The Rottweiler can be a great addition to your family. When you see a full grown Rottweiler on the street you might be tempted to believe they grow up quickly, but the truth is that they are fairly slow to mature and special care should be taken when feeding your new pup to ensure that they are neither over nor underfed.

Rottweilers are prone to several genetic diseases, many of which can be exacerbated by allowing them to become overweight. For that reason it is very important to have your Rottweiler thoroughly checked out by your vet as early as possible, and to continue to have checkups annually so that you are better able to catch potential issues with its health before it becomes a more serious problem.

General Rules of Thumb about Feeding your Rottweiler

• Fresh clean water should be always available
• Resist the urge to leave food available at all times. Your dog will become overweight quickly!
• Always feed your Rottweiler in the same place and at the same times of day.
• Never give your Rottweiler food from the table.
• Do not change your dog’s diet suddenly as this can upset its stomach. Instead, gradually change food by adding a small percentage of the new food for a few days, then a bit more, until you are eventually feeding only the new dog food.
• Talk to your vet before giving your Rottweiler any supplements as this can sometimes do more harm than good unless they are medically necessary.
• Never give your Rottweiler cooked bones, as they can easily break and splinter and cause internal damage that you might not know about until it is too late to correct.

Finding the Right Dog Food

When looking for a suitable commercial dog food for your Rottweiler, the first two ingredients are the most important. The first ingredient should always be meat such as beef, chicken or lamb and it will be shown as “beef meal” or “chicken meal”. The second ingredient should always be a good carbohydrate such as rice. If the food you feed your Rottweiler contains wheat, watch your dog carefully for the first week or so and note any changes in behavior, attitude, energy level and bowel movements. If any of these areas show notable changes, stop using the dog food immediately as your dog may be showing signs of an allergy to wheat.

One simple test to do on any new dry dog food is to put a cup of dog food in a bowl with two cups of water, cover and leave it alone for six hours. If after the allotted time the food has swollen to more than half of its original size, the food contains too many fillers and your dog may not be receiving adequate nutrition from it. You will notice that your dog will eat less of a better quality food, so trying to save money by buying a cheaper brand may not save you that much in the long run.

Feeding Times

When your Rottweiler is a puppy, you should feed it three times a day and continue to do so until it is at least 6 months old. After that you can feed it a slightly larger amount twice daily. If your dog is leaving food in the bowl, you are over feeding it. Likewise, If your Rottweiler lingers at the bowl or nudges you immediately after eating, you may need to feed it a bit more.