The Rottweiler (/ˈrɒtwaɪlər/, UK also /-vaɪlər/) is a breed of domestic dog, regarded as medium-to-large or large. The dogs were known in German as Rottweiler Metzgerhund, meaning Rottweil butchers' dogs, because their main use was to herd livestock and pull carts laden with butchered meat to market. The dog breed was subsequently named after Rottweil, a town in the region. It became an important trade center and the descendants of the Roman cattle dogs proved their worth by driving the cattle to market and protecting the cattle from robbers and wild animals. The dogs are said to have been used by traveling butchers at markets during the Middle Ages to guard money pouches tied around their necks. As railroads became the primary method for moving stock to market, the demand for the Rottweiler breed declined, as did their numbers, so severely diminished by 1882 that a show in Heilbronn, featured only one very poor representative of the breed. When working with sheep, the Rottweiler shows a gathering/fetching style and reams directions easily.
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