Coat, Ears & Tail

AKC Working Group · No. 8 in 2025

How to identify a Rottweiler

The Rottweiler is a powerful working dog, ranked No. 8 by the AKC in 2025. It’s always black with rust to mahogany markings, in fixed places: a spot over each eye, the cheeks, each side of the muzzle and the chest. The ears are triangular and hang, and the head is broad.

Photo of a Rottweiler
Photo: Dr. Manfred Herrmann Allgemeiner Deutscher Rottweiler-Klub (ADRK) e.V. http://www.ADRK.de · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Field marks

These four marks are the ones the game gives you as clues. They paraphrase or briefly quote the AKC Rottweiler standard.

  1. “Always black with rust to mahogany markings”
  2. Rust spot over each eye, rust on cheeks, a strip on each side of the muzzle, and triangles on the chest
  3. Pendant, triangular ears and a broad head
  4. Docked tail (“one or two tail vertebrae”) or natural

Tell them apart

Rottweiler or Doberman Pinscher?

Check the build and the ears. A Doberman is square and racy, with a long, wedge-shaped head and usually cropped, erect ears. A Rottweiler is heavier, with a broad head and triangular ears that hang. A Rottweiler is always black and rust, while a Doberman can also be red, blue or fawn.

Rottweiler

Rottweiler

  1. “Always black with rust to mahogany markings”
  2. Rust spot over each eye, rust on cheeks, a strip on each side of the muzzle, and triangles on the chest
  3. Pendant, triangular ears and a broad head
  4. Docked tail (“one or two tail vertebrae”) or natural
Doberman Pinscher

Doberman Pinscher

  1. Square body, with height equal to length
  2. Head “long and dry, resembling a blunt wedge”
  3. Black, red, blue, or fawn (Isabella), with sharply defined rust markings
  4. Ears normally cropped and erect; tail docked at about the second joint

Rottweiler or Bernese Mountain Dog?

White is the giveaway. A Bernese has a white blaze, a white muzzle band and a white chest mark, plus a moderately long, wavy coat and a bushy tail. A Rottweiler has no white and a short coat, with rust over the eyes, on the cheeks and muzzle, and on the chest.

Rottweiler

Rottweiler

  1. “Always black with rust to mahogany markings”
  2. Rust spot over each eye, rust on cheeks, a strip on each side of the muzzle, and triangles on the chest
  3. Pendant, triangular ears and a broad head
  4. Docked tail (“one or two tail vertebrae”) or natural
Bernese Mountain Dog

Bernese Mountain Dog

  1. Jet black ground color with “rich rust and clear white” markings
  2. White blaze and muzzle band; the chest marking “typically forms an inverted cross”
  3. Coat “thick, moderately long and slightly wavy or straight,” with a natural sheen
  4. Bushy tail carried low, never curled over the back

Rottweiler or Cane Corso?

Check the color. A Rottweiler is always black with rust markings. A Cane Corso is black, gray, fawn or red, sometimes brindled, and never has tan points. The Corso’s muzzle is also very broad and deep, and its ears are often cropped to a triangle.

Rottweiler

Rottweiler

  1. “Always black with rust to mahogany markings”
  2. Rust spot over each eye, rust on cheeks, a strip on each side of the muzzle, and triangles on the chest
  3. Pendant, triangular ears and a broad head
  4. Docked tail (“one or two tail vertebrae”) or natural
Cane Corso

Cane Corso

  1. “Medium-large size Molossus,” athletic, with a square-looking skull
  2. Muzzle “very broad and deep,” about one-third of the head’s length
  3. Ears cropped to an equilateral triangle, or natural and held tight to the cheeks
  4. Black, gray, fawn, or red, with brindling allowed; never tan-pointed

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