In the city of M. I had ended my apprenticeship and now came to a cattle butcher in W. How great was my joy when, as I entered his house, a beautiful Rottweiler came up to me. That made me right at home. It was like a greeting from my father's house far away. Since I had left there, I had seldom seen a Rottweiler. In M. there weren't any of them at all - at most a Giant Schnauzer - but it was different in W. where every butcher owned a Rottweiler. The reason for this was not a knowledge of the breed, but rather the feeling that a Rottweiler too belonged in a butcher's family, the way people had always been used to. And it was that way at my employer's house. He too had been accustomed from childhood on to seeing a Rottweiler around the house. Just having arrived, I asked my fellow apprentice about the Rottweiler. But in his opinion, "Spanner" was no good. "The only thing he can do is bark at people, so nobody dares come in the house." He wouldn't let anybody touch him and sullenly avoided all members of the household. Nevertheless my interest in the dog was there, and so I tried to make friends with him. But soon I had to go along with my co-worker's opinion. "Spanner" remained unreachable, an introverted good-for-nothing with whom no one could be on good terms. One day I was supposed to fetch two calves from nearby N. Our horse was lame, so I knew I had my work ahead of me if I was to drive the two animals. I asked my employer if I couldn't take Spanner with me. But my request was curtly denied. The dog would only inflict injuries, would bite the calves' legs, etc. However, I was not to be turned down so easily. If I couldn't do it one way, I'd try another. I turned to my employer's "better half" and she seemed to have more understanding. She thought it would do the dog good to get out, and so I got my way. As I took the dog out of town, there appeared an unbounded joy such as I have never seen; the dog was transformed. I could do what I liked to him. I could hold him, pet him - he allowed anything. An hour before I would have considered it impossible. So we arrived in N., where I looked up the agent who told me the name of the calves' owner. I went into the stall, tied the rope around the animal and pushed him in the usual way out the door, just as I had often seen it done at home. This was done so that the calf was pushed out backwards, so that the cow and calf could see each other. In the doorway, the baiting was supposed to begin. As soon as the command "Grab his nose!" was given, I would stand by the calf's hindquarters and the dog then had to grab the calf's muzzle. The calf then whips around in fear and looks to me for help from the dog. The dog then followed, always frightening the calf with more barking , while the latter willingly let himself be led. How great was my astonishment when, in this case, Spanner reacted to the command, although he was not trained, and that he did the work required of him. The same scene was enacted on the second calf. The dog worked as though he had never done anything else. I put both calves in the courtyard in order to pay the agent the commission he had coming. He was completely beside himself. At lasy, he said, once again he had seen calf herding of the old school, it always used to be done that way, and my father must have been a butcher or a cattleman too. As I went through the city with my calves and "my" Spanner drove them on, obeying every motion of my hand, my heart beat so fast I could hardly wait to show my employer the good qualities of the Rottweiler. From that day on, Spanner was my constant companion. Even on Sundays he would not leave my side. The friendship was so great that my employer's wife often had a good laugh. Every ox from then on was fetched with Spanner - no shipment was carried out without him. Once my employer bought a stubborn ox in Ch. He ordered me to use the greatest care in fetching him. In the beginning it went very well; from the dog's energetic running back and forth, the ox was so occupied that for a long time he found no opportunity to to play any tricks on me. We had gone along about an hour when the ox stopped short - jumping sideways and knocking me over was a matter of seconds. Realizing he was free, the ox leaped wildly about and ran off. When he finally slowed his pace a little, I crept up on him from behind. But when he saw me, he turned like lightning and rushed, bellowing wildly, toward me. I though my time had come, since no one was anywhere to be seen, who might somehow have helped. But then something happened that momentarily paralized me. My Spanner had immediately taken in the situation. He threw himself with unbelieveable force on the animal, grabbed his muzzle with a jerk and bit hard. He would not be shaken loose in spite of the tremendous efforts of the ox, who bellowed in pain like a lion. In the meantime I had recovered from my fright. I grabbed up the rope immediately. Only then did Spanner let go of the ox, who was trembling in every limb, and who would now let himself be led like a lamb. If Spanner had not come to my aid at the last moment, I would long ago been under the ground. I owe my life to Spanner. And only now did my employer get a real idea of Spanner. Finally he saw in him a jewel, which from then on was highly valued. When I left W. later on, parting was difficult, not from my employers, but from my beloved Spanner. In vain I begged my employer to let me have the Rottweiler for a nice sum of money, but he would not let him go at any price. So I had to leave, but such is life, that one has to part with that which he loves most. What is most stiking about this Rottweiler is the psychological moment. How could such a good helper be made from a moody good-for-nothing, and that in the wave of a hand? All efforts to befriend the animal went astray. Why? Because the working instinct slumbering in the Rottweiler could not come into play. Only when the dog could work, when the purpose of his being was fulfilled for him, was he satisfied. And how touching is the greatful dependence he shows the person who satisfied that working instinct for the first time! In my opinion, the Rottweiler, precisely because of his need for work, should not grow up in a kennel, because his instinct is not satisfied here. The more the Rottweiler is kept busy, the better his abilities will develop, for his whole being strives for work and action.