How Fast Is a Rottweiler: the Fast, Faster and Fastest Facts About Rottweilers

Are Rottweiler dogs fast? Do dogs have paws? For experienced Rottweiler owners who have seen these dogs in action, asking this question isn’t even necessary!

Rottweilers are incredibly athletic dogs with tremendous natural stamina, endurance, and strength. These dogs are prized for a variety of K-9 jobs ranging from guarding and protection to service and therapy dog work.

While the Rottweiler dog may look fierce and ferocious to an outsider, to “their” people, there is no more loving and devoted canine than the “Rottie,” as doting owners have nicknamed this breed.

In this article, learn the fast, faster, and fastest facts about Rottweiler dogs and their running speed.

How Fast Is a Rottweiler: Watch a Rottweiler Dog Running At Full Speed

Depending on who you ask (and how accurate their measurement system maybe), a Rottweiler adult dog can easily reach speeds of 25 MPH (miles per hour) or greater when running full out.

As this short YouTube video of an adult Rottweiler dog running illustrates, these dogs need a lot of daily exercise and activity to stay healthy and happy (and out of trouble)!

In this video, the owner states that the Rottweiler was running full-out at 27 MPH.

This is impressive with an adult dog but could be dangerous if you are caring for a Rottweiler puppy.

A Slower Rottweiler Puppy Can Mean a Faster Rottweiler Adult Dog

As the American Kennel Club (AKC) points out, the Rottweiler dog breed falls firmly into the large dog category. These dogs can easily grow up to weigh between 90 and 135 pounds and stand anywhere from 22 to 27 inches tall (paw pads to shoulders).

When a dog is this large in adulthood, growth must proceed slowly to be safe. If a Rottweiler puppy is allowed to grow up too fast or exercise too vigorously too soon, it can cause damage to the bones, tendons, ligaments, and cartilage.

As King Rottweilers breeder explains, Rottweiler puppies can easily take up to three years (36 months) to grow up into their full adult height, weight, and size.

If this process is rushed, it can cause lingering health issues that remain throughout your dog’s life.

For this reason, the United Kennel Club (UKC) emphasizes caution when exercising a Rottweiler puppy.

How to Calculate the Correct Amount of Exercise for a Rottweiler Puppy

Their guidelines recommend exercising your puppy just five minutes per day (up to twice per day) per month of age. What might this look like?

• If your Rottweiler puppy is three months old, offer 15 minutes of exercise up to twice per day.
• If your Rottweiler puppy is four months old, offer 20 minutes of exercise up to twice per day.

You can use this handy formula to calculate how much exercise to offer your Rottweiler puppy based on their age:

Month of age (1 through 12) times five minutes equals the amount of exercise you can offer up to two times per day.

It is also smart to talk with your dog’s veterinarian first before setting your Rottweiler puppy’s daily exercise schedule. Your veterinarian may have more specific, customized guidelines based on your puppy’s age, height, weight, and gender.

What Kind of Exercise Does a Rottweiler Dog Like to Do?

As Vetstreet points out, the Rottweiler dog is a working dog breed through and through.

These dogs do make excellent companion canines (aka family pets), but their breeding has set them up to thrive best when they have a job to do.

In a pet dog situation, this means your adult Rottweiler will need daily activity and exercise to stay healthy and happy.

A bored Rottweiler dog can easily become a destructive Rottweiler dog.

If you are new to the Rottweiler breed and are still just learning about Rotties, as their fans call them, you may not yet know that Rottweilers are a venerated dog breed that dates back to the time of the ancient Romans.

Rottweilers used to accompany the Romans into battle. Their job was to herd and protect the herds of cattle and other livestock that the Roman soldiers would bring with them to provide milk and food.

These dogs also pulled double duty protecting the soldiers from wild animal (and human) threats. They can be tireless workers and thrive in high-stress, high-energy jobs.

Great Activities for Speedy Rottweiler Dogs

Rottweiler puppyhood can last up to two or even three years (24 to 36 months) depending on a dog’s full adult size. It is important to work closely with your canine veterinarian to be sure you don’t let your Rottweiler exercise too much too soon.

But once your dog has matured and the bone plates have permanently fused, you will finally get to see firsthand why these dogs are considered to be such amazing canine athletes.

For owners who aren’t willing or able to give their Rottweilers enough exercise during the day, they may also see just how destructive a bored Rottweiler can be.

Rottweilers do thrive best when they have a job to do, but in lieu of a job (many families just don’t need any cattle herding or protection against armies), an athletic discipline will do nicely.

As you can see in this short NBC Sports YouTube video from the 2018 National Dog Show Working Group Competition, these dogs make eager and willing participants in canine sports.

Rottweilers tend to excel in each of the following athletic disciplines:

• Aquatic sports like dock diving.
• Agility competitions.
• Herding and tracking.
• Search and rescue and nose work.
• Obedience contests.
• Drover and cart dog (this is one of the first jobs Rotties ever did!).
• K-9, personal protection, and guard dog training.
• Service and therapy dog work.
• Guide dog for the blind.
• Police and military dog training.

As Washington University in St. Louis Biology of Dog Breeds states, the gait of a Rottweiler is part of what gives this dog its speed.

These dogs are considered “trotters,” with a coordinated gait in adulthood that keeps the back motionless and uses the front paw prints as springboards to help the back paws gain greater traction.

Where Do Rottweilers Rank in Terms of Top Canine Speeds?

Rottweilers seem like incredibly fast dogs until you compare a Rottie side by side with the world’s real fastest dog, the Greyhound.

Greyhound adult dogs can easily reach speeds of up to 45 MPH, which makes Greyhounds the seventh fastest animal in the world (after Cheetahs, Wildebeest, and Pronghorn Antelope, among others), according to Canidae.

Most of the world’s fastest dogs are working dog breeds just like the Rottweiler.

But the Rottweiler is actually considered a medium-fast dog breed.

Here, the Rottie is routinely outrun by specialized sprinting and distance runner dog breeds like the Vizsla, Border Collie, Whippet, Siberian Husky, Rhodesian Ridgeback, Jack Russell Terrier, German Shepherd, Belgian Malinois, and Doberman Pinscher.

Two Types of Fast Dog Breeds: Sprinters and Endurance Runners

The Rottweiler is considered to be a working dog breed. This means that running for endurance is prioritized over running for pure speed.

This explains why the Rottweiler may not top charts in terms of speed but can run and stay active all day, every day without tiring.

Do you have a Rottweiler who loves to run in your family? How fast can your Rottweiler run? Share your dog’s top speeds in the comments.