Doberman
The Doberman Pinscher (alternatively spelled Dobermann in
many countries) or simply Doberman, is a breed of
domestic dogoriginally
developed around 1890 by Karl Friedrich Louis Dobermann, a tax collector
from Germany. Doberman Pinschers are among the most common of pet breeds, and
the breed is well known as an intelligent, alert, and loyal companion dog.
Although once commonly used as guard dogs or police dogs, this
is less common today.
In many countries, Doberman Pinschers are often one of the
most recognizable breeds, in part because of their actual roles in society, and
in part because of media attention. Recent careful breeding has greatly
improved the disposition of this breed, and the modern Doberman Pinscher is an
energetic and lively breed suitable for companionship and family life. Although
many Dobermans have been outdoor dogs, they are best suited to live indoors.
Appearance
Kennel club standards describe Doberman Pinschers as dogs of
medium-large size with a square build and short coat. They are compactly built
and athletic with endurance and swiftness. The Doberman Pinscher should have a
proud, watchful, determined, and obedient temperament. The dog was
originally intended as a guard dog, so males should have a masculine,
muscular, noble appearance. Females are thinner, but should not be
spindly.
Size and proportions
The Doberman is a dog of large size. Although the breed standards vary
among kennel and breed clubs, the dog typically stands between 26 to 28 inches,
27.5 being ideal (66 to 72 cm), the female is typically somewhere between
24 to 26 inches, 25.5 being ideal (61 to 68 cm). The Doberman has a
square frame: its length should equal its height to the withers, and the length
of its head, neck and legs should be in proportion to its body. European
lines, particularly those from the former Yugoslavia and former Soviet Union,
tend to be larger than those in North America.
There are no standards for the weight of the Doberman
Pinscher. The ideal dog must have sufficient size for an optimal combination of
strength, endurance and agility. The male generally weighs between
75-90.4 lbs. (34 and 45 kg) and the female between 59.5-79.4 pounds
(27 and 41 kg).
Color
Two different color genes exist in the Doberman, one
for black (B) and one for color dilution(D). There are nine
possible combinations of these alleles (BBDD, BBDd BbDD BbDd, BBdd, Bbdd, bbDD,
bbDd, bbdd), which result in four different color phenotypes: black,
red, blue, and fawn (Isabella). The traditional and most common color
occurs when both the color and dilution genes have at least one dominant allele (i.e., BBDD, BBDd, BbDD or
BbDd), and is commonly referred to as black or black and
rust (also called black and tan). The red, red
rustor brown coloration occurs when the black gene has two recessive alleles but
the dilution gene has at least one dominant allele (i.e., bbDD, bbDd).
"Blue" and "fawn" are controlled by the color dilution
gene. The blue Doberman has the color gene with at least one dominant allele
and the dilution gene with both recessive alleles (i.e., BBdd or Bbdd). The
fawn (Isabella) coloration is the least common, occurring only when both the
color and dilution genes have two recessive alleles (i.e., bbdd). Thus, the blue
color is a diluted black, and the fawn color is a diluted red.
Expression of the color dilution gene is a disorder called
Color Dilution Alopecia. Although not life threatening, these dogs can develop
skin problems.
In 1976, a "white" Doberman Pinscher was
whelped, and was subsequently bred to her son, who was also bred to his
litter sisters. This tight inbreeding continued for some time to allow the
breeders to "fix" the mutation. White Dobermans are a cream color
with pure white markings and icy blue eyes. Although this is consistent
with albinism, the
proper characterization of the mutation is currently unknown. The animals are
commonly known as tyrosinase-positive albinoids, lacking melanin in
oculocutaneous structures, but no known mutation has been identified.
Tails
The Doberman Pinscher's natural tail is fairly long, but
individual dogs often have a short tail as a result of docking, a
procedure in which the majority of the tail is surgically removed shortly after
birth.
The practice of docking has been around for centuries, and
is older than the Doberman as a breed. The
putative reason for docking is to ensure that the tail does not get in the way
of the dog's work. Docking has always been controversial. The American Kennel Clubstandard for Doberman Pinschers includes a
tail docked near the 2nd vertebra. Docking
is a common practice in the United States, Russia and Japan (as well as a
number of other countries with Doberman populations), where it is legal. In
many European countries and Australia, docking has been made illegal, and in others
it is limited.
Ears
Doberman Pinschers often have their ears cropped, as do many
other breeds, a procedure that is functionally related to breed type for both
the traditional guard duty and effective sound localization. According to the
Doberman Pinscher Club of America, ears are "normally cropped and carried
erect". Like tail
docking, ear
cropping is illegal in some
countries, and in these pictures Doberman Pinschers have natural
ears. Doberman Pinscher ear cropping is usually done between 7 and 9 weeks of
age and is done under anesthesia. Cropping done after 12 weeks has a low rate
of success in getting the ears to stand.
In some countries' conformation shows, Doberman
Pinschers are allowed to compete with either cropped or natural ears. In
Germany a cropped or docked dog cannot be shown regardless of country of
origin. Special written exception to this policy does occur when Germany is the
location for international events.
Whether cropping the ears actually reduces the risk of ear
infections as opposed to leaving the ears pendulous has been contested.
Temperament
Although they are considered to be working dogs, Doberman
Pinschers are often stereotyped as being ferocious and aggressive. As a
personal protection dog, the Doberman was originally bred for these traits: it
had to be large and intimidating, fearless, and willing to defend its owner,
but sufficiently obedient and restrained to only do so on command. These traits
served the dog well in its role as a personal defense dog, police dog, or war
dog, but were not ideally adapted to a companionship role. The Doberman
Pinscher's aggression has been toned down by modern breeders over the years,
and today's Dobermans are known for a much more even and good natured
temperament, extreme loyalty, high intelligence, and great trainability. In
fact, the Doberman Pinscher's size, short coat, and intelligence have made it a
desirable house dog.
They can easily learn to 'Respect and Protect' their owners,
and are therefore considered to be excellent guard dogs that protect their
loved ones. They are generally sociable toward humans and can be with other
dogs. However, Dobermans rank among the more-likely breeds to show aggressive
behaviour toward strangers and other dogs, but not among the most likely to do
so. They are very unlikely to show aggressive behaviour toward their owners.
There is 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. Because
of these differences in breeding strategies, different lines of Doberman
Pinschers have developed different traits. Although many contemporary Doberman Pinschers
in North America are gentle and friendly to strangers, some lines are bred more
true to the original personality standard.
Although the aggressiveness stereotype is less true today,
the personality of the Doberman Pinscher is unique. There is a great deal of
scientific evidence that Doberman Pinschers have a number of stable
psychological traits, such as certain personality factors and intelligence. As
early as 1965, studies have shown that there are several broad behavioral
traits that significantly predict behavior and are genetically determined. Subsequently,
there have been numerous scientific attempts to quantify canine personality or temperament by using statistical techniques
for assessing personality traits in humans. These studies often vary in terms
of the personality factors they focus on, and in terms of ranking breeds
differently along these dimensions. One such study found that Doberman
Pinschers, compared to other breeds, rank high in playfulness, average in
curiosity/fearlessness, low on aggressiveness, and low on
sociability. Another such study ranked Doberman Pinschers low on
reactivity/surgence, and high on aggression/disagreeableness and openness/trainability
Intelligence
Canine
intelligence is an umbrella term that encompasses the faculties
involved in a wide range of mental tasks, such as learning, problem-solving,
and communication. The Doberman Pinscher has ranked amongst the most
intelligent of dog breeds in experimental studies and expert evaluations. For
instance, Psychologist Stanley
Coren ranks the Doberman as the 5th most intelligent dog in the
category of obedience command training, based on the selective
surveys he performed of some trainers (as documented in his book The Intelligence of Dogs). Additionally, in two studies, Hart
and Hart (1985) ranked the Doberman Pinscher first in this category. and
Tortora (1980) gave the Doberman the highest rank in
trainability. Although the methods of evaluation differ, these studies
consistently show that the Doberman Pinscher, along with the Border Collie, German Shepherd, Golden Retriever and
Standard Poodle, is one of
the most trainable breeds of dog.
Aggression
In addition to the studies of canine personality, there has
been some research to determine whether there are breed differences in
aggression. In a recent study, aggression was divided into four categories:
aggression directed at strangers, owner, strange dogs and rivalry with other
household dogs. This study found that the Doberman Pinscher ranked
relatively high on stranger-directed aggression, but extremely low on
owner-directed aggression. The Doberman Pinscher ranked as average on dog-directed
aggression and dog rivalry. Looking only at bites and attempted bites, Doberman
Pinschers rank as far less aggressive towards humans, and show less aggression
than many breeds without a reputation (e.g., Cocker Spaniel,
Dalmatian, and Great
Dane). This study concluded that aggression has a genetic basis,
that the Doberman shows a distinctive pattern of aggression depending on the
situation, and that contemporary Doberman Pinschers are not an aggressive breed
overall.
Although recent studies do not rank Doberman Pinschers as
the most aggressive breed, their size, strength and aggression towards
strangers makes them potentially dangerous.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
between 1979 and 1998, the Doberman Pinscher was involved in attacks on humans
resulting in fatalities less frequently than several other dog breeds such
as German Shepherd Dogs, Rottweilers, Husky-type,Wolf-dog hybrids and Alaskan Malamutes. According
to this Center for Disease Control and Prevention study,
one of the most important factors contributing to dog bites are related to the
level of responsibility exercised by dog owners.
Health
The Doberman's lifespan is about 10–11 years, on
average. They may suffer from a number of health concerns. Common serious
health problems include dilated cardiomyopathy, cervical vertebral instability, von Willebrand's disease (a bleeding disorder for which
genetic testing has been available since 2000; the test enables both parents of
a prospective litter to be tested for the carrier gene, thus preventing
inheritance of the disease ), and prostatic disease. Less
serious common health concerns include hypothyroidism and hip dysplasia. Canine compulsive disorder is also common. Studies have
shown that the Doberman Pinscher suffers from prostatic diseases, (such as
bacterial prostatiti, prostatic cysts, prostatic adenocarcinoma, and benign
hyperplasia) more than any other breed. Neutering can significantly reduce
these risks (see Dog for
information).
Dilated cardiomyopathy is a major cause of death in Doberman
Pinschers. This disease affects Dobermans more than any other
breed. Nearly 40% of DCM diagnoses are for Doberman Pinschers, followed by
German Shepherds at 13%. Research has shown that the breed is affected by
an attenuated wavy fiber type of DCM that affects many other
breeds, as well as an additional, fatty
infiltration-degenerative type that appears to be specific to Doberman
Pinscher and Boxer breeds. This serious disease is likely to be fatal in
most Doberman Pinschers affected.
Across multiple studies, more than half of the Doberman
Pinschers studied develop the condition. Roughly a quarter of Doberman
Pinschers who developed cardiomyopathy died suddenly from unknown
causes, and an additional fifty percent died of congestive heart failure In addition to being more prevalent,
this disease is also more serious in Doberman Pinschers. Following diagnosis,
the average non-Doberman has an expected survival time of 8 months; for
Doberman Pinschers, the expected survival time is less than 2 months. Although
the causes for the disease are largely unknown, there is evidence that it is a
familial disease inherited as an autosomal dominant trait. Investigation into the genetic
causes of canine DCM may lead to therapeutic and breeding practices to limit
its impact
History
Doberman Pinschers were first bred in the town of Apolda, in the German state
of Thuringia around
1890, following the Franco-Prussian War by Karl Friedrich Louis Dobermann. Dobermann
served in the dangerous role of local tax collector, and ran the Apolda dog
pound. With access to dogs of many breeds, he aimed to create a breed that
would be ideal for protecting him during his collections, which took him
through many bandit-infested areas. He set out to breed a new type of dog that,
in his opinion, would be the perfect combination of strength, speed, endurance,
loyalty, intelligence, and ferocity. Later, Otto Goeller and Philip Greunig
continued to develop the breed to become the dog that is seen today.
The breed is believed to have been created from several
different breeds of dogs that had the characteristics that Dobermann was
looking for, including the German Pinscher,
the Beauceron,
the Rottweiler, the
Thuringian Sylvan Dog, the Greyhound,
the Great Dane, theWeimaraner,
the German Shorthaired Pointer, the Manchester Terrier, the Old German Shepherd Dog. . The exact ratios of mixing, and
even the exact breeds that were used, remain uncertain to this day, although
many experts believe that the Doberman Pinscher is a combination of at least
four of these breeds. The single exception is the documented crossing with the
Greyhound and Manchester Terrier. It is also widely believed that the old
German Shepherd gene pool was the single largest contributor to the Doberman
breed. Philip Greunig'sThe Dobermann
Pinscher (1939), is considered the foremost study of
the development of the breed by one of its most ardent students. Greunig's
study describes the breed's early development by Otto Goeller, whose hand
allowed the Doberman to become the dog we recognize today.
After Dobermann's 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 a few years later.
During World War II,
the United States Marine Corps adopted the
Doberman Pinscher as its official War Dog, although
the Corps did not exclusively use this breed in the role.
In the post war era the breed was nearly lost. There were no
new litters registered in West Germany from 1949 to 1958. Werner Jung is
credited with single-handedly saving the breed. He searched the farms in Germany
for typical Pinschers and used these along with 4 oversized Miniature Pinschers
and a black and red bitch from East Germany. Jung risked his life to smuggle
her into West Germany. Most German Pinschers today are descendants of these
dogs. Some pedigrees in the 1959 PSK Standardbuch show a number of dogs with
unknown parentage.
