Our Life With My Dobes.

My Dobermanns.


Firstly for those of you that don’t know me all five of my dobes are rescues and therefore came to me without having received any true love or training.

You see in my opinion far too many people purchase a Dobe without sufficient appreciation either of the breed or of what the dog's needs are. This has led to many Dobes ending up in rescue shelters usually being mislabelled as "aggressive or dangerous because of their lack of training" hence how I have ended up with every rescue dobe I’ve had.

Dobes are loyal, graceful, athletic, intelligent, loving and protective. They have all the qualities of other guarding breeds but also possesses a number of unique features that sets them apart from the others.

One thing is for sure these dog demand a lot of attention, kindness, precise and consistent training and masses of love. Do not enter into this sort of partnership thinking that these dogs will fit in with your life when the opposite is true.

It is said that you never "own" a Dobermann, rather the Dobermann owns you! Whilst I disagree with this idea on principal, I must admit having owned several Dobes over the years that there is a lot of truth in the phrase.

They are a breed of dog that demands to be at the centre of family life, and they form strong bonds and therefore cannot be shut away in a kennel or denied access to family relationships.

Once this magnificent dog has bonded with you he remains glued to you for life. They are aptly nicknamed "the Velcro Dog" for good reason; due to they instinctive need to be alongside me. How my all dogs respond to me is fuelled by what they receive back. Nothing escapes their attention. They can walk into a room and notice instantly if an object has been moved. If I try hiding from them while out walking and they will be at my side before I have moved. They seem to sense what I’m thinking and act accordingly.

Also called "the dog with the human mind" the Dobe is sensitive to our feelings. If I dislike someone then they will too! They can be very vocal as anyone else who has owned one will know. They make a series of sounds that alternates between a high-pitched whine (usually when trying to get their own way) to deep groans of contentment. They can hold long "conversations" of sorts. However not everyone appreciates the dog's whining and whistling which can aggravate even the most tolerable of souls, and believe me they do!

Their eyes can be cold and hard if they sense danger or soft pools of moist affection as they gaze up at me. Their eyes are forever watchful. They watch my every move and take direction from my emotions and body language. Should I become tense or startled, the eyes change from watchful to alert as they ready themselves to protect me at all costs.

Despite them being highly trainable they do have a particular exasperating trait of suddenly deciding that today is the day that they will do their own thing! This can happen at any time or in any situation. One time I asked Onyx my big male to retrieve one of his toys. He calmly looked at me, sauntered across to the toy, picked it up and then dropped it in the rubbish bin! I must admit that I did crack up laughing, which only encouraged him to roll around acting like a fool. For sure, at times they can be the most adorable of clowns, but this does add an extra dimension to them achieving a good standard of dog obedience and general dog training with them.

In my opinion they is mentally superior to most breeds, with high drives, high energy and excellent working ability. There greatest desire is to please and work. First and foremost their use is as a pet, but their guard dog instincts are really strong when it come to protecting the family home. No intruder will attempt to enter my garden! The mere presence of my dogs is enough warning.

They also have a really gentle side and this has been proved on many occasions and they have a good record of being highly trainable, devoted and loyal. Their senses when we are in pain or distress mean that they often come to me and comfort me when any member of the family is ill. They will remain still for hours letting me stroke and fuss them and they seem to bring great comfort to people in need.

These elegant, muscular, powerful, lively dogs have an extremely complex character. They are a bodyguard capable of handling any situation and work instinctively and independently. For a well-adjusted and confident dog, mental stimulation is also very important.

Their intense characters often borders on stubbornness. They have a very strong wills which is why they need to be owned whose character matches their own, as even with the best of owners, they will sometimes adopt a certain look which clearly says, "Oh yeah?...Make me!"

It cannot be stressed enough that the owner of a Dobe must have an advanced knowledge of all aspects of dog training and understand the dog’s mind. As it means to always be one step ahead in the thinking department and to be adaptable and choose tactics to meet the demands of the individual dog. The more interesting the training session, the more they will respond.

Early socialisation and training are especially important for this breed so that they don’t become too dominant and territorial as adult dogs. Their natural instincts lead them to protect my home and family without direction from me. Unfortunately this can mean that when I get a new rescue, an untrained Dobe will decide for himself what he sees as a perceived threat.

New rescues have been known to guard me from other family members, friends or the other dogs. This is one of the smartest breeds and is known for its reasoning power and its huge exuberance for life. They can get bored very easily and a bored Dobe is a very unhappy and often destructive dog.

I do obedience training on a daily basis incorporating lots of games and thought-filled exercised. There is nothing that these dogs cannot do. They enjoy swimming, racing across open fields, retrieving objects and generally fooling around so long as they feel loved and at home with my family.

Lying within them are strong instincts to chase other creatures, which is clearly shown when my lot go after those pesky rabbits

Their personalities are such that they do not respond positively to physical punishment, and why should they? They are a formidable emperor of the canine world, so they should have every right to demand the most skilled and ethical of owners.

Positive reinforcement, firmness and patience are the only way I train my Dobes. Mistakes made in training can be hard to correct with this breed. I must be one step ahead of them at all times. They learn very quickly and demands continual challenges to keep them focused.

All of the family are involved in training my dogs, but they must be consistent in correcting negative behaviour and rewarding good responses. However they have all bonded completely with me than the others, so will look for direction from me rather than any other member of the family. They are so alert and will pick up on any deviation from a desired command. So for example; if I ask them dog to sit and then rewards them for a “sloppy” sit, they will always give a poor performance. This is the nature of their intelligence and attention to detail, and you can either take advantage of it, or let it work against you. Sloppy training will result in a sloppy level of obedience, and this is such a waste of a remarkable breed of dog.

When they first arrive here they sort of train themselves to give minimal obedience but just copying the others, but all have had some sort of negative behaviour such as mouthing, jumping up, not focusing on a given task and slow responses must be correctively trained out. Patience, persistence and dedicated training with them brings out the best results. By training them in the same way every time they become eager students that can quickly master everything they are taught. With consistent obedience training by me it improves communication, strengthen the trust and most importantly earn the dog’s respect.

So you still want to own a Doberman?

Potential owners may now be aware of the excellent qualities this amazing dog possesses. As with all things, there is a downside. Many people do not want a dog that is so needy that it just cannot be separated from its owner and family. Dobes do not do well in boarding kennels so if you enjoy travelling the world, I believe you should choose a different breed. They do not like to be left alone for long so if you are a workaholic, do not choose this breed.

They are expensive to insure, to feed and to keep in the best of health so if your finances have the bank manager scratching his head, do not choose this breed. Perhaps it is the Dobes strength and working abilities that attracts you but be aware that this strong athletic dog can become a shivering wreck if the weather turns cold hence why all my lot head for their nice warm bed if the thermometer starts to fall.

My lot are not happy with just a pat on the head. They all need my full attention and will be sat on my feet, pressed against my side or trying to clamber onto my lap. If I try to ‘spend a penny’ or have a shower with the door closed and they will be sat outside whining and sighing, peeved that I dare to shut them out! They even sit under my office desk while I’m working. Plus they get bored easily; and need huge amounts of exercise and daily training sessions.

The Doberman is the result of one man’s dream to produce a large dog that was an excellent guard with the agility of a Terrier. Too many Dobermanns end their days in rescue shelters through no fault of their own, more often because the owner did not think long and hard about the breed’s needs and whether they could meet them PRIOR to getting a Dobermann. Poor breeding and poor owners have led to this wonderful dog being sometimes ignorantly labelled as a “killer” and to be known for its aggression rather than the lovable clowns they really are.

ARE YOU RIGHT FOR A DOBERMAN? Most probably NOT, going by my experience of over 35 years in rescuing Dobes, and with the hundreds of owners I have met and spoken to who wished to God they had never got one, for one reason or another. This is not a dog you can take home and feel good about owning as a pet for the next ten years. Once you take home your first Dobe, your life quite SERIOUSLY will never ever be the same again. If you get it right, it will be a totally new life full of adoration and respect for this incredible breed of dog.

If you don’t, both you and the dog will suffer. PLEASE make an informed, rational and considered judgement on this breed.

They are a very misunderstood and underestimated dog, which can be the best or the worst dog you could ever own, it’s all down to YOU. Make sure you are up to the challenge, before you fall in love with this breed, as nobody will thank you for a mistake with such a sensitive and loving animal as this.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and if it seems like I am trying to put some people off owning a Dobermann as a choice of pet dog, then I have done exactly what I intended. Sorry, but I have seen way too many mistakes with this dog breed, and these things just need saying. You may well be a Dobermann’s PERFECT owner, but in my experience in the UK at least around 70-80% of people who want a Dobe would NOT be suited to owning one, and often would not be capable of even handling one. To the rest of you, ENJOY! It’s a relationship of a lifetime!

A good summary of the Doberman and the things people should think about before getting one. I've always loved this breed and would definately put them in my top five but as you rightly say they are not for just anybody.

I didn't realise you've owned them for 35 years, that puts you way ahead of me. We had a lovely Lab when first married, then a very long period when we couldn't have a dog at all. Newfies were my wifes choice partly I suspect it was because I was dithering between another labrador, or a Dobe, GSD or Rottie

Harvey

I was in fact born into a household that already had a dobe in it, as my Mum and Dad already had one, so I have in fact been associated with them now for over 50 years now.

Wow, there surely can't be many people in UK, or even the whole planet who can claim half a century of Doberman experience

BTW they are here in Czechland too, but not many, in four years I've probably seen a dozen or so, some alone in a garden while the owners are out working, sad because their eyes told the whole story, I have seen two which were being walked with their owners and they did look good.

That really gets me when people just leave them in a garden as a guard dog, but then again they could be like my Max who would rather sit in the garden than the living room, but at least my back door is open for him to come in when he wants to.

do your dobes naturally assume a guarding duty - for instance my GSD likes to look like shes patrolling the grounds when i let her out - whereas the staff just wants to pee and get back in the warm - are dobes naturally alert like that in the same way?

Oh yes. If people stop outside the front of the house just to have a chat my lot are up at the window telling them to move on in their own distinctive way.

When we are out on our nightly walks, the rotties walk about six foot ahead of me making sure the way is clear, but the dobes surround me (normally getting under my feet).

The thing with dobes is that they are very much a one person dog, that's not to say that they wouldn't look after Michelle and the kids if they were out together, but they always listen to me before Michelle.

yeah my GSD is a very oen person dog and you made me chuckle when you mentioned being there wherever you are i.e shower etc - my shepherd shows similar traits - when we decided we wanted a dog for the family that would assume guarding duties naturally my missus said a dobermann was the only large dog she liked - i was adamant about gettin a GSD - but i think one day, many years down the line when i can either stretch my limited time to devote enough attnetion to a fourth four legged member - or am lucky enough to work from home - i may heed your wisdom and the missus wishes and think about adding one to the family as they sound like they look - incredible

Colin,

Any chance I can use this write up, with some pics of you and your dogs on my website newsletter that I'm in the process of putting together atm? Was a very inciteful read, and just what I'm needing.

Chris

No problems at all.