Have a great one.
Posted on 06/18/2015 8:00:40 PM PDT by Altariel
In family movies featuring dogs, Doberman Pinschers are often cast as the baddies. Why not? After all, they’re large with mask-like features, and if they’ve had their ears cropped, they can look a little frightening. In real life, Dobermans are often employed in police and security industries because of their intelligence, readiness to work and their inherent strength. This dichotomy has led to wild public misconception about the breed – and their role in family life.
Ready to separate the facts from the fiction about Dobermans? Here are the myths you may have heard, and the truth behind them.
Myth: Dobermans cannot be trained until they are 6 months old.
Reality: Any owner who doesn’t start training as soon as they bring a new pet into their life is inviting a world of terrifying behaviours into their home. Larger breeds mature at a slower rate than smaller ones, but any dog that is ready to leave its mother is ready to be trained. Indeed, the puppy’s mother has been working on training since birth. (And Dobermans are actually a medium breed.)
Your young puppy may take awhile to grasp your meanings, but you should always start training as early as you can (with any dog, not just Dobermans). If you take your dog to group training sessions, they might request a certain maturity level, or age – but you certainly shouldn’t put off home training while you wait. House training, name response, and jumping rules should be at the top of your list, even if you wait until class to tackle the sit command.
Myth: Training Dobermans is frightfully difficult.
Reality: Training any dog can be difficult if you are inexperienced. Dobermans are no harder to train than any other breed given ideal circumstances. In fact, because Dobermans have been bred as work dogs, they’re actually quite inclined to training. They love the idea of having a job, whether it’s guarding a warehouse, or fetching your slippers.
Dobermans, like children, love to be lavished with one on one attention – especially if it’s constructive. As long as you have not left training too late, you and your Doberman should have a fabulous time in training. If you are having a tough time training your dog, regardless of the breed, you should consider the other factors that may be influencing this (such as lack of attention or exercise, or stressful stimuli in the training environment).
Myth: Dobermans are hyper.
Reality: Most Dobermans are spirited, happy and playful. Without training, they can certainly be mischievous, but, Dobermans are not exceedingly hyper. There are, however, factors that can make them seem constantly excited.
Dobermans love to socialise and play, which means that they’re eager to see you. If they don’t see enough of you, they’ll get even more excited. Diet also plays a factor in the behaviour of your dog. But, one of the main reasons Dobermans may demonstrate hyper behaviour is that they simply aren’t getting the space and exercise that they need. As a large work breed, Dobermans need plenty of space to run around, lots of structured exercise, and a fair amount of sleep. If you ignore these factors, or make it difficult for your Doberman to move around, then they’ll appear hyper.
Myth: Dobermans come in small, large and extra large varieties.
Reality: There are Doberman Pinschers, and there are Miniature Pinschers; not Dobermans and their “mini-me’s”. The smaller breed has actually been around a lot longer than Doberman Pinschers have. But, despite the resemblance in markings, these are different breeds, and they have different personalities and health care concerns.
More importantly though are the fallacies surrounding “King” or “Warlock” Dobermans. There’s simply no such thing. There are certainly breeding lines that produce larger dogs, but there are no registered super breeds. Unfortunately, the idea that bigger Dobermans are better pets or guard dogs has led to a lot of heartache. The bigger a Doberman is bred, the more likely it will develop health issues and complications.
Myth: Dobermans should be isolated from anyone besides family for best protection.
Reality: Dobermans are naturally protective animals. There’s nothing they love more than their pack, which includes other dogs in the home and their human members. It’s an inherent trait, and it hardly needs to be nurtured. Of course, it can’t be ignored either, if only because your Doberman won’t let you.
This is one breed of dog that should be well socialised with everyone it comes into contact with – and opportunities should be made for just that. Dobermans love to meet new people, and tend to endear themselves to them. Isolating a Doberman is tantamount to starving it. As long as you continue to shower your Doberman with attention, he will always protect you because that’s what he wants to do.
Myth: Dobermans turn on their owners.
Reality: Dogs have teeth. If you abuse a dog, they will use their teeth. Dobermans are no different from any other breed in that respect, though their size and strength may provide them with an advantage. No dog that has been raised in a loving, healthy environment will turn on its owners unless given a compelling reason. And most Dobermans would rather sulk in the corner than harm their owners.
Bringing a Doberman into Your Family
All in, Dobermans make excellent family pets, simply because they want so badly to be a part of your family. They want to play games, and they want to protect you from anything evil. They do extremely well in larger families and homes with spacious gardens. If you’re considering Doberman adoption, here are just a few tips to consider:
Look for breeders who keep the puppies inside the house after birth; the pups are usually better socialised.
Don’t consider any breeders that advertise larger lines as better lines.
Do not wait to train your new Doberman; start as soon as you can.
Lavish your puppy with attention, but remain firm with your boundaries. Dobermans are clever – and playful – which requires attention.
If you’re often away from home, or you don’t have enough space, consider another breed.
Prepare to have Dobermans for the rest of your life; they’ll grow on you instantly.
That’s cuz Ya never feed Her.
See #59 BTW
Wow! I’d forgotten about Stubb’s. Go a BBQ War thing going on the NC Local Board.
The black and tan markings of the Doberman run from the tiny Chihuahua up through the Great Dane. I had a Miniature Pinscher who was quite large for the breed but still fairly small, though he didn’t know it.
One afternoon we were at one end of the dog park when a regal Great Dane entered the park at the other end. Well, my dog saw her from across the field and he stopped and looked at me, looked at her and looked at me again, for just a moment, as if to say, “I found me a big legged woman!” and off he sprinted to make her acquaintance.
Poor thing was ignored by that amazon beauty. She was thoroughly unimpressed by his charms and just sniffed him and move away... Oh well. That’s life.
When i lived in SoCal, i raised 3 Dobermans. One of them grew to ‘overstandard’ size, but that is just the breed, just as humans growing to 7 feet tall.they were not ‘working dogs’, although that is how they are categorized as a breed. They were the babies of the family.
Socialize your Doberman? oh my yes. Start training as soon as you bring the little one home? The dog will start learning with you, or all of you, as soon as it comes home. It is the pack thing. It’s how they learn social behavior.
Dobermans might just like one of you, more than the others, but will not ‘hate’ that person. If one comes to your side, and is paying attention to your hand, they have a habit of walking with you, TENDERLY, holding your hand in it’s mouth. The first time that happened to me, was during the time the movie ‘the doberman gang’ was playing.
Always know this, if you talk to your dog, in a voice tone, HIGHER than your normal voice, the dog will think you’ve turned into a nutless Bruce jenner, and will ignore you.
always, for a tone of authority, lower your voice. The dog in the pack with the lower tones are the authority in the pack.
Dobermans are very curious dogs. If you watch closely, they have eyebrow motions, and could be considered a human trait. One of mine, so i thought, did that ‘Spockian’ eyebrow thing, when it was confused.
They are a ‘sight’ dog. sure they have nasal senses better than us, but they are better at running something down.
Dobermans have been used by the USMC for front line dogs in the pacific theater in WW2.
They are beautiful dogs, who can win your heart, if you let them.
I had a Dobie years ago. She was smart, quick, agile, easy to train, a sweet girl friendly to those she knew, & was terrified of my mean old tabby cat, yet they often slept side by side. Yes, she barked at strangers just as all dogs do. I’ve seen small lap dogs go ballistic over a stranger while my doberman barely barked. I guess it was that deep bark that frightened people, yet a Chihuahua can chew your leg off in a flash.
A dog’s personality is a reflection of its owners personality, just as a child reflects their parents personality. Mean, indifferent, chaotic owners/parents yield bad dogs & bad kids. Nice people have nice dogs, no matter the breed. Yes, there are mentally disturbed dogs just as there are people like that. Both can be dangerous.
Still, a doberman has that undeserved reputation that sends the burglars & bad guys to another house without a doberman, & for those who own one that is a good thing.
Newest since 30 years ago, when I defended them.
There must be a reason it’s still the issue.
Since the dog did nothing more than snarl from its side of the road, I can only conclude that it was protecting its territory while being under the influence of da ebils.
Had the dog been intent on attacking *you*, it would have run around or behind the car or continued to pursue you after the car drove off.
I’m sure that as soon as you were out of sight, the dog went back to its patrol. No doubt harboring future ebil plans.
Have a great one.
Fortunately I am immune to their ebil, sinister influence.
Immune.
Owners claim their dogs are perfectly safe while simultaneously claiming they are dangerous enough to protect them.
Safe or dangerous? “Well if they are properly trained..” Well, what if they aren’t properly trained?
Growing up, I had a friend who had two dobbies, very family friendly except for those who were not family, or were not introduced by family. I.e. Strangers.
There was a (sort of) exception and that was when a male dog went into her yard when she had pups. That dog she killed.
Most likely, the male dog would have attacked the puppies had she not attacked him. It must not have been very intelligent to stick around when it saw an angry mother dog charging at it.
The owner was very upset as it had been a prize winning German Shepard but we pointed out that his dog was in our yard.
I used to love to watch her run. She was poetry in motion when she opened up.
How odd; German shepherds are normally fairly intelligent dogs. Guess that one either didn’t have dog-sense or thought it could still complete its mission despite the angry momma dog.
Very likely he considers all of his master’s acreage to be under his protection, as it would seem that his master owned some land and the dog stayed on what would appear to be its property as opposed to roaming.
If they’re not “properly trained”, they tend to express their high energy in goofy ways, like jumping on people or unpleasant ways such as chewing furniture and socks.
Most novice owners who have no idea what they’re doing wind up up okay, anyway, because the dogs are smart enough to adjust for our stupidity.
To the first part of your question, they are exactly like that.
The Dobe who patiently allows his little mistress to paint his nails and put Elsa costumes on him will also put a serious hurt on anyone who tries to harm her.
Could you ask for a better babysitter for *your* precious child?
When I was a kid, only my Dobes kept the pedo uncle away from me, while my parents did nothing.
The first one was not “properly trained” but he intuited my needs.
They excel at that, which is one of the top reasons I adore them.
Case in point, I trained Odin to be a support dog for my physical balance issues.
Seven, I have not.
*But*, one day, after having taken her to all the ‘toy stores’, I took her into a dog-friendly used book store with me.
She patiently sat and yawned while I spent an hour hanging sideways, reading the titles on the shelves.
But then, when I tried to straighten myself vertical again, my traitorous nerves sent me plummeting toward the floor.
Imagine my shock when my fall was broken, as she leaped to my side and shoved herself against me, giving me a grab-hold to keep myself upright.
She did exactly what Odin was *taught* to do, and I had *nothing to do with it*.
She somehow *knew* what she had to do.
How, I have no idea.
But that is part of the wonder that is a Dobe.
And mine are not especially unique in that respect.
They *all* act like that, to some degree.
If I had to guess, I would say that the Beauceron herding dog influence has something to do with it.
I think it’s still an “issue” because of the people the breed attracts.
You will not find many fawning sheeple with a ‘desirable’ communistic mindset among them.
Imagine how much that enrages the control freaks who think they have a right to do whatever they want, your property rights and lines be damned.
And that can be said of most of the breeds on the “scary dog list”.
It’s always about control and authority.
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