A Shepherd Rottweiler Husky mix could involve crossing the Shepweiler (GSD x Rottweiler) with the Shotsky (Rottweiler x Siberian Husky) or the Shepsky (GSD x Husky) with a Rottweiler. You can imagine endless other combinations, accidental or intentional.
Depending on the demand for a litter, you can pay anywhere from $200 to $900 for a GSD Husky Rottie mix. Some desperate people who end up with a surprise breeding may give you a puppy for free, although the heritage can be dubious.
You can also find puppies, juveniles, and adults through humane societies. Keep in mind that with unintentional crosses, the breeds involved are anyone’s guess.
Grooming Your German Shepherd Husky Rottweiler mix
You will need to brush your mix two or three times weekly because of the thick undercoat. In the rare event that your dog does not have an undercoat, you can brush her once or twice a week.
For most dogs, you will need to increase brushing to at least four or five times a week in the spring and fall to accommodate the brief periods when there is a replacement of the undercoat. Other grooming requirements follow those of all dogs.
- Nail trim every four to eight weeks
- Bath every six to ten weeks
- Wipe face and clean eye boogers daily
- Brush teeth every two days or more
German Shepherd Husky Rottweiler mix Health Problems
Your dog can inherit any of the problems of its parents. However, while your mix has more health issues to choose from with multiple breeds in its lineage, limited studies suggest that a few risks can decrease significantly.
Some of the more common health problems of the German Shepherd Husky Rottweiler cross are as follow:
- Hip dysplasia
- Elbow dysplasia
- GDV (bloat) – more frequent in large-breed deep-chested dogs; stomach swells with ingesta, fluid, or gas, and can rotate
- Epilepsy (GSD & Rottie)seizure disorder
- Degenerative myelopathy – progressive neurologic degeneration that eventually leads to paralysis
- Pannus – corneal plaques in German Shepherd
- Diabetes (GSD) – uncontrollable blood sugar levels; the affected dog needs insulin
- Bone cancer – early onset in Rotties
- OCD of the shoulder (Rottie) – cartilage of the shoulder joint can become damaged from uneven growth
- Heart disease (Rottie) – sub-aortic stenosis is narrowing in the area below the aortic valve of the heart
- IVDD (GSD) – degenerative or slipped discs in the spine
- Zinc deficiency (Husky)
- Progressive retinal atrophy – eventually leads to blindness; involves a thin tissue at the back of the eye responsible for night and color vision
- Follicular dysplasia (Husky) – abnormal hair shaft
- Hypothyroidism – low thyroid hormone
- Cataracts – opacity of the lens
German Shepherd Husky Rottweiler mix Food Requirements
You can feed your pet dry kibble, canned food, or a combination. Many owners opt for less processing in their dogs’ diets and gravitate towards homemade lightly cooked or raw diets. Commercial preparations of raw dog food also abound.
No matter the path you select when choosing your dog’s diet, she needs protein-based food with fats. The proteins should ideally come from animal sources so as not to leave any amino acids out. Fats in many commercial diets come from plants, but some include fish oil.
Other hotly debated ingredients such as grains, potatoes, fruits, and greens may have additional benefits for certain dogs.
If you are having doubts about how to get started or which recipes to implement for your pet, consult a veterinarian or nutritionist.
Your Rottweiler Shepherd Husky cross will require 26 to 32 calories per pound of bodyweight every day. Alternatively, you would feed a raw or fresh diet at 2% to 3% of your dog’s body weight (4% to 6% for puppies).
An example pertains to a 60-pound dog. You would feed her about 1600 calories or 4 to 5 cups of kibble or 1.3 to 1.8 pounds of fresh food daily. A more active dog would require more food while a puppy might need up to three times as much per pound.
German Shepherd Husky Rottweiler mix Exercise Requirements
GSD Husky Rottie hybrids require 90 to 120 minutes or more of exercise every day.
- Rigorous (running, chasing, wrestling)20 to 35 minutes
- Low-key (walking, cooldown, sniffing)
- Training – 30 to 50 minutes
- Puzzles
- Socialization
- Puppies – 5 minutes per month of age once or twice a day
You should split your dog’s exercises into two sessions. You can also work towards bonding and competitive exercises once your dog matures and you enter the realm of advanced training.
- Light hauling competitions
- Herding trials
- Agility
- Tracking
- Shutzhund – may not suit all personality types
German Shepherd Husky Rottweiler mix Training
Your Husk mix will be challenging to train. Although she will likely be as intelligent as the No. 25 smartest dogs, you will struggle with her independence, willfulness, stubbornness, and domineering personality.
You must start your pup’s education very early. Your pup will require patience and persistence throughout her training years. Your self-assurance and confidence will be as important as a positive reward system to effectively teach your dog.
Finally, your pup will need socialization from eight to sixteen weeks of age. You should continue to work on your dog’s social skills beyond his formative weeks when he is younger than three months old and through the ages of two or three years old.
German Shepherd Husky Rottweiler mix and Families
Shepherd Siberian Husky Rott mixes are potentially excellent family companions. They are protective of the entire household, with many making great natural guard dogs. At the same time, they tend to be less aloof than the GSD and less imposing than the Rottie.
Most mixes will readily warm up to guests that you deem friendly. They also are effective watchdogs even if their guarding instincts happen to be lower than the Rottweiler or German Shepherd.
This mix is best at playing with older children over the age of 10 years. Rottie mixes are large and powerful for young kids and have an activity level that can prove dangerous and unmanageable around toddlers and adults with trouble walking. These dogs tend to engage in a lot of physical contacts when they play but also enjoy games of fetch.
Lack of socialization and insufficient exercise and mental stimulation will lead to a shy, aggressive, or bored dog. Bored dogs engage in chewing, barking, howling, hyperactive behaviors, or trying to escape.
German Shepherd Husky Rottweiler mix and other pets
When it comes time to decide whether your mix can safely be with other pets, carefully assess your dog’s individuality.
As a rule, a German Shepherd Husky Rottweiler cannot be around small pets and Toy dog breeds because of a high prey drive.
This often includes cats, although the cross may do fine with felines that live in the home. Leaving your Husky hybrid alone with a cat is not advisable unless they grow up together and you have ultimate trust in your dog.
Dogs that have no previous exposure or training also cannot be unattended around livestock.
Shepherd mixes generally get along well with medium- and large-sized dogs. The key is proper socialization. A few individuals may show same-gender aggression towards other dogs.
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