Dog breed · Germany
The Dobermann is a German breed of medium-large working dog of pinscher type. In Canada and the United States it is known as the Doberman Pinscher. It was originally bred in Thuringia in about 1890 by Louis Dobermann, a tax collector. It has a long muzzle and – ideally – an even and graceful gait. The ears were traditionally cropped and the tail docked, practices which are now illegal in many countries.
The Dobermann is intelligent, alert and tenaciously loyal; it is kept as a guard dog or as a companion animal.
Characteristics: The Dobermann is a medium-large dog of pinscher type. Dogs stand some 68–72 cm at the withers, with a weight usually in the range 40–[dose — ask your vet]; bitches are considerably smaller, with height and weight ranges of 63–68 cm and 32–[dose — ask your vet] respectively. It is a working dog, and registration is subject to completion of a working trial.
It was originally intended as a guard dog, so males typically have a muscular and intimidating appearance.
Temperament: Although they are considered to be working dogs, Dobermanns are often stereotyped as being ferocious and aggressive.
There is some evidence that Doberman Pinschers in North America have a calmer and more even temperament than their European counterparts because of the breeding strategies employed by American breeders. Despite this, the American breed standard states that, for purposes of determining of conformation fault, aggression and belligerence by a Doberman toward other dogs is not counted as viciousness.
Characteristics: The Dobermann is a medium-large dog of pinscher type. Dogs stand some 68–72 cm at the withers, with a weight usually in the range 40–[dose — ask your vet]; bitches are considerably smaller, with height and weight ranges of 63–68 cm and 32–[dose — ask your vet] respectively. It is a working dog, and registration is subject to completion of a working trial.
It was originally intended as a guard dog, so males typically have a muscular and intimidating appearance.
History: Dobermanns were first bred in the 1880s by Karl Friedrich Louis Dobermann, a tax collector who ran a dog pound in Apolda in present-day Thuringia in central Germany. With access to dogs of many breeds, he got the idea to create a breed that would be ideal for protecting him. He set out to breed a new type of dog that would exhibit impressive stamina, strength, and intelligence. Five years after Dobermann's death, Otto Goeller, one of the earliest breeders, created the National Doberman Pinscher Club and is considered to have perfected the breed, breeding and refining them in the 1890s.
The breed is believed to have been created from several different breeds of dogs that had the characteristics that Dobermann was looking for. The exact ratios of mixing, and even the exact breeds that were used, remain uncertain, although many experts believe that the Dobermann is a combination of several breeds including the Beauceron, German Pinscher, Rottweiler and Weimaraner. The single exception is the documented crossing with the Greyhound and Manchester Terrier. It is also widely believed that the old German Shepherd was the single largest contributor to the Dobermann breed. Philip Greunig's The Dobermann Pinscher (1939) describes the breed's early development by Otto Goeller, who helped to establish the breed. The American Kennel Club believes the breeds utilized to develop the Dobermann Pinscher may have included the old shorthaired shepherd, Rottweiler, Black and Tan Terrier and the German Pinscher.
After Dobermann's death in 1894, the Germans named the breed Dobermann-pinscher in his honor, but a half century later dropped the word 'pinscher' on the grounds that this German word for 'terrier' was no longer appropriate. The British did the same a few years later; now the US and Canada are the only countries who continue to use Pinscher and have dropped an "n" from Dobermann's surname.
