Guardian hearts, gentle souls
BlackCrown
Two litters a year from health-tested parents, raised in our kitchen rather than a kennel run, and placed with families we have actually met.
Who are we?
A two-person kennel on eleven acres outside Bend, Oregon, breeding Rottweilers since 2009.
We run two litters a year. Not because demand is low — the waiting list runs past a year — but because two is what we can raise properly in a house with one kitchen and one sofa.
Every puppy here is born in our bedroom, weaned in the kitchen, and socialised against the ordinary chaos of a lived-in home: the vacuum, the doorbell, children, the farrier, thunderstorms. By the time a puppy leaves, very little in the world is new to it.
We health-test both parents before every pairing and publish the results on each puppy’s page, including the ones we would rather not advertise. If a result would put you off, you deserve to see it before you fall in love.
What we do
Four commitments that shape every litter we raise.
Health testing
Hips, elbows, cardiac, eyes and JLPP on both parents before any pairing. Certificates go home in the folder.
Raised underfoot
Whelped in the bedroom, weaned in the kitchen. No puppy here has ever lived in a run.
Matched, not sold
We pick the puppy for the household, not the other way round. Sometimes that means saying no.
Ours for life
Call us at any age about anything. If a placement ever fails, the dog comes back here — no conditions.
Find a friend
Puppies looking for a home and a family to grow up beside.
Steps to adoption
Five stages, usually four to six weeks from application to homecoming.
- 1
Browse the puppies
Every listing carries the parents' health results, the litter it came from, and an honest read on temperament.
- 2
Send an application
It is long on purpose. We are trying to picture your day, your fencing and your household — not test you.
- 3
Reservation
A $500 deposit holds your puppy while everything else comes together. It's refundable until the home check.
- 4
Home check
In person within ninety minutes of Bend, by video beyond it. It takes twenty minutes and it has never been the hard part.
- 5
Homecoming day
At eight weeks, with a blanket that smells of the litter, four weeks of food, health records and a number to call at 2am.
Reviews
Families who took a Black Crown puppy home, in their own words.
We were turned down by two breeders before Black Crown, which stung at the time and makes sense now — they ask hard questions because they actually care where the dogs end up. Rex is nine months old, ninety pounds, and the steadiest dog I have ever owned. Ada still texts to check on him.
Nils came home with his blanket, his health records, a feeding schedule and a phone number I was told to use. I used it at eleven at night in his first week. Someone picked up.
I asked for the parents' OFA numbers and got them the same afternoon, plus the cardiac report I had not thought to ask for. That told me everything. Hugo is two now, hips tested Good, and he sleeps on my feet every night.
Her first car ride home she slept the entire way, which everyone told me was unusual and which I now realize was foreshadowing — she still sleeps like it's a competitive sport. Whatever they do in those eight weeks before pickup, it works. She was already settling into a crate routine within two days of getting her.
The home check felt like a lot until I understood why they do it. They caught a gap in my fencing I had walked past for two years. Thea has been home eight months and I have called them three times with questions — answered every time, no attitude about it.
They told me plainly that the puppy I had picked out was wrong for my household and suggested a different one. I was annoyed for a week. They were right. Second-time Rottweiler owner and this is the first one I got matched properly.
We drove four hours each way and almost turned back twice worrying we'd bail before we got there. Glad we didn't. Odin is fourteen months now, already through the local obedience club's beginner course, and the calmest dog at the park by a wide margin — which still surprises people who default-assume Rottweiler means intense.
Waiting fourteen months tested my patience and I will admit I looked elsewhere twice. Both times I found kennels that would sell me a puppy that week and could not tell me anything about the parents. Came back and waited. Ulla is worth it.
Falk sat in the back seat the whole three-hour drive home like he already owned the car. Not a single whine, not one accident, just watched the world go by with his tongue out the entire way. If that's any indication of temperament we got lucky — though after reading everything Black Crown sent about the litter's early handling, I don't think luck had much to do with it.
Gallery
A look at daily life at the kennel — parents, puppies, and the ordinary moments in between.
Get in touch
Questions about a puppy, the waiting list, or whether the breed suits your household — ask before you apply.
Phone
(210) 628-9603Tue–Sat, 9am–6pm Pacific
WhatsApp
(210) 628-9603Best for photos and quick questions
Email
contact@blackcrownrottweilers.comWe reply within two working days
Frequently asked questions
The things families ask us most often, answered properly.
What does a Black Crown puppy cost, and what does that include?
Between $3,100 and $3,400 depending on registration type. That covers the full puppy vaccination series to date, deworming, microchip and registration, a nose-to-tail vet exam, AKC paperwork, four weeks of the food they are already on, and a blanket that smells of their litter. A $500 deposit reserves a puppy and comes off the total.
Is a Rottweiler a sensible first dog?
Sometimes, and we will tell you honestly which way we think it falls for your household. A Rottweiler is a hundred-pound dog with real opinions that stays adolescent until about three. If you are prepared to train through that, a first-time owner can do very well — Kaiser in the current litter would suit exactly that home. If you want a dog that raises itself, this is the wrong breed and we will say so.
Why is the application so long?
Because the alternative is guessing. We are trying to picture your fencing, your working hours, your children's ages and what happens to the dog when you go away. Nobody has ever been rejected for giving an honest answer — several have been rejected for giving answers that did not match the home check.
Do you ship puppies?
Not in cargo, ever. We will drive a puppy anywhere within a day's round trip of Bend at cost, and for longer distances we will fly with a puppy in-cabin as accompanied baggage if you cover the ticket. Most families collect in person, which we prefer — it means we have met you.
What health testing do the parents have?
OFA hips and elbows, an advanced cardiac exam by a veterinary cardiologist, CAER eye certification, and DNA testing for JLPP. Results are published on every puppy's page and the certificates are in the folder that goes home. We do not breed a dog with a Fair hip rating or an uncertified heart, and we have retired two otherwise lovely dogs on those grounds.
What happens if things do not work out?
The dog comes back to us. That is in the contract and it has no time limit and no conditions — at eight months or at eight years, illness, divorce, a move, or simply having got it wrong. We would far rather have an awkward phone call than find one of ours in a shelter.
How long is the waiting list?
Usually nine to fourteen months for a specific sex or pairing, and shorter if you are flexible. There is no charge to join it and no obligation when your turn comes. We contact people in order, but we still match on suitability rather than position — the dog's outcome matters more than the queue.