The Story of the Doberman Pinscher

The Background of the Doberman

With its uncluttered look and symmetrical outline, the Doberman is
uniquely a product of the 20th Century. Its short shiny coat, clipped
ears and tail, superb structure and iron musculature, give the
Doberman a trim appearance modern as tomorrow.

Outwardly simple, but inwardly complex, it is a mixture of many breeds,
combining the fire and lightning reactions of the terrier with the power
and intelligence of the guard and herding breeds. The Doberman was
tailored for use in police and military work, and, to be a medium sized
protector-companion in the home.

Originating in late 19th Century Germany of somewhat uncertain
ancestry, its reputation for courage, loyalty and intelligence
coupled with its aristocratic beauty, quickly made it popular in other
lands, particularly the United States, where its growth had been
fostered by careful selective breeding.

Dobermans, regardless of basic coat color, have a characteristic
pattern of markings which ideally are a rust-red color. Its coat may be
black, reddish brown, bluish gray or silvery beige. Its weight ranges
from about 55 to 90 pounds and its height at the withers from 24 to 28
inches, males being larger than females.

The Doberman Pinscher derived its name from Louis Dobermann of
Apolda, Thuringia, whose breeding experiments were reputedly
involved in its early development. After his death in 1894, the Germans
named the breed Dobermann-Pinscher in his honor, but a half century
later dropped the pinscher on the grounds that this German word for
terrier was no longer appropriate. The British did the same thing a few
years later. The Miniature Pinscher is not a miniature Doberman and
the two breeds are not related.

There are no records, only speculation, as to the dogs which went into
the creation of the original Doberman, but it is documented that
crosses were made to two of the English breeds around the turn of
the century, using the Black and Tan Manchester Terrier and the
black English Greyhound, in order to improve the Doberman's
appearance. It is generally accepted as fact that the two German
breeds, which played a major role in the Doberman's ancestry were: the
old German Shepherd, now extinct: and the German Pinscher - the
ancestors of the Rottweiler and the Weimaraner.

The old German Shepherd contributed ruggedness, intelligence and
physical and mental soundness, with the Pinscher adding the terrier
fire and quick reaction time. The Weimaraner gave to the Doberman its
hunting, retrieving and scenting capabilities, for the Weimar Pointer,
as it was called, was an all purpose hunting dog. However, it was to the
Rottweiler which the early Doberman strongly resembled, that the
breed owes so much of its substance, bravery and reliable guarding
ability.

Tips on Buying a Puppy:

The first consideration is where to buy your puppy. There are
essentially three kinds of suppliers of puppies to the general
market. They are the Hobby Show Breeders, Back Yard Breeders and
Commercial Breeders.

Although all breeders within these categories don't precisely fit the
descriptions I discuss below, I believe that over 90% of them do. It's
rare breeder in a category that strays far from the description you
are about to read.

Let's consider each type of breeder...

Hobby Show Breeders:
This breeder is primarily interested in the betterment of the breed.
They are almost always actively involved in showing in conformation,
and often participate in obedience, and/or agility. Most of them are
actively involved in dog clubs. Most serious breeders are members of:
The Doberman Pinscher Club of America.

They breed no more than one litter a year... Two at the most. They fully
understand the health issues within the breed and test both sire and
dam for the important ones. These breeders select based on correct
Doberman temperaments. They spend a great deal of effort
researching pedigrees and stud dogs to select the breeding most
likely to yield the best possible puppies. The puppies are usually
whelped and raised in their homes and are socialized beginning at a
very early age to optimize their temperaments for life in the real
world.

Their goal is to breed the best Doberman, because they plan to keep
one of the puppies for themselves as a show competitor. The facts of
life, however, is that not all of the litter will be show quality. In fact,
seldom is even half of a litter show quality. Many breeders consider a
litter with one or two potential champions as a successful breeding.
The remainder of the litter are placed in pet or performance homes
(obedience and agility usually). If you are fortunate, you may get one
of these puppies.

Back Yard Breeders:
This breeder falls into two separate categories.   One is a family that
typically has a one bitch that they would like to breed "so the kids can
learn about birth" or "because the dam is such a great pet and they
want another" or because they see an opportunity "to make a few
dollars" with little effort. These breeders know little about the
breed. They spend no time seriously searching for the right stud dog.
They usually select the sire based on knowing someone in town who
owns a male. They do not understand the genetic health issues or the
need to health test the sire and dam before breeding. No
consideration is given to the quality of the breeding partners, because
they simply don't know what constitutes a good Doberman.

The second category of Back Yard Breeder has a male and one or two
females. They breed solely to make money, and are not motivated by any
other factor. The knowledge of these breeders is typically as
lacking as that of the first category of Back Yard Breeder.

Commercial Breeders:
This breeder houses many males and females of several breeds. The
bitches are usually bred every time they are in season, until they can
produce no more. The animals are all in kennels... Some of which are
sanitary, and many others are not. There is no attempt to breed for
anything but volume and dollars. The puppies are usually sold to
brokers at 5 to 6 weeks old. The brokers then resell them to pet
shops and other retail outlets.

Many of the Commercial Breeders do not provide American Kennel
Club (AKC) registration papers. AKC requires that the breeders
maintain accurate records of their breeding to ensure the accuracy of
AKC's registration. AKC also requires that the animals be kept in an
environment acceptable to AKC for the health and sanitation of the
dogs. Many of these breeders can't and/or won't meet AKC's
requirements. Since they know that many of the dog-buying public are
not really knowledgeable of registrations, they have opened up their
own registries that allow any dog to be registered. The unsuspecting
public assumes that it is AKC registration and in some cases the
Commercial Breeder will even tell the buyers that the papers can be
transferred to AKC registration later. This is not correct. Many of
these registration organizations require no proof of parentage and
have no inspections for health conditions.

Some of the commercial breeders specialize in only one or two breeds
.... Including Dobermans and Rottweilers.   Many of these breeders
produce a lot of puppies and peddle a good deal of misinformation.
The puppies are ALWAYS whelped and raised in a kennel with no
exposure to a home environment.

They would have you believe that their dogs are better by calling them
"Super Dobes" and by grading them as "superior" or some other
classification that infer that they are of high quality. In fact there
are almost never any champions within the past five generations of the
puppy you will buy. Some of these breeders pride themselves on
"super sized" Dobermans. Big Dobermans are not correct. The
standard calls for a male to be a maximum of 28" at the shoulders and a
bitch to be a maximum of 26". A correct male will weigh in the mid-eighty
pound range and a correct bitch will weigh in the upper fifty to lower
sixty pound range. Bigger is NOT better.

Some of the commercial breeders promise dogs that are "to your
specifications" on temperament, when in fact, you will be sold just any
puppy out of their many litters. They claim that they are out there
proving the quality of their dogs in the obedience ring. Upon
inspection, you'll find that almost all the obedience dogs are at the
lowest title, and seldom have good scores ... Just enough to scrape by
for a title. Virtually none of them can even approach the level
required of an AKC Obedience Champion title.

Importantly, some of these breeders charge outrageous prices for
the quality level they sell. They typically sell puppies for MORE
than a good show breeder asks for a really top quality pet that was
raised in the home and properly socialized.

We recently placed a show puppy with a person who had bought a puppy
from one of the Doberman Commercial Breeders specializing in
Dobermans. The dog was purchased for the price of a good show
quality dog from a reputable breeder. However, puppy from the
commercial breeder has hip dysplasia in both hips, and is severely
limited on what it can do.   There was not one AKC Champion in the entire
pedigree, and only one obedience titled dog. It was titled at the lowest
possible level. The "guarantee" promises to replace the puppy after
its death.... But, who wants another dysplastic dog from this breeder ?

Which Breeder Should You Use ?

It's clear where you want to buy your puppy. The problem is that there
are not enough Hobby Show Breeders to supply the market with good
puppies.   Most of these breeders are very concerned where their
puppies go, and how they will be taken care of. They will ask a lot of
questions before letting you have one of their puppies. However, we
believe that it is well worth your effort to search out a good breeder.
Your puppy will be with you for many years. Take your time !!!

It is important to have a healthy Doberman with a good temperament and
a sound body. Whether we like it or not, many people are afraid of
Dobermans, and jump to the incorrect conclusion that they are all
aggressive. You must be reasonably assured that your Doberman has
been bred with correct temperament in mind, and that it has been
socialized early, so that it can live well in our society.

Divine Dobermans

The Home of a New Generation.

The Doberman Pinscher

"Nothing Great in the World has been accomplished without Passion"