The Rottweiler puppy was a gift offered to my Grandfather to replace his long-time farm dog who had died. All farms need a herding dog, a guard dog, and a loving pet, and it is rare to have all these qualities in one dog which made the loss of his dog personally tragic and devastating to the function of the farm business he owned.
In upstate New York back in the 1960's, owning a Rottweiler as a pet was unheard of because of their horrible reputation of being vicious and dangerous and only good for junkyard guard dogs. Their intimidating size and appearance were threatening, and it was not surprising that people would not even consider them for a loving family pet or farm dog.
Grandfather did need a replacement dog and knew it would take time to train a new dog while hoping he could find one as great as the one he had. For this reason, I believe he listened to this breeder and business owner who had been breeding Rottweilers for years. Advice from him would be crucial and essential. So, he listened but reserved and concerned for the safety of his three grandchildren he was raising and the safety for family members, friends, neighbors, farm animals and farm delivery people, the milkman, the veterinary, feed trucks, plus more. It was a serious and extremely important decision he had to make.
After a long, lengthy discussion, the decision was made to try the puppy for 2 weeks. Grandfather knew that would be enough time to tell if he would be special enough to keep.
