The Working Rottweiler - From Legend to Present, Columbus, OH (2026)

08/02/2019

Zico vom Schwaiger Wappen - 2006 Spring Korung

This is Zico vom Schwaiger Wappen, who was a German & VDH Champion and multiple times V1 rated. He was also eight times VPG 3 and IPO 3, with multiple V scores in tracking and protection. And of course, as this video portrays, Zico passed his Korung with flying colors in 2006.

I was blessed to own this dog, and competed with him one time before he left us way too early after just turning six years old. I also owned his father, Eddy vom Hammerbachtal, whom I competed with very successfully for five years. This dog was a true and very typical son of Eddy, which was obvious to anyone who knew both Zico and his father.

Performance:

Part A - Search for the helper was thorough, and became progressively faster as the search went on. Hold and bark at the blind was very intense and convincing, and also clean and consistent. Attentiveness to the helper is excellent, even when being called back into the heel position. Escape bite, the dog is fast to the arm, and maintains a full and calm grip. The out is clean, with a tight guard on the helper that includes more convincing barking. On the re-attack, the dog takes a full, well targeted grip and maintains the same full grip throughout the stick hits. Again, the out is clean, and the guard is powerful, with the dog positioning himself very close to the helper. Some slight bumping and a brief re-bite take place just before the handler picks up the dog. On the back transport, the dog really sticks the full grip which is obvious by the sound of the impact with the helper. He again remains full and calm throughout the fight, followed by another clean out and an excellent guard.

Part B – Speed on the courage test was excellent, with the dog really sticking the grip along with a safe catch from the helper. Grip is full and remains calm until the helper stops, and then slides down the arm towards the hand as out command is given. Another clean out is accompanied by more strong guarding/barking, and then the re-attack bite is strong, full, and calm. Out is perfect, and the guard is again close and really convincing.

Big compliments to my long time friend and breeder of Zico, Claudia Meixner. Claudia has done an amazing job of continuing her father's legacy of breeding complete dogs that not only can win the major shows, but also continue to prove themselves at the Korungs and on the schutzhund field.

Judges were Jurgen Wulff and Edgar Hellmann. Front half helper was Jorge Schwabe, and the back half was done by Benjamin G***k. As always, we would love to hear from owners, breeders, judges, and helpers that were affiliated with the dog in this video.

04/14/2019

Iwan vom Fusse der Eifel - 1989 Spring Korung

This is Iwan vom Fusse der Eifel, bred by the late Johannes Schmitz and owned/trained by Heinz Esser. Iwan is best known as being one of the three brothers who all achieved the Korung, and also all held the ADRK Klubsieger title. Never before in history has their been a litter that reached such high achievement in both venues. Iwan won the Klubsieger title in 1986, and 1989 he achieved his EzA status. He also was the 1986 Europasieger, the 1985 Europajugendsieger, and was an Interneational Champion of beauty. And since he was a lifetime Korung holder, he of course was SchH 3 titled, along with earning an FH1 tracking title.

I was very fortunate to see Iwan's first korung performance in person, and can say firsthand that it was a solid performance by a dog which many at the time believed was only a show dog. And it was during this trip to Germany that I had determined that I would add something from this bloodline to my own breeding program, which led to me later convincing Iwan's breeder Johannes to sell me Morris, Iwan's full brother from a repeat breeding.

Performance:

Part A - Search for the helper was thorough. Hold and bark at the was blind was very good after a brief bump to the helper after the initial find. Attentiveness to the helper was also very good. Escape bite, the dog is fast to the arm, and the bite is deep and full. A fast and clean out comes immediately when the handler gives the command, and then is followed by an initially shallow grip towards the hand that is immediately released and followed by a more full grip in the middle of the sleeve. The out is clean and fast, and the guard demonstrates good and consistent barking behavior, although I would like to see a bit more fire in this exercise.

Part B – Speed on the courage test was good, with a slight slowdown just before the bite to assure a good target. Grip is mostly full, especially considering that the catch was not the best as there was some minor impact with the dog. Once again, the out iis clean and fast, followed by a re-attack bite that could be a bit fuller and a little more calm. Out is clean and fast, and barking is strong but interrupted when the dog takes a couple of full but dirty bites, as if to demonstrate that he can.

Side note: Heinz Esser did an amazing job with Iwan, which I think I remember him telling me was his first male rottweiler. I also cannot say enough good things about my late friend Johannes Schmitz, who was the breeder of Iwan and the famous I litter vom Fusse der Eifel. The combination that produced Iwan was repeated two more times, and a genetically identical breeding was also done muliple times by Hannes using the litter sister to Iwan's mother. The resulting litters from the two sisters bred to Falco von der Tente produced so many great dogs that they are too numerous to mention, but suffice to say that these dogs made a tremendous contribution to the breed today.

03/29/2019

Drago vom Atzelgift - 2005 Spring Korung

This is Drago vom Atzelgift IPO 3, VPG 3, FH 1. Drago was bred by Burkhard Bayer, and owned by Gerhard Diedrich. Drago competed in seven IPO Championship trials, including five times at the DM with his best result being third place with an excellent V score of 286. He also won the ADRK FH Meisterschaft in 2009 with an excellent V score of 99 points. Drago also earned his Korung in 2007.

Performance:

Part A - Search for the helper was fast, but it seems that he missed two blinds. Hold and bark at the blind was convincing and clean, with fairly consistent barking until the handler arrived to call him out. Attentiveness to the helper is excellent. Escape bite, the dog is fast to the arm and takes a full grip up high, which seems to be the best he could do considering the presentation. The out was a bit slow, and then the bite on the re-attack is fast and full. The next out cannot be seen due to the position of the camera man, but given that the handler needed an extra command, we can assume that it was also slow like the first one. The dog is a bit slow to bark on the guard, but demonstrates excellent position until the handler arrives. On the back transport, heeling could be tighter but is better after an extra comand is given. On the attack out of the back transport, the dog takes a good grip throughout the exercise. The out is fast and clean, but again the barking comes slow but eventually gets a little more consistent once it begins, and the dog maintains excellent position until the handler arrives.

Part B – Speed on the courage test was excellent all the way to contact with the sleeve, with a very nice catch by the helper. Grip is full and remains calm until the helper stops, and then the out is slow until the handler calls out the dog's name. The guard is close with good barking, followed by a full grip on the re-attack which the dog maintains until the helper stops again. We cannot see the final out, due to one of the blinds screening the dog from the camera man. However, we can again assume that it was slow, since the handler needed to once again call out the dog's name a second time.

Side note: Gerhard Diedrich had a really nice working career with Drago which I'm sure he is very proud of. Congratulations to breeder Burkhard Bayer for breeding a fine working dog like Drago.

03/17/2019

Rocco vom Horster Drieck - 1989 Spring Korung

This week's featured dog is Rocco vom Horster Drieck, bred by Hartmut and Renate Teschke and owned/trained by Udo Meier. Rocco was the ADRK Meisterschaft winner in 1987 and 1989, and of course was many times SchH 3 titled, as well as possessing his Korung. Even more impressive was that Rocco participated in 16 Meisterschafts (German, European, and World Championship trials), achieving V scores in eight of them.

Performance:

Part A - Search for the helper was fast. Bark at the blind was powerful and consistent, with excellent close positioning while maintaining a completely clean exercise. Escape bite, the dog is fast to the arm and takes a full grip. You can clearly hear the pop when he hits the arm, making it easy for the judge to know that he really "stuck" the bite. The out is clean, followed by quiet bark and very quick re-attack. Again, the dog sticks the bite hard and full, and cleanly outs immediately the moment he hears his handlers command. Once again the guard after the out is with excellent close positioning, while maintaining a clean exercise. The dog briefly looks back to the helper as he approches. Secondary obedience during this phase is nice, although the dog appears a bit anxious at some points when tries to anticipate his handlers commands.

Part B – Speed on the courage test was very good, with a slight slowdown just before the bite to assure a good target and a safe impact. Initial grip was full and calm. Out was again fast, and after a single bark, the grip on the on the re-attack was also full and well maintained throughout the fight with the helper. Position of guard is again excellent and clean, and barking is good until the pickup from the handler. There are some very momentary look-aways from the helper as the judge and handler approach.

Side note: Udo Meier had an amazing working career with Rocco. Breeders Hartmut and Renate Teschke should also be commended on producing such an impressive working dog.

03/07/2019

Aika von der Mandelburg - 1996 Fall Korung

This week we feature Aika von der Mandelburg, bred by Manfred Brunnenmuller. This female was the ADRK Klubsiegerin in 1996 and 1997, and also was a two time participant in the ADRK Meisterschaft. Her titles included multiple SchH 3, AD, BH, and she also held her lifetime Korung.

Performance:

Part A - Search for the helper was thorough, and after a tense moment of her circling judge Willie Hedtke, she found the helper in the hot blind. After an initial bump to the helper, she settled into a nice bark before taking a dirty bite just as the handler arrived. The dog then self outted and resumed barking until the handler called her to the heel position. Call out of the blind was okay but with some slight control issues when setting up for the escape bite. The escape bite itself was fast and excellent in targeting and fullness. Out was a bit slow, followed by an very nice guard with good barking. On the re-attack, the grip was full and calm throughout until the out command. The out was again slow, but this time I believe that this could have been because the helper did not square the dog into position as he stopped which can oftentimes cause a dog to feel that the fight is not yet over. After the eventual out, the guard was close with good barking until another cheap re-bite, again just as the handler was arriving.

Part B – Speed on the courage test was very good, followed by a full grip even though the catch was not smooth. Out was clean and the guard was excellent, followed by another full grip on the re-attack which she maintains until the helper stops. Out is again clean and the guard is with good barking, followed by her signature re-bite just as the helper arrives.

Judges for this event are Helmut Frieburg and Willie Hedtke. Helper on the front half is Frank Hedtke.

Side note: Aika is clearly a complete rottweiler, achieving great accomplishments in both the work and show venues. Although her secondary obedience during this phase could certainly use some polishing, it is clear that she has excellent drive for the work while maintaining a clear head. I apologize that the audio portion of this presentation did not match with the video portion, which is something that cannot be helped with some of these older videos. I say this so that the viewer can keep in mind while watching this video that although it may have appeared at times that the dog was slow to respond to commands, this was not necessarily the case.

03/01/2019

Max vom Turnleberg - 2004 DM

This week's featured dog is Max vom Turnleberg. Max was a four time participant in the ADRK DM, with his best result being fourth place in 2005 with an excellent score of 289 points. I'm not sure how many times he competed at the VPG/IPO 3 level, but in championship trials alone he competed eight different times. What really sets Max apart from other famous working dogs is the amount of dogs that he produced that reached even higher titles than he himself achieved. Max sired three sons that won the ADRK Meisterschaft Championship trial. He also sired another son that twice won the IFR World Meisterschaft, and another son that was a three time winner of the Holland Meisterschaft. Max was owned/trained/handled by Martin Jonietz, and bred by ADRK working judge Thomas Weber.

Performance:

Part A - Search for the helper was very fast, but the dog skipped two of the six blinds. Hold and bark at the blind was flawless, with intense and convincing barking and a position that was both close to the helper and completely clean. Attentiveness to the helper is excellent, and it is clear that the dog is operating with a clear head with real fight in mind. Escape bite, the dog is fast to the arm and he takes a full grip. The out is clean, with a tight guard on the helper that includes an excellent bark. On the re-attack, the dog takes a full grip, targeted a bit down towards the hand which seemed to me to be related to the presentation. After a clean out, the dog again demonstrates another excellent barking guard with great position. Before the Re-attack, the dog is forging but then goes fast and hard to the arm with a full grip. Out is clean and fast, and guard is again excellent. It should be noted that dogs with this level of drive are very difficult to keep from forging in the heeling portion of the protection phase, due to the highly driven mindset to fight.

Part B – Speed on the courage test was excellent, followed by a full grip on the arm. Out is clean and fast. Grip on re-attack is shallow, and maintained without mouthing throughout the drive. And consistent with the rest of the protection performance, the final out and guard is convincing and flawless.

Side note: I have had two sons of Max in my kennel, and both exhibited the same level of drive that he is well known to pass on to his progeny. Big credit to Martin Jonietz, for the terrific job of training and handling Max to such an impressive working career. Also credit goes to breeder Thomas Weber, for producing yet another great working rottweiler.

Judges for this event were Walter Schier, Martin Hillgemann, and Richard Berning. As always, we would love to hear from owners, breeders, judges, and helpers that were affiliated with the dog in this video.

02/19/2019

Doc vom Oberhausener Norden - 2004 DM

This week's featured dog is Doc vom Oberhausener Norden, who was a two time participant in the ADRK Meisterschaft (3rd place & 6th place). He was 17 times SchH 3, achieving 95 points in protection one of those times, and 96-100 points in all of the other 16 times! Doc also achieved his lifetime korung. Doc was bred by Josef Focking, and owned/trained/handled by Dirk (Gorbi) Lablans.

Performance:

Part A - Search for the helper was fast and thorough. Hold and bark at the blind was intense and convincing, and also clean (with the exception of an initial bump) and in excellent position. Attentiveness to the helper is excellent, and it is clear that the dog is operating with a clear head with real fight in mind, not just prey. Escape bite, the dog is fast to the arm, with a full grip which he makes even fuller when the helper stops running. The out is clean, with a tight guard on the helper that includes an excellent bark. On the re-attack, the dog takes a full grip, targeted a bit down towards the hand. After a clean out, the dog again demonstrates another excellent barking guard with great position. Re-attack out of the back transport is fast and hard, with a shallow grip that he immediately adjusts to full when the helper stops. Out is clean and fast, and guard is again excellent.

Part B – Speed on the courage test was really excellent, fully committed until the grip which was shallow. It should be noted that this is to be expected occasionally with dogs that fly to the grip so fast, and this is the tradeoff that we often get with a dog that does not slow down to target the arm. But again, the dog adjusts his grip to full the moment the helper stops the fight. Out is clean and fast. Grip on re-attack is fairly full, and maintained without mouthing throughout the drive, with a re-adjust to completely full when the helper stops.

Side note: I have had the pleasure of seeing this dog work in person on multiple occasions. He reminds me very much of a smaller and faster version of Eddy vom Hammerbachtal, which is not suprising since Doc’s sire was Eddy’s 3/4 brother, and Doc and Eddy’s dams are half sisters. Doc was always a crowd favorite on the long bite, but also a superb working dog in all phases of schutzhund. Big credit to Gorbi, for doing such a fantastic job of training and handling Doc. Also credit goes to breeder Josef Focking, for producing yet another great working rottweiler.

Judges for this event were Walter Schier, Martin Hillgemann, and Richard Berning. As always, we would love to hear from owners, breeders, judges, and helpers that were affiliated with the dog in this video.

02/11/2019

Falco von der Teufelsbrucke - 1996 Spring Korung

This week's featured dog is Falco von der Teufelsbrucke, bred by Bernd Osswald and owned/trained by Paul Hermann Wurz. Falco was a two time ADRK Klubsieger, Europasieger, and an International Champion. He also took 2nd place at the 1994 ADRK Meisterschaft Schutzhund Championship, scoring 288 points, automatically putting him in the conversation as one of the best working Klubsiegers in the history of the breed. Falco was many times SchH 3, and also earned his lifetime Korung.

Performance:

Part A - Search for the helper was fast and thorough. Hold and bark at the was blind consistent and clean. I would like to see the position of the dog in this exercise a bit closer to the helper, but the fact that he maintains some distance helps assure that the dog does not lose points for bumping the helper in a schutzhund trial. Attentiveness to the helper is excellent. Escape bite, the dog is fast to the arm and takes a full grip. The out is clean, followed by consistent barking until the re-attack. The resulting bite is full and remains calm throughout the stick hits, but targeting could be better as the dog takes the grip a bit towards the hand. Second out is also clean, with more consistent barking during the guard. Secondary obedience during the entire phase is very nice.

Part B – Speed on the courage test was excellent, with a slight slowdown just before the bite to assure a good target and a safe impact. Initial grip could be fuller and is a little grippy, but dog adjusts to full as soon as the helper stops. Out is a bit slow, but remains clean once it comes. Grip on the re-attack is shallow, but remains calm throughout the stick hits until the helper stops, at which time the dog adjusts to full. Out is slow, but again remains clean once it is inititated. Position of guard is excellent, and barking is good until the pickup from the handler.

Side note: Paul Herman Wurz clearly did an excellent job on Falco's training, and has trained several other of his dogs throughout the years to to achieve similar performance standards. Breeder Bernd Osswald should be commended for the tremendous success of this litter that Falco was from, with several of them achieving high status and later ending up as key producers of several famous dogs today.

Front half helper was Frank Hedtke. Judges were Gerhard Apel and Paul Fleige. As always, we would love to hear from owners, breeders, judges, and helpers that were affiliated with the dog in this video.

02/07/2019

Eddy vom Hammerbachtal - 2002 Spring Korung

This is Eddy vom Hammerbachtal, who was the ADRK Klubsieger in 2002. He was also a Landessieger (working champion), and was a USRC Universal Sieger in the states. Eddy was twice qualified to represent the USA schutzhund team at the IFR Working Championship. He was 17 times SchH 3, with his highest score being 293 points. Eddy also possessed his lifetime Korung. It was no wonder really why Eddy is considered to be one of the strongest working Klubsiegers in the history of the breed.

This dog will be both the easiest and the hardest for me to evaluate and discuss, as I was blessed to be his owner for seven years and by his side competing with him for almost five of them.

Performance:

Part A - Search for the helper was fast and thorough. Hold and bark at the blind was extremely intense and convincing, but not a clean exercise if the dog were being scored in a schutzhund trial. The dog demonstrates in this phase a real desire to engage the helper, and it is clear that the spirit is real and not just a barking exercise. Attentiveness to the helper is excellent, even when being called back into the heel position. Escape bite, the dog is fast to the arm, but his poor targeting and perhaps a less than excellent sleeve presentation gets him a grip by the elbow that could be deeper. However, the dog remains firm in the bite throughout the escape until the helper stops, at which time the dog immediately re-positions his grip to full. The out is clean, with a tight guard on the helper that includes a bark. On the re-attack, the dog takes a full, well targeted grip and maintains the same full grip throughout the stick hits. Again, the out is clean, and the guard is excellent, being very close to the helper, and barking convincing throughout in an attempt to re-engage the fight with the helper. It should be noted that the dog's attention on the helper is excellent, taking his eyes off of him for only the briefest of moments when the judge suddenly moves behind him or when the handler arrives. For me, it is very sad that this behavior is nowadays given a point reduction by many judges, when it is demonstrating the dog's real and natural ability to be both effective and wise in combat.

Part B – Speed on the courage test was excellent, with a slight slowdown just before the bite to assure a good target and a safe impact. Grip is full and remains calm until the helper stops, at which time there is an attempt to go even fuller and then a counter shake of the arm before outing. The guard is again close with intense barking, followed by another good full strike to the arm on the re-attack and a full grip maintained until the helper stops again. After the out, the dog displays the same strong guard with convincing barking and attentiveness, once again with very slight momentary attention shifts when the judge or handler moves in close proximity to the dog and helper.

Side note: I am not really speaking in detail on the obedience portions of of these protection exercises, because it is not my intention to evaluate the routines as a point performance. That said, I want to compliment my friend and owner/trainer/breeder of Eddy whose name is Walter Sontag, on his excellent control of the dog throughout the entire portion with the exception of bothering of the helper. This behavior occurred throughout much of the hold and bark exercise, and guarding phases of the performance.

Judges were Gerhard Apel and Hellmut Freiburg. Back half helper was Oliver Neubrand. As always, we would love to hear from owners, breeders, judges, and helpers that were affiliated with the dog in this video.

02/06/2019

Valentino vom Hause Neubrand - 2005 Spring Korung

This is Valentino vom Hause Neubrand, bred by Alfons and Oliver Neubrand and owned by Petra Kiebler. Valentino was the ADRK Kombi Sieger in 2007, and also held multiple other sieger titles as well. Valentino competed in five different championship trials, with his best result taking fifth place at the 2007 ADRK DM. Besides being many times VPG and IPO 3, Valentino also earned his lifetime Korung.

I got to see Valentino's EzA korung performance in person in 2007, and was very impressed by him. I would have liked to breed to the dog, had circumstances at the time permitted. It would benefit us all if anyone with hands on knowledge of Valentino could share their experience with us here.

Performance:

Part A - Search for the helper was thorough. Hold and bark at the was blind consistent and clean. I would like to see the position of the dog in this exercise a bit closer to the helper, but the fact that he maintains some distance helps assure that the dog does not lose points for bumping the helper in a schutzhund trial. Attentiveness to the helper is excellent. Escape bite, the dog is fast to the arm, but although his initial grip could be a little fuller, he remains calm until the helper stops and then immediately goes full. The out is clean and fast, and the guard demonstrates good and consistent barking behavior. On the attack out of the back transport, the dog takes a good grip throughout the exercise. The out is clean, and the barking during the guard is consistent.

Part B – Speed on the courage test was excellent, with a slight slowdown just before the bite to assure a good target and a safe impact. Grip is full and remains calm until the helper stops, and then the out is clean and immediate. The guard is close with good barking, followed by a full grip on the re-attack which the dog maintains until the helper stops again. We cannot see the final out, due to one of the blinds screening the dog from the camera man. When this is corrected, we see the dog maintaining a very nice guard of the helper until the handler comes to perform the side transport to the judge.

Side note: Petra Kiebler should be commended on accomplishing so much with Valentino, and for doing such a great job in handling such a large and powerful dog. And of course, congratulations to Alfons and Oliver Neubrand on breeding another excellent total rottweiler.

The Working Rottweiler - From Legend to Present

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