Origins

    Doberman trace back to the 1880's.  Herr Louis Dobermann is credited for creating the Doberman.  Herr Dobermann lived in the town of Apolda, in the state of Thuringia, in the south-central part of Germany.  Herr Dobermann served as a rent and tax collector as well as a police officer in the evening.  In 1880 while he was the keeper of the local dog pound, Herr Dobermann decided to try and breed the perfect guard dog that would in turn reproduce progeny with the same qualities. It's obvious that during these early years that Rottweiler's, German Pinschers, Beauerons, Greyhounds, and more had been introduced into the breed. (For more on this please see A HISTORY OF THE DOBERMANN BREED - By Philipp Grünig 1934). He pictured his idea dog black, medium sized, with natural protectiveness.  These dogs became known as Dobermanns dogs, then Thüringen Pinschers or Plizeilich Soldatenhunds.  In 1894 the Germans named the breed dobermann pinschers in Herr's honor then a half a century later the pinscher was dropped of the grounds that pinscher meant terrier and no longer was appropriate.  Shortly after everybody else started to drop terrier.  The only country that still uses it is the U.S.   

Description

    The doberman is a very proud, elegant, and extremely powerful dog.  Dobermans have a well proportioned chest, short back, and a lean muscular neck.  The hair is hard, short, close fitting and comes in four allowed colors black/rust, red (brown)/rust, blue/rust, and fawn/rust.  There is a white but true breeders do not include these dogs or the ones that carry the genes (known as the z factor, the reg #'s start with the letters wz) that produce the white doberman. I have had one white male and one fawn female that carried the gene.  They was just family pets years ago that needed a home and I loved them dearly but mine did suffer from health and temperament problems.  Other people I know that have owned them had the same problems. In 1976, a "white" Doberman bitch was whelped, and was subsequently bred to her son, who was also bred to his litter sisters. This tight inbreeding continued for some time to allow the breeders to "fix" the mutation, which has been widely marketed (beware of breeders selling their white Dobermans or diluted Dobermans as "special" or "unique" for ridiculous prices). For more please click this link whitedobes .

    The eyes are dark depending on the color of the dog and match the rust markings.  The ears are usually cropped between 8-12 weeks ( I have found the earlier the better).  Tails are usually docked at 2-3 days around the second knuckle.  However ear cropping and tail docking is now banned in some places.  The feet are to be straight like cat feet.  The gait must be elastic, graceful and cover a lot of ground.  A doberman must have a full set of 42 teeth and must be placed correctly.  The lower incisors upright and touching inside of upper incisors- a true scissor bite.

Temperment               

    The doberman is a very energetic and intense dog with great strength and stamina.  They are highly versatile and easy to train if properly done.  They should be fearless but not over aggressive , and very determined.  An owner needs to be able to discipline the dog in the right way and to never be afraid.  They are a very family oriented breed they like to be physically close (they are some times called the velcro dog).  You will never have to go to the bathroom alone again.  If raised with children Dobermans are very devoted and watchful babysitters.  REMEMBER they are a dog with teeth and a mind of their own.  It is best to always use supervision with dogs and young children. 

Diseases

    All living things are prone to certain diseases and a doberman is no exception.  As most large dogs dobermans are susceptible to hip dysplasia, or HD.  HD is an incurable, sometimes ,but not always hereditary,  disease of the hip sockets.  Dogs can be x-rayed and OFA certified at 24 months of age or older.  A few of the other common diseases in dobermans are cardiomyopathy, vwd, wobbler's disease, and there is others.  The only way to try and prevent these diseases is to do health checks on all dogs before you bred them.