An adult Rottweiler weighing 45 kg, neutered and moderately active, needs about 1229 kcal a day, which is roughly 1078 g of our chicken recipe. The brand on the bag matters less than three things that stand out in veterinary data on thousands of Rottweilers: excess weight clusters in neutered dogs, the breed's weak spots are the elbows and the cruciate ligament (where, surprisingly, weight does not explain everything), and the gut is more sensitive than its tough image suggests.
The FCI breed standard (no. 147, 2018) gives a single figure rather than a range: 50 kg for males, standing 61-68 cm at the withers, and about 42 kg for females, at 56-63 cm. Real Rottweilers are close to it. In the VetCompass records of 5,321 Rottweilers seen by UK vets, the median adult weight was 48.5 kg for males and 41.5 kg for females. The spread is wide, though: the middle half of males weighed between 43 and 54 kg, the middle half of females between 37 and 46.4 kg. Younger dogs weigh less: in Sweden, Rottweilers weighed when their hips were X-rayed, at 1 to 2 years of age, averaged 45.4 kg (males) and 37.7 kg (females).
So the standard is a reference point, not a target: a 61 cm male and a 68 cm male cannot share the same ideal weight. The check that matters is done with your hands. You should feel the ribs under a thin layer of fat and see a waist from above, which is a score of 4-5 on the WSAVA 9-point body condition scale. The table below runs from 35 kg to 55 kg, a range that takes in the middle half of both males and females in the UK study.
As a breed, Rottweilers are less prone to it than you might expect; neutered Rottweilers are another story (to tell whether yours is carrying too much, use the rib-and-waist check above). In the VetCompass study, where the records of 2,197 Rottweilers were read one by one, overweight or obesity was the second most common problem recorded (7.06% of dogs in a year), just behind aggression. The authors point out, though, that this is only slightly above the 6.1-6.7% found across all breeds in similar UK records, and see no particular predisposition in the breed. The telling figure is where it sat. Among females it affected 3.3% of entire dogs and 9.0% of neutered ones; among males, 4.7% of entire dogs and 11.8% of neutered ones: in both sexes, more than two and a half times as often. It is an association, not proof of cause, but it is reason enough not to keep the bowl the same after the operation: our quiz's method also gives neutered dogs fewer calories.
A second UK dataset, based on the body condition score noted at the consultation rather than on diagnoses, does find a modest excess. In the University of Liverpool's SAVSNET project, across 27,000 consultations where the vet had scored body condition, Rottweilers had 1.41 times the odds of mixed breeds of being recorded as overweight (from a 2024 doctoral thesis, not a peer-reviewed paper). Pugs and Beagles scored far higher (3.85 and 2.02), but on a dog this size every extra kilo lands on joints that, as you will see below, are already the breed's weak point.
Screening X-rays show that the Rottweiler's real weak spot is less the hips than the elbows. In Sweden's official screening programme, 6,008 young Rottweilers had their elbows X-rayed between 2007 and 2016: 26.0% had elbow dysplasia, mostly mild (20.5%), and only five of 46 breeds did worse. For hips the figure was 18.0% of 5,994 dogs, mid-table among 72 breeds. At the Swedish and Norwegian university animal hospitals, Rottweilers had about 5.6 times the odds of mixed breeds of having surgery for elbow dysplasia.
Dysplasia is largely a matter of genetics, which is why Swedish Rottweilers must have their elbows screened before breeding, and no food can undo it. Weight still counts: in a second study of the same Swedish dogs, heavier Rottweilers at screening more often had worse hip grades, a significant link in 13 of the 21 breeds analysed, the Rottweiler included. Body weight mixes frame, muscle and fat, so the study cannot prove that surplus kilos make hips worse; but of the three, fat is the only one the food bowl controls.
In puppies, the danger is not deficiency. A review of nutrition and osteochondrosis in large, fast-growing dogs names excess, of food and of supplements, as the main risk. Do not add calcium to a complete growth food, and track the growth curve with your vet (see our puppy feeding guide).
In UK vet records the Rottweiler is the breed most at risk of cruciate ligament rupture. In a VetCompass study of cases diagnosed in 2019, comparing 1,000 dogs with a ruptured cruciate against 500,000 without, Rottweilers had 3.66 times the risk of crossbreeds. At the Swedish and Norwegian university hospitals it was the only one of 12 common breeds with higher odds of cruciate surgery than mixed breeds (3.78 times).
The usual suspect is extra weight, but in Rottweilers the picture is more complicated. The Exceptional Aging in Rottweilers Study reconstructed the lives of 123 North American Rottweilers that reached at least 13 years of age: 42 had ruptured a cruciate, and having been overweight was not associated with rupture. None of the 18 dogs with both knees affected had been overweight before the rupture. What did count was adult height (taller dogs ruptured more often) and neutering within the first 24 months of life. These were exceptionally long-lived dogs and body condition was reported by owners, so the study does not say weight is irrelevant. It says a lean Rottweiler is not protected either, and that the timing of neutering is a decision to make with your vet.
Mobility matters to the very end: in the VetCompass data, inability to stand was the most common cause of death after cancer, accounting for 16% of the Rottweilers whose cause of death was recorded (the study does not break it down further). A healthy weight does not change genetics, but the load on the joints is the part that is up to you.
Sometimes it is, but finding out takes a method. In the VetCompass data diarrhoea was recorded in 3.5% of Rottweilers in a year, digestive problems as a whole in 8.9%, and 6.1% of deaths with a known cause were gastrointestinal. At the Royal Veterinary College's referral hospital, among 546 dogs with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), Rottweilers had almost three times the odds of mixed breeds (2.97), second only to the Weimaraner.
Diarrhoea that lasts for weeks or keeps coming back is a job for your vet, who starts by ruling out parasites and other causes. The usual next step is an elimination diet, with a protein that is new to the dog or a hydrolysed one, and it is worth the patience: according to a 2022 review, forms that respond to diet make up 50-65% of chronic enteropathies in dogs, and they improve within 2-4 weeks. The same review notes that treats are often missing from owners' accounts of what their dog eats: if your Rottweiler gets chews or scraps during the day, the trial only means something if those stop too. We explain the steps in our guide to the elimination diet.
Every Pappa Fresh recipe contains one meat only and declares the percentage of each ingredient on the label, so you always know what is in the bowl and can show it to your vet:
They are cooked in the 400 g pouch and keep outside the fridge until opened; once opened they go in the fridge and should be used within 2-3 days. On the Complete plan a 45 kg Rottweiler gets through about 75 pouches every 28 days and opens more than one a day. For dogs over 25 kg the quiz starts with the Topper, a quarter of the ration next to your dog's usual food; there is also the Mix, half the ration alongside your own kibble. Either way, take the same share out of the kibble: otherwise you are only adding calories, which is exactly what to avoid after neutering.
Turkey is poultry: if your Rottweiler has reacted to chicken, ask your vet before trying it.
An adult Rottweiler of 45 kg, neutered and moderately active, needs about 1229 kcal a day: that is roughly 1078 g of our Chicken recipe, or 904 g of the richer Beef. An entire dog burns more, about 1536 kcal. If your Rottweiler guards, works or does sport, give the quiz its real activity level and the portion adjusts.
With a dog this size the cost matters too: the Complete plan works out at about €17.14 a day, the Mix at about €8.69 and the Topper at about €4.34. Kibble is far more concentrated (around 350-400 kcal per 100 g against 110-136 for our recipes), so for the same calories wet food weighs roughly three times as much. The general method is explained in how much should a dog eat.
| Weight | Energy need (kcal/day) neutered / intact | Grams per day neutered / intact | Complete plan | Mix (½) | Topper (¼) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35 kg | 1018 / 1272 | 893 g / 1116 g | €15.37/day | €7.56/day | €3.90/day |
| 45 kg | 1229 / 1536 | 1078 g / 1347 g | €17.14/day | €8.69/day | €4.34/day |
| 55 kg | 1428 / 1785 | 1253 g / 1566 g | €18.76/day | €9.38/day | €4.69/day |
Grams based on the Chicken recipe (114 kcal/100 g); with Beef, which is richer (136 kcal/100 g), you need about 16% less. Prices for a neutered dog.
Figures calculated with the same method as our quiz (FEM×K: maintenance energy adjusted for breed, activity, neutering and body condition). They are an estimate: take the quiz for your dog's exact plan, and talk to your vet about any health concern.
Two minutes: enter weight, age, activity and body condition to get the exact portion, with 30% off your first order.
An adult Rottweiler of 45 kg, neutered and moderately active, needs about 1229 kcal a day, roughly 1078 g of chicken wet food; a big neutered male of 55 kg about 1253 g. An entire, working or very active dog needs more: the quiz calculates the portion from your dog's weight and activity.
The FCI standard gives 50 kg for males (61-68 cm at the withers) and about 42 kg for females (56-63 cm). In UK veterinary records the median adult weight was 48.5 kg for males and 41.5 kg for females. Body shape matters more than the number: ribs you can feel and a score of 4-5 on the WSAVA 9-point scale.
For a neutered 45 kg Rottweiler our Complete plan costs about €17.14 a day. For large dogs there are two lighter options: the Mix, half the ration next to your kibble, at about €8.69 a day, and the Topper, a quarter of the ration, at about €4.34. With both, reduce the kibble by the same share.
Usually, yes. In VetCompass data overweight was recorded in 9.0% of neutered females against 3.3% of entire ones, and in 11.8% of neutered males against 4.7% of entire ones. For a 45 kg Rottweiler the quiz goes from about 1536 to 1229 kcal a day: recalculate the portion after the operation and keep an eye on weight in the following months.
The table on this page is for adult dogs. A Rottweiler puppy needs a growth food and a ration that follows its weight curve, checked with your vet. In large breeds the risk to bones and joints comes mainly from too much food and from supplements, not from shortfalls, so do not add calcium to a food that is already complete.
No study shows that one meat suits Rottweilers better than another; what matters is a complete food in the right amount. The difference is energy: beef has 136 kcal per 100 g and chicken 114, so a neutered 45 kg Rottweiler needs about 904 g of beef instead of 1078 g of chicken. Turkey is poultry: if your dog has reacted to chicken, ask your vet first.
Written by the Pappa Fresh editorial team from published veterinary studies (see sources). Not a substitute for your vet's advice.
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