Doberman

Doberman is a fairly large, but light, athletic build dog covered with a dense, shiny, short coat. Extremely physically fit, energetic and mobile. Intelligent, who likes to learn, although not too docile and cut. Excitable and quick in reactions. Distrustful of strangers, a good watchman. Requires an experienced guide.

Nature

Dobermans are very proud dogs, of strong character, high endurance, endowed with enormous temperament and extraordinary physical fitness. The features that made them known – congenital aggressiveness, sharpness and insensitivity to pain – have been significantly alleviated as breeding progresses.

Today’s dobermans are animals with a calmer temperament, but this does not mean that they have lost their defensive skills. Their advantages can sometimes cause problems if the owner is not able to properly raise his pet.

Doberman is a dog bred for work. Has a strong, athletic build and soul of the athlete. I need a lot of movement in the fresh air. Not only will it have a positive effect on his muscular tissue, but will also allow you to discharge excess energy. It will also easily adapt to living in an apartment. Like most dogs, he likes the role of a snug couch member.

A dog of this breed requires close contact with humans, is a social and emotional animal, and is often jealous of the owner’s considerations. He should not be isolated from his family. Deprived of the possibility of being with people and other animals, he can become aggressive. He has an excellent memory and even after many years he does not forget his harm. He is highly excitable – when he decides to attack, it is very difficult to dissuade him from this intention.

Skills

Doberman is very vigilant and perfectly guarding the terrain, and moderate noisiness makes it not bothersome to the environment. Never barking for no apparent reason. Any intruder who attempts to enter his territory will be immediately rendered harmless. Experts believe that these dogs work best in groups of three or four individuals.

Due to its utility, he found employment in the police, border services and even in marines. It is used to find people buried under debris, to protect private possessions, industrial plants and warehouses, but is mainly kept as a companion dog.

Training and education

Doberman is intelligent and clever, willingly cooperates with the owner. However, a strong and independent character means that he does not blindly submit to the will of man. Relations between the master and the dog should be based on cooperation, not on breaking the animal’s psyche according to the misunderstanding of obedience.

In order to achieve educational success and ensure our pet’s proper development, we should devote a lot of time and attention to him from the first moments of the puppy’s stay at home. Start learning as soon as possible and do not use physical coercion. The training should be conducted under the guidance of an experienced trainer. It is not allowed to start defense training without the dog obtaining a positive result in the basic obedience course.

Most adolescent dobermans go through so-called a period of rebellion in which the dog tests how much it can afford. The more obedient our dog is, the easier it will be to stop his drive, so it’s worth thinking about it in advance.

Who is this race for?

It should be noted that this is not a dog for everyone. I need a balanced, calm, consistent and mentally strong guide who will be able to tame the independent and dominant nature of Doberman. Poorly run, it can be dangerous not only for the environment, but also for your family.

He is one master’s dog. This means that he accepts the superiority of only one person, treats the other members of the family friendly, but as equal members of the herd. Doberman is caring for the children he lives with, but he doesn’t like strangers, so do not abuse his patience.

Advantages and disadvantages

Disadvantages

• has a dominant character
• stubborn
• independent
• can be hyperactive
• tends to be aggressive

Advantages

• willing to cooperate with people
• very intelligent
• alert, but without excessive noise
• excellent watchman
• devoted to the owner
• has a predisposition to sports training
• easy to care for

Health

Dobermans are prone to demodicosis and so-called juvenile dermatitis, eyelid defects, cervical vertebral degenerations, allergic and staphylococcal skin diseases, von Willebrand’s disease, hypothyroidism. As with many large dogs, hip and elbow dysplasia occur with them. In recent years, many dogs suffer from dilated cardiomyopathy. Males often have prostate diseases, such as prostate adenocarcinoma or prostatic hyperplasia.

Feeding

Doberman nutrition is usually not a problem. Most breeders recommend serving ready-made food, appropriately selected to the needs of our pet. The daily portion should be divided into two meals.

Care

Doberman care is not troublesome. His short coat is easy to maintain. A short problem for pedants can be short hair, which sticks like upholstery, carpets, etc.

Accessories

For combing the coat, it’s best to use rubber brushes or gloves with tabs on your hand.

History

Doberman is a relatively young breed, created at the turn of the century. It belongs to the group of short-haired pinschers, which have been present in Germany for a long time.

The name of the breed comes from the name of its creator, Frederic Ludwik Dobermann. He lived and worked in the small town of Apolda in Thuringia. According to numerous sources, he was employed as a local hycel. His tasks included catching and keeping stray dogs. He also fulfilled the duties of a tax collector and was involved in debt collection, he also earned some extra money as a night watchman.

His professions were not generally respected, and Dobermann sometimes had reasons to fear for his health and life. He needed a large, strong and aggressive guard dog. Because at that time the dog for this purpose was not known in German lands, Dobermann decided to breed him. Having access to animals of different nature, he could choose those that met his expectations.

The first dogs from his kennel apparently appeared already in 1870. To create the breed Dobermann used the existing in Thuringia Pinscher shorthaired, crossing it with representatives of other races. There are grounds to believe that they were: the then German Shepherd , Rottweiler , German Shorthaired Pointer and French Shepherd Beauceron . In order to refine the appearance of the Doberman at the beginning of the 20th century, it was crossed with a Manchester Terrier and a Greyhound.

Some sources say that he was recognized as a separate race around 1910. However, there is evidence that already in 1899 the first exhibition of these dogs took place. The winner was Graf Belling von Gronland, from which apparently all modern lines originate.

Beginning in the interwar years, doberman became a popular breed and eagerly bred in the United States and many European countries, even reached Japan and South Africa. 

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Doberman – group II FCI, section 1, reference number 143

• Country of origin: Germany
• Size: dogs 68-72 cm, bitches 63-68 cm
• Weight:  dogs around 40-45 kg, bitches around 32-35 kg
• Coat: short, dense and hard, smooth fitting and even on the whole body; the undercoat is not allowed
• Color: black or chocolate with intense chestnut, clean and clearly demarcated tan; tanning occurs on the muzzle, in the form of a single spot on the cheeks and above the eyes, on the bottom of the neck, even on the chest, on the wrists, arms, midfoot and paws, on the inside of the thighs and arms, on the bottom of the tail
• Lifespan: 10-13 years
• Weather resistance: low – doberman has no undercoat and is not suitable for keeping outside
• Possibility to buy a puppy:  no problem

Interesting facts

In the past, FCI recognized, in addition to black and chocolate and tan, also blue and tan (lightened black) as well as Isabel and tan (lightened chocolate). However, these colors were removed from the pattern due to the fact that in this breed very often they were accompanied by fur problems, known as Color Dilution Alopecia (alopecia associated with bleached ointment).

Not all breeds of dogs with similar color are affected by this problem – e.g. Weimaraner dogs are all isabella, but they do not get sick. In some breeds, the problem only affects a fraction of the lightened color dogs. Unfortunately, Dobermans concerned a large percentage of such dogs. It is not yet known whether the specific version of the gene responsible for the bleached ointment or any conjugated gene is responsible for the problem. These colors are still recognized, e.g. by the American Kennel Club (AKC).

White dobermans with blue eyes are also bred in the United States. It is a type of albinism (dogs are not quite white, but cream). This coat is responsible for the recessive gene, which also causes photosensitivity of the skin and eyes. Breeding these dogs is therefore controversial.

Very rarely completely black dobermans (without arson) are also born.