WHY IS HEALTH TESTING SO IMPORTANT?
Preventing Hereditary Disease
Preventing Hereditary Disease
Preventing Hereditary Disease
Health testing parent dogs helps to identify and eliminate genetic defects in future generations that the Rottweilers are predisposed to.
Maintaining Breed Standards
Preventing Hereditary Disease
Preventing Hereditary Disease
By following the AKC's H.E.A.R.T. & the OFA/CHIC guidelines, our dogs meet the health testing requirements of European Rottweilers.
Verified Transparency
Preventing Hereditary Disease
Ensuring Long-Term Longevity
We upload links to our parent Rottweiler's health testing on this website. These links direct you to the OFA public database to provide traceable proof of testing.
Ensuring Long-Term Longevity
Preventing Hereditary Disease
Ensuring Long-Term Longevity
Breeding only from clinically cleared parents increases the chance of a puppy living a long, healthy life. We make no longevity guarantees due to nature itsself.
SHarp Ridge ROttweilers Program Information:
Are We the Right Breeder For You?
It is important to take some time to do your research before deciding to get a Rottweiler puppy. It’s also important to us that if we both feel comfortable working together as a breeder/puppy owner team, that you feel confident we are the right breeder for your next Rottweiler. Please complete our puppy application to start the process of learning to know each other!
Getting A Rottweiler
We have Rottweiler puppies available a couple times throughout the year! Occasionally, we also have retired adult Rottweilers available as well. If you're interested in a Rottweiler from us, first visit our Purchase Info page for steps on how to reserve a Rottweiler.
Available Puppies
We typically have a 2-6 month long waiting list of families who want to get a Rottweiler puppy from us. However, sometimes there's a pup available in the moment! Contact us for current availability. :)
Quality Diets
We feed our puppies the Royal Canin Brand. We start the pups out with Royal Canin's Puppy Starter, a special formula for puppies under 8 weeks old. Around 8 weeks old, we begin feeding Royal Canin Rottweiler puppy formula or Nutrisource Large Breed Puppy Formula.
WE HAVE A "NO TAIL DOCKING" POLICY:
Legal Bans on TAIL DOCKING.
Most European nations have officially banned tail docking for cosmetic reasons. These laws recognize the procedure as an unnecessary amputation of a healthy body part that can cause significant pain and long-term distress to the dog. In many of these countries, docking is only permitted if there is a verified medical need, such as a severe injury or tumor
(Photo of our girls, Weselka and Ginger)
Adherence to European and ADRK Standards.
As the parent club of the breed, the Allgemeiner Deutscher Rottweiler-Klub (ADRK) in Germany sets the global benchmark for the Rottweiler. In 1998, the ADRK officially changed its breed standard to require a natural, undocked tail. Because many top European breeders (including those in Serbia & USA) aim to show their dogs in Germany or under FCI judges, they must keep the tails intact to remain competitive.
(Photo: International CH Brendon Timit Tor, sire of some of our Rottweilers)
A Communication and Balance Tool.
European breeders and veterinarians emphasize that a tail is not merely ornamental; it is a critical tool for:
- Social Communication: Dogs use their tails to express complex emotions like happiness, anxiety, or warnings. Removing the tail can lead to social misunderstandings with other dogs or humans.
- Physical Balance: A natural tail acts as a "rudder," helping these powerful dogs maintain stability and balance during high-speed turns or athletic maneuvers.
- Spinal Integrity: Technically, the tail is an extension of the spinal column; leaving it intact supports the dog’s natural structural health.
(Photo of our retired girl, Nola)
Moving Away from Working Myths.
While docking was historically done to prevent injury while pulling butcher carts or to look more intimidating, modern European standards view these as outdated justifications. They believe a healthy, well-built Rottweiler does not need its tail removed to be a capable working or protection dog.
Our Commitment to Socialization:
Our puppy socialization is important to us:
We follow principles from both the puppy culture and avidog puppy socialization programs. From the start, our puppies are cuddled, caressed, stimulated, and evaluated in our hands many times a day. As they grow, our puppies are exposed to a large variety of sounds and age appropriate challenges. With school children, the house is pretty loud at times, in addition to typical home noises such as the vacuum, there's also noises from farm equipment, music, and slamming doors. Our puppies are trained to go potty in a litter box by 3-4 weeks old. We introduce the puppies to many different surfaces and stimulants. We have a puppy playground for them to learn steps, ramps, and tunnels at a young age. The pups have multiple vehicle rides to grandma's house and between our two farms. We have two cats, Wilmer likes the puppies while Willow just sleeps on their blankets.
Early Neurological Stimulation (ENS)
Puppies Get to Meet Other Farm Animals
Introduction to Age Appropriate Challenges.