The origins of the Doberman dog breed are in Germany. It is the only dog that bears the name of its creator, Friedrich Louis Dobermann. He did various jobs in the town of Apolda in present-day Thuringia, Germany, including dangerous jobs such as town clerk and tax collector, as well as looking after strays. Hence the need to create a breed where courage, temperament and love for its owner would stand out. Mainly a defence dog.
The breeds that Mr Doberman used are varied and not all of them are known with certainty. Some of them were ancestors of Rottweilers, which have been crossed with a type of black-coated shepherd dog that lived in Thuringia. However, it is thought that its ancestors also included the German Shepherd, Great Dane, Pinscher and Greyhound.
The breed was recognised in 1898, four years after its creator’s death. And the greatest credit for this recognition goes to Otto Göller, judge at German shows, friend of Friedrich and breeder and scholar of the breed. At its creation the ears were traditionally cut in the classic “flame” shape and the tail was amputated. Fortunately this practice is now illegal in many countries of the world.
During the First World War the Doberman was used in the German army to carry orders to the front, search for the wounded and missing and guard depots and prisoners. Today it is used by various armies as a defence dog and also for searching for narcotics and explosives by the police.
Character of the Doberman dog breed
The urban legend that the Doberman is a dangerous and aggressive dog must be dispelled. At the beginning of the last century, the Doberman was thought to have gone mad at some point in its life due to its brain growing too large for its skull. Nothing could be further from the truth: the Doberman is very peaceful, especially with children, whom he tends to protect at the cost of his own life, just as he protects his master and his family.
It is a large, majestic-looking defence dog and in the past it was crossed by dishonest breeders, who, given the boom in demand for this type of dog, had no qualms about mating inbred specimens, thus giving rise to aggressive and unbalanced specimens. It took twenty years for the breed to regain its balance. Hence, unfortunately, the prejudices and slander.
However, the Doberman has an amiable, sociable, affectionate and peaceful character. If aggressive and violent specimens can still be found, they are very rare and mostly owe their aggressiveness to the way they have been raised.
It is an excellent guard dog, which attacks only if it senses danger. It is distrustful of strangers, but this is typical of guard dogs. It can live well in a flat, but needs plenty of space to run and relieve itself several times a day. It is therefore not suitable for elderly or sedentary people.
It may not be very sociable with other dogs and therefore needs early socialisation. It is easy to train as it is very cooperative and also very intelligent. It is a little stubborn and may try to dominate its owner, so you need to have a certain amount of discipline in training it. It does not tolerate loneliness very well, so it needs almost constant presence.
Appearance of the Doberman dog breed
The Doberman is a medium to large-sized, robust and muscular dog. The height at the withers of a male is between 55 and 80 centimetres and its weight is between 35 and 40 kilograms; the female usually weighs slightly less.
The lines of its body are elegant, its bearing is proud, muscular but overall light. The limbs are perfectly straight and in line, the tail is thin and of medium length. The neck is long, slender and elegant.
Its head is wedge-shaped, elongated and blunt with a deep and broad muzzle, small in relation to the body. The eyes are small, dark and oval-shaped. The ears are long and pendulous, with a high hairline and edges well attached to the cheeks. Until the last century they were cut off, as was the tail, but fortunately this is now illegal in most of the world.
The truffle is pronounced and obvious and black in black-coated specimens, lighter in brown-coated ones.
The coat is sparse, smooth, shiny and adherent to the skin. It has no undercoat. The colours accepted by the breed standard are black and brown. Other colours can also be found but they are not to be considered in the standard. They can also be found with rusty markings on the muzzle, chest, paws and hindquarters.
Health and care of the Doberman dog breed
The Doberman dog breed generally enjoys good health and has a life expectancy of around 11 years. However, it can suffer from some congenital diseases, such as hip and elbow dysplasia, eye diseases and dilated cardiomyopathy. Unfortunately, there is no cure for the latter and it can cause arrhythmias and, above all, sudden death, which affects one third of the affected specimens.
It suffers from cold and humidity, for this reason it is recommended to keep it at home, also because it needs to be in company of man.
As far as the care of the coat is concerned, this is very simple: it is sufficient to brush it once a week and wash it regularly to keep its hair healthy and shiny. Hair loss is minimal but constant. The ears, oral cavity and eyes should be kept under control.
For its alimentation, it is necessary to prepare an adequate diet; it tends to put on weight if it is forced to a too sedentary life, therefore it needs to go out often and to do a lot of movement.
