The Rottweiler's origins are very old and the theories about its history are numerous. Germans profess that it is entirely German and was developed by butchers. Although a fancier such as Stebel claims that the Rottweiler descended from the Bouvier.

In ancient times this dog was prevalent in all the regions from the Swiss Canton of Argovie and extending to the south of Wiirtemberg, where the Romans had established  important military centers. There they brought a Mastiff which worked as a guard dog and a drover. The drover dogs were critical in herding the cattle that supplied food to the Roman Legions. These dogs also guarded the supply dumps of the Roman armies and was traditionally the Roman camp dog.

The town name of Rottweil is derived from an excavation of a Roman bath on that location. The descendants of the Roman drover dogs (now Rottweilers) were valuable workers in the cattle trade.

In the early 1900's the Rottweiler came to prominence. The breed gained popularity as police dogs. The allegmeiner Deutscher Rottweiler Klub was formed in 1921. The first Rottweiler was admitted to the American Kennel Club in 1931