The Rottweiler Pyrenees mix is a great cross breed between two great dog breeds. This dog breed is extremely interesting due to their characteristics and temperament co-joining. Both dog breeds are extremely loyal, and very independent, for both breeds were bred to think for them selves.
The Rottweiler Great Pyrenees mix is a large, loving, family oriented, loyal, protective dog breed. The Rottweiler Pyrenees mix needs to be trained and socialized at an early age and given proper exercise, otherwise this breed will run you over.
This mixed breed is not for beginners they are an alpha dog breed and must have a calm, confident, loving, train first play later owner. As long as you get your puppy trained, socialized, and exercised and keep up with this regiment through out his/her life. Your dog will mostly stay out of trouble, if you don’t keep up or even start on this regiment, you will be dragged through some pretty hairy situations.
So in this article we will dive into the parent breeds, and after that we will be diving into the Rottweiler Great Pyrenees mix. If you want to skip down to the Great Pyrenees mix go right ahead.
The Rottweiler
Rottweiler size and appearance
- Weight – 110 – 130 pounds
- Height – 17 – 22 inches
- Lifespan – 10 – 12 years
- Health Issues – cataracts, hip dysplasia, arthritis, bloat, bone cancer, & VWD
- Grooming – 2x Brush Weekly 4-6x weekly during shedding season
- Colors – Black and tan
- Eye Color – Brown
- Exercise – An hour of running, playing, walking, or fetching daily
- Training – Use positive reinforcement in training
- Socialization – Take he/she everywhere you go
- Temperament – kind, gentle, watchful, funny, playful with family, very protective
- Good in an apartment? – No, the Rottweiler needs a house, and a yard to play around in
The Rottweiler the most infamous guard dog in the world! But did you know that they are also one of the oldest herding dog breeds in the world? The Rottweiler dates back to Roman times. Back in 70 A.D, the Romans took the Rottweilers from Weiler, Germany (now, Rottenberg), hence the name Rottweiler.
The Romans used the Rottweiler for herding cattle, and for protecting the cattle and other herd animals from wolves and other predators. Rottweilers were also used as meat cart pullers as well as personal protection detail.
Did you know that in the mid-1800s the Rottweiler nearly went extinct? Yes, the Rottie nearly went extinct due to the fact that trains were now a much cheaper way of transporting meat. If not for several lovers of the Rottweiler breed in the 1900’s, this breed would be extinct today, as indicated in this article on Rottweiler facts.
The Great Pyrenees
- Weight – 80 – 110 pounds
- Height – 26 – 33 inches
- Lifespan – 10 – 12 years
- Health Issues – cataracts, hip dysplasia, bloat, ocd, & skin issues
- Grooming – 2x Brush Weekly 4-6x weekly during shedding season
- Colors – White
- Eye Color – Brown
- Exercise – 30 – 45 minutes daily
- Training – 30 – 40 minutes
- Socialization – Take he/she everywhere you go
- Temperament – Aloof, confident, protective, playful, loving, silly
- Good in an apartment? – The Great Pyrenees needs a house with a fenced in yard.
The Pyrenees dog was created in the Pyrenees mountains they are strong-bodied, willed, brave of heart, and powerful will to work. The people of the Pyrenees mountains needed a dog that was brave of heart, and one that could think for its self when left alone with a flock or herd.
The Pyrenees dog was needed to fight off wolves, and other snowy predators that lurked on the mountains and who wait for the perfect opportunity to strike. Well, the people of the Pyrenees mountains got really tired of replacing their herds/flocks. And decided to create their own guard dog, and so a long process of breeding and rebreeding came and went until!
They finally bred the Pyrenees guard dog, and they set it loose, and it was a (drum roll please!…) They were a smashing success! Their bravery and patients set them far apart from all other guard dogs of that time! With their reputation for fighting off wolves, bears, and occasional rustlers, the French king adopted them into his very own royal chateaux.
Some Pyrenees dogs today are strong, protective, and slightly aloof, my neighbor has a Pyrenees dog. And while he comes from a great lineage of strong and confident dogs, he him self will run away and lay down.
If a stranger approaches him in his own property, he still does this to me when on occasion I am talking with the owner. So sometimes you will get a head strong Pyrenees while other times you will get one that hates confrontation.
The Rottweiler Great Pyrenees mix
- Weight – 85 – 115 pounds
- Height – 22 – 32 inches
- Lifespan – 9 – 12 years
- Health Issues – cataracts, hip dysplasia, arthritis, bloat, bone cancer, & VWD
- Grooming – 10-15 minutes daily on non-shedding season 30-45 min during shedding season.
- Colors – Black and white, black and tan, yellow, fawn, tricolor
- Eye Color – Brown
- Exercise – 45 – 50 minutes daily
- Training – 30 – 40 minutes
- Socialization – Take he/she everywhere you go
- Temperament – Loving, caring, territorial, aggressive, protective, playful, loyal, love to herd
- Good in an apartment? – No, the Great Pyrenees Rottweiler needs a house with a yard to play around in
The Great Pyrenees mixed with Rottweiler is a sweet, loving, caring, loyal, playful, very protective, territorial, and very independent dog! They are defiantly not for first time dog owners! They need an owner who is extremely adapt at owning such giants that have a mind of their own!
I have several other warnings for people who have not gotten a breed like this before and think that they are ready. The first is that the parents are both alpha dogs breeds, who will run right over you. If you show any weakness, they WILL take over as the alpha if they think you show any weakness to them.
Training of the Great Pyrenees Rottweiler Mix
Training for this breed should not be taken lightly the Great Pyrenees Rottie mix is a head-strong protection dog. And they will flatten you over if you don’t know what you are doing. You must have daily training sessions that last half an hour to an hour. This is especially true for puppies, if you can train them to understand that you and the family are first.
Then you won’t have very bad issues later on when your dog is a full grown dog that weights at max 115 lbs! They must earn their affection and food/treats, the secret to owning a fantastic dog is train them from puppyhood.
Socialization of the Great Pyrenees Rottweiler Mix
Exercise, training, and socialization are key to have a loving relationship with your dog. Socialization is very much needed for this powerful guard dog, don’t forget this breed was breed for one thing. Protection whether it was for a person, family, or flock, never forget this they take acts of aggression very seriously may it be from dogs or humans.
So always socialize your beloved four legged one, and you most likely will be able to live life with a few harsh woofs and not much else.
The consequences for not actively socializing your new dog can be serious at best with your dog getting into a nipping competition. To at worst a dog fight or your dog bitting a human, so if you cannot put forth the effort and drive to make sure your dog never does that then get a hamster.
This breed is not a get and forget they are very serious dog breed and don’t take kindly to “predators or rival alpha’s”.
The Temperament of the Rottweiler Great Pyrenees Mix
- Protective
- Aloof
- Loving
- Playful
- Quiet
- Eager to please
- Very gentle to the family
The Great Pyrenees Rottweiler mix is a powerful, muscle bound, fierce dog when he/she feels threatened and or if there is someone who they don’t know. At the same time! They can be sweeter than sweet tea, playful and gentle to the owner and or the family!
The Great Pyrenees Rottweiler Mix is a brilliant dog! It only takes them one or two tries before they become comfortable doing something. They can quickly pick up either a good behavior and or a bad one, so be very quick and decisive in what type of behavior you wish to have in your family dog!
Exercise of the Rottweiler Great Pyrenees Mix
This breed needs about 45 minutes of brisk exercise each day, and probably a bit more. After all the parent breeds are and were breed for being out protecting the herd and roaming. So if you think a simple walk to your or your neighbors mail box will cut it.
I am afraid I will have to tell you that they need a very large amount of blood pumping exercise. In order to keep your dog happy and sane, a dog that is bored or is not getting enough exercise on a daily basis.
If your dog regularly gets into trouble by: regularly tearing the house apart, dig plants up, digging holes underneath the fence and escaping, becoming territorial, aggressive. Are all mostly signs that you are not giving your dog more physical and or mental stimulation. And there for you have been fired from your job as being the pack leader.
Alpha dog breeds like the Rottweiler and Great Pyrenees will often take over from a “weak pack leader” and summarily become the leader them selves.
Health Issues of the Great Pyrenees Rottweiler Mix
The healthiness of your dog is just as important, and you want to have a heads up of what you may have to watch for. So we added in all of the health issues this breed is known to have:
- Hip Dysplasia – Large dog breeds will often develop hip dysplasia due to over breed.
- Heart Disease – The Rottweiler Great Pyrenees can either with age or life style develop heart issues
- Bloat – Bloat happens when a dog eats to fast and or eats and then goes out for exercise. Bloat is deadly, bloat means that the intestines twist around trapping gasses. If your dog has bloat take your dog immediately to an animal hospital.
- Cataracts – like humans with age a dogs eyes will become cloudy with age.
Contributions from The Community
Maximus, a Rottweiler Great Pyrenees
By Danielle Holm
Hi there! I just finished reading your article about the “Rottweiler/Great Pyrenees mix”. It was very informative and very true! We have a handsome new pup I’d love to share! Here is his story.
This is 5 month old Maximus. I’ve included a photo of him at 8 weeks as well. Which is when we brought him home. We owned a full bred Rottweiler who lived to be 13 years old. She was wonderful and we have a special place in our hearts for Rotties!
Maximus is a “craiglist puppy”. When my husband sent me a picture and asked if he could go get him I said YES! He’s very calm for a pup.
Easy to train. Eager to please. Travels well and gets along very well with other dogs. He’s wonderful with our children. He gets walked for an hour a day and has a large yard and hiking trails to run around with his buddy, a 4 month old Labrador.
I recommend this breed mix to anyone who loves a strong willed but also quite chilled out pup. Thanks again for your wonderfully informative article! I truly enjoyed it!
Stella Skye A Beautiful Great Pyrenees/Rottweiler/Australian Shepherd mix!
By Sheila Brown
Hi! I have an absolutely beautiful Great Pyrenees/Rottweiler/Australian Shepherd mix!
Her name is Stella Skye!We got her when she was 4 months old and she is now 3 year old she weighs 100 lbs!
We got her to guard our ducks because we were loosing them due to predators (fox)
We haven’t lost any since our precious Stella came but more importantly she has guarded something much more precious and that’s our grandchildren!
She is sweet and serious and loves her family! She does bark a lot but whenever she does we know there is something out there she is protecting us from. I feel very safe knowing she is! By Sheila Brown
Conclusion of the Rottweiler Great Pyrenees Mix
Thanks for reading about the Great Pyrenees Rottweiler mix! This breed is for people who have owned an alpha dog breed and is most definitely not for beginners. We here at Labrottie give the Rottweiler Great Pyrenees mix a four-star rating!
So I hope I have convinced you to get this beautiful Rottweiler Great Pyrenees mix! If, however, you think that this dog is just too much for you! Don’t fear, for there is the close cousin, the Great Pyrenees Labrador mix! Who is much gentler and less of a hulk!
Have a Rottweiler Great Pyrenees or Other Dog Breed and Want To Share It?
If you have a dog/s and you wish to share it with our Mixed dog breed photo gallery. All we would need is a back story on the puppy and a photo! Also, if you have any questions or comments, please email us!
Do You Have a New Puppy and Are Trying To Find a Great Name for S/He?
We have several different dog name articles out for you if you have just gotten yourself a cute puppy! They are:
Happy Tails!
The Labrottie Team