If you’re reading this page because you’re thinking of buying a puppy, please stop.
Stop for just two minutes and think whether you could offer a home to a dog who was once a puppy and who has been given up by his owner. A dog who was once taken home supposedly to be loved and cherished by a family forever. Or maybe even a dog who as a puppy never had the start in life that he deserved. You could make a difference to their lives.
They all need a family to love them forever and you can find them on our Dogs Seeking Homes page. If we don’t have a dog to match your family, one of the other Dobermann Rescue organisations probably will. There’s a list at the bottom of this page.
BUT! If you’re determined that a puppy is right for your family and nothing else will do….here’s how to avoid some of the common pitfalls. Don’t compromise, and DO NOT make the mistake of settling for a badly bred, unhealthy, poor specimen of a Dobe from a backyard breeder or puppy farm. Help us keep our purebred Dobes pure and healthy!
Choose only a Kennel Club Accredited Breeder. This gives you some protection
Never buy a puppy without seeing it with its mother
NEVER EVER allow someone to deliver a puppy to you
Don’t try to find a puppy on the internet forums or classifieds
Don’t buy a puppy advertised as ‘Full Pedigree but no papers’. The parents may very well be KC registered dogs with breeding endorsements. Often when a dog is sold by a reputable breeder the papers are ‘endorsed’ to state the puppy cannot be bred from. This can be because of a known genetic fault which should NOT be allowed to be passed on.
When you’ve identified a breeder and arranged to go and visit:
Ask if the puppies were born on the breeder’s premises, if not, where were they born? If they were born elsewhere this can often indicate puppy farming.
Ask how old the bitch is – she should be at least 2 years old
Ask when the bitch last had a litter. It should be at least 12 months.
Ask how many litters the bitch has had. Should be less than four in her lifetime.
Ask what health testing the breeder has done on the parents and ask to see the results. If the answer is none, WALK AWAY NOW.
Ask if the mating has taken place previously – if so, you should be able to see photographs of the previous litter. You’ll want to see how the dogs look as adults/grown. This also should confirm that the breeder keeps in touch with the puppies owners
Ask if the puppy has been socialised around children, other pets, busy environments, livestock etc
Take in the cleanliness of the surroundings. Puppies bed, feed and water dishes should be spotless
When you buy a KC registered dog from a KC Accredited breeder it should either be supplied with a 5 generation pedigree certificate or a clearly documented statement ”Kennel Club Registration Applied For” showing the pedigree of the dog and a receipt for the deposit/amount paid.
Puppies should not leave their mother before 8 weeks of age and should have shiny coats, bright eyes and be inquisitive and alert to their surroundings.
Puppies should be wormed, vaccinated, vet checked and good breeders will provide a puppy pack documenting their feeding and exercise regime, including their vaccination card.
Each puppy should be supplied via a contract of sale which should include lifetime backup for the dog. If at any time you cannot keep the dog it should go back to that breeder who will underwrite its care for all of its lifetime. If your KC Accredited breeder does not offer this DON’T BUY FROM THEM.
As soon as you collect your puppy take it to the vet to be checked over. If your puppy is not healthy your breeder should take it back and provide a full refund.
GENERAL APPEARANCE : The Dobermann is of medium size, strong and muscularly built. Through the elegant lines of its body, its proud stature, and its expression of determination, it conforms to the ideal picture of dog.
IMPORTANT PROPORTIONS : The body of the Dobermann appears to be almost square, particularly in males. The length of the body measured from the point of the shoulder to the point of the buttock shall not be more than 5% longer than the height from the withers to the ground in males, and 10% in females.
BEHAVIOUR / TEMPERAMENT : The disposition of the Dobermann is friendly and calm; very devoted to the family it loves children. Medium temperament and medium sharpness (alertness) is desired. A medium threshold of irritation is required with a good contact to the owner. Easy to train, the Dobermann enjoys working, and shall have good working ability, courage and hardness. The particular values of self confidence and intrepidness are required, and also adaptability and attention to fit the social environment.
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CRANIAL REGION
Strong and in proportion to the body. Seen from the top the head is shaped in the form of a blunt wedge. Viewed form the front the crown line shall be almost level and not dropping off to the ears. The muzzle line extends almost straight to the top line of the skull which falls, gently rounded, into the neck line. The superciliary ridge is well developed without protruding. The forehead furrow is still visible. The occiput shall not be conspicuous. Seen from the front and the top the sides of the head must not bulge. The slight bulge between the rear of the upper jawbone and the cheek bone shall be in harmony with the total length of the head. The head muscles shall be well developed. Stop : Shall be slight but visibly developed.
FACIAL REGION
Nose : Nostrils well developed, more broad than round, with large openings without overall protrusion. Black – on black dogs; on brown dogs, corresponding lighter shades. Muzzle : The muzzle must be in the right proportion with the upper head and must be strongly developed. The muzzle shall have depth. The mouth opening shall be wide, reaching to the molars. A good muzzle width must also be present on the upper and lower incisor area. Flews : They shall be tight and lie close to the jaw which will ensure a tight closure of the mouth. The pigment of the gum to be dark; on brown dogs a corresponding lighter shade. Jaws/Teeth : Powerful broad upper and under jaw, scissor bite, 42 teeth correctly placed and normal size. Eyes : Middle sized, oval/almond shaped and dark in colour. Lighter shades are permitted for brown dogs. Close lying eyelids. Eyelids shall be covered with hair. Baldness around the rim of the eye is highly undesirable. Ears : The ear, which is set high, is carried erect and cropped to a length in proportion to the head. In a country where cropping is not permitted the uncropped ear is equally recognized. (Medium size preferred and with the front edge lying close to the cheeks).
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NECK
The neck must have a good length and be in proportion to the body and the head. It is dry and muscular. Its outline rises gradually and is softly curved. Its carriage is upright and shows much nobility.
BODY
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Withers : Shall be pronounced in height and length, especially in males and thereby determine the slope of the topline rising from the croup to the withers. Back : Short and tight, of good width and well muscled. Loin : Of good width and well muscled. The bitch can be slightly longer in loin because she requires space for suckling. Croup : It shall fall slightly, hardly perceptible from sacrum to the root of the tail, and appears well rounded, being neither straight nor noticeably sloping, of good width and well muscled. Chest : Length and depth of chest must be in the right proportion to the body length. The depth with slightly arched ribs should be approximately 50% the height of the dog at the withers. The chest has got a good width with especially well developed forechest. Underline and Belly : From the bottom of the breastbone to the pelvis the underline is noticeably tucked up.
TAIL : It is high set and docked short whereby approximately two tail vertebrae remain visible. In countries where docking is legally not permitted the tail may remain natural.
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LIMBS
FOREQUARTERS General : The front legs as seen from all sides are almost straight, vertical to the ground and strongly developed.
Shoulders : The shoulder-blade lies close against the chest, and both sides of the shoulder-blade edge are well muscled and reach over the top of the thoracic vertebra, slanting as much as possible and well set back. The angle to the horizontal is approximately 50%. Upper arm : Good length, well muscled, the angle to the shoulder-blade is approximately 105° to 110°. Elbow : Close in, not turned out. Lower arm : Strong and straight. Well muscled. Length in harmony with the whole body. Carpus (Carpal joint) : Strong. Metacarpus (Pastern) : Bones strong. Straight seen from the front. Seen from the side, only slightly sloping, maximum 10°. Forefeet : The feet are short and tight. The toes are arched towards the top (cat like). Nails short and black.
HINDQUARTERS General : Seen from the back the Dobermann looks, because of his well developed pelvic muscles in hips and croup, wide and rounded off. The muscles running from the pelvic towards the upper and lower thigh result in good width development, as well as in the upper thigh area, in the knee joint area and at the lower thigh. The strong hind legs are straight and stand parallel.
Upper thigh : Good length and width, well muscled. Good angulation to the hip joint. Angulation to the horizontal approximately between 80° to 85°. Knee : The knee joint is strong and is formed by the upper and lower thigh as well as the knee cap. The knee angulation is approximately 130°. Lower thigh : Medium length and in harmony with the total length of the hindquarter. Hock joint : Medium strength and parallel. The lower thigh bone is joined to the metatarsal at the hock joint (angle about 140°). Metatarsus (Rear pastern) : It is short and stands vertical to the ground. Hind feet : Like the front feet, the toes of the back feet are short, arched and closed. Nails are short and black.
GAIT / MOVEMENT : The gait is of special importance to both the working ability as well as the exterior appearance. The gait is elastic, elegant, agile, free and ground covering. The front legs reach out as far as possible. The hind quarter gives far reaching and necessary elastic drive. The front leg of one side and back leg of the other side move forward at the same time. There should be good stability of the back, the ligaments and the joints.
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SKIN
The skin fits closely all over and is of good pigment.
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COAT
HAIR : The hair is short, hard and thick. It lies tight and smooth and is equally distributed over the whole surface. Undercoat is not allowed.
COLOUR : The colour is black or brown, with rust red clearly defined and clean markings. Markings on the muzzle, as a spot on the cheeks and the top of the eyebrow, on the throat, two spots on the forechest, on the metacarpus, metatarsus and feet, on the inside of the back thigh, on the arms and below the tail.
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SIZE AND WEIGHT
Height at withers : Males : 68 – 72 cm. Bitches : 63 – 68 cm. Medium size desirable. Weight : Males : about 40 – 45 kg. Bitches : about 32 – 35 kg.
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FAULTS
Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree.
· General Appearance : Reversal of sexual impression; little substance; too light; too heavy; too leggy; weak bones. · Head : Too heavy, too narrow, too short, too long, too much or too little stop; Roman nose, bad slope of the top line of the skull; weak underjaw; round or slit eyes; light eye; cheeks too heavy; loose flews; eyes too open or too deepset; ear set too high or too low; open mouth angle. · Neck : Slightly short; too short; loose skin around the throat; dewlap; too long (not in harmony); ewe neck. · Body : Black not tight; sloping croup; sway back; roach back; insufficient or too much spring of rib; insufficient depth or width of chest; back too long overall; too little forechest; tail set too high or too low; too little or too much tuck up. · Limbs : Too little or too much angulation front or hindquarters; loose elbow; deviations from the standard position and length of bones and joints; feet too close together or too wide apart; cow-hocks, spread hocks, close hocks; open or soft paws, crooked toes; pale nails. · Coat : Markings too light or not sharply defined; smudged markings; mask too dark; big black spot on the legs; chest markings hardly visible or too large; hair long, soft, curly or dull. Thin coat; bald patches; large tufts of hair particularly on the body; visible undercoat. · Character : Inadequate self confidence; temperament too high; sharpness too high; too high or too low a threshold of irritation. · Size : Deviation of size up to two centimetres from the standard should result in a lowering of the quality grading. · Gait : Wobbly; restricted or stiff gait; pacing.
DISQUALIFYING FAULTS
· Character : Fearful, nervous and aggressive animals. · General : Pronounced reversal of sexual impressions. · Eyes : Yellow eyes (bird of prey eye); wall eye. · Dentition : Overshot; level bite; undershot; missing teeth. · Coat : White spots; pronounced long and wavy hair; pronounced thin coat or large bald patches. · Size : Dogs which deviate more than two centimetres over or under the standard.
Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be disqualified.
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N.B. : Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
General Appearance Medium size, muscular and elegant, with well set body. Of proud carriage, compact and tough. Capable of great speed.
Characteristics Intelligent and firm of character, loyal and obedient.
Temperament Bold and alert. Shyness or viciousness very highly undesirable.
Head and Skull In proportion to body. Long, well filled out under eyes and clean cut, with good depth of muzzle. Seen from above and side, resembles an elongated blunt wedge. Upper part of head flat and free from wrinkle. Top of skull flat, slight stop; muzzle line extending parallel to top line of skull. Cheeks flat, lips tight. Nose solid black in black dogs, solid dark brown in brown dogs, solid dark grey in blue dogs and light brown in fawn dogs. Head out of balance in proportion to body, dish-faced, snipy or cheeky very highly undesirable.
Eyes Almond-shaped, not round, moderately deep set, not prominent, with lively, alert expression. Iris of uniform colour, ranging from medium to darkest brown in black dogs, the darker shade being more desirable. In browns, blues, or fawns, colour of iris blends with that of markings, but not of lighter hue than markings; light eyes in black dogs highly undesirable.
Ears Small, neat, set high on head. Normally dropped, but may be erect.
Mouth Well developed, solid and strong with complete dentition and a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite, i.e. upper teeth closely overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws. Evenly placed teeth. Undershot, overshot or badly arranged teeth highly undesirable.
Neck Fairly long and lean, carried with considerable nobility; slightly convex and in proportion to shape of dog. Region of nape very muscular. Dewlap and loose skin undesirable.
Forequarters Shoulder blade and upper arm meet at an angle of 90 degrees. Shoulder blade and upper arm approximately equal in length. Short upper arm relative to shoulder blade highly undesirable. Legs seen from front and side, perfectly straight and parallel to each other from elbow to pastern; muscled and sinewy, with round bone in proportion to body structure. Standing or gaiting, elbow lies close to brisket.
Body Square, height measured vertically from ground to highest point at withers equal to length from forechest to rear projection of upper thigh. Forechest well developed. Back short and firm, with strong, straight topline sloping slightly from withers to croup; bitches may be slightly longer to loin. Ribs deep and well sprung, reaching to elbow. Belly fairly well tucked up. Long, weak, or roach backs highly undesirable.
Hindquarters Legs parallel to each other and moderately wide apart. Pelvis falling away from spinal column at an angle of about 30 degrees. Croup well filled out. Hindquarters well developed and muscular; long, well bent stifle; hocks turning neither in nor out. When standing, hock to heel perpendicular to the ground.
Feet Well arched, compact, and cat-like, turning neither in nor out. All dewclaws removed. Long, flat deviating feet and/or weak pasterns highly undesirable.
Tail Customarily docked. Docked: Docked at 1st or 2nd joint. Appears to be a continuation of spine without material drop. Undocked: Appears to be a continuation of spine without material drop, or slightly raised when the dog is moving.
Gait/Movement Elastic, free, balanced and vigorous, with good reach in forequarters and driving power in hindquarters. When trotting, should have strong rear drive, with apparent rotary motion of hindquarters. Rear and front legs thrown neither in nor out. Back remains strong and firm.
Coat Smooth, short, hard, thick and close-lying. Imperceptible undercoat on neck permissible. Hair forming a ridge on back of neck and/or along spine highly undesirable.
Colour Definite black, brown, blue or fawn (Isabella) only, with rust red markings. Markings to be sharply defined, appearing above each eye, on muzzle, throat and forechest, on all legs and feet and below tail. White markings of any kind highly undesirable.
Size Ideal height at withers: dogs: 69 cms (27 ins); bitches: 65 cms (25.5 ins). Considerable deviation from this ideal undesirable.
Faults Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog.
Note Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
Dobermans are most recognizable as being black and tan in color but they can also come in blue and fawn but these colors are disqualifications in dog shows, there is also a rare white (albino) Doberman. They are a medium to large dog standing up to 20 inches tall, although there is no strict standard weight, they should not weigh more than 110lbs and should not weigh less as their size can determine their strength. They have long, straight and muscular legs that should be parallel and strong, they also have a long neck and face, by breed standards they should also have the characteristic spots above their eyes, which look almost like eyebrows. Their coat should be short and glossy to look at. Dobermans are very elegant to look at, and often have their tails docked and their ears cropped which have come to be part of their most well known characteristics. However, in most countries both these practices have been banned.
History.
The Doberman to this day is credited to a man named Louis Dobermann, he was a tax collector in Germany and developed the breed to use as his guard dog, he used a verity of dogs that each had unique traits that he wanted for his 'new' dog. Although which breeds he used for certain are not completely known, it is known that he used a Rottweiler, a Great Dane, a Manchester Terrier, a Greyhound and the German Sheppard. There are also a few other breeds thought to be in the Dobermans heritage but it's not certain. Louis Doberman first started work on the breed in the late 1800's and in 1889 they were officially recognized by the German Kennel Club. They were often used as police dogs and also tracking dogs, the breed developed in America after the 1st World War as many American soldiers became so attached to the breed they took them home with them.
Temperament.
Unfortunately, Dobermans have a reputation for being an aggressive attack dog, however this is not the dogs fault and the blame for an overly aggressive Doberman usually lies with the owner. They are not the right dog for a first time dog owner, however if given proper training and exercise, they can be wonderful dogs. They are highly intelligent and several studies have shown that they are in fact one of the most trainable dogs. They are protective animals and love to please their owners, they can often become a one man dog, choosing preference to one person over all others and forming a close bond. They can be very excitable at times, so they need a handler who can be in control and let the dog know who's in command, though as with all dogs you should never be aggressive or abusive to them. They need to start training from a young age, and need to be kept active, if they are not well trained they can develop behavioral problems which has led to them being stereotyped as an aggressive dog. They can also become highly distressed if left alone for too long.
Health Issues.
Dobermans have been proven to suffer from prostatic disease more than any other breed, they can also suffer from hip dysplasia and Willebrand's disease, Willebrand's is a genetic disease that causes a bleeding disorder, there is genetic testing that can be done to check all Dobermans for this disease. They are also very susceptible to the cold so should be kept warm.
Grooming.
Dobermans require very little grooming as their coat is so short, however a good brush once a week will help to remove loose or dead hair and also encourage the skin to produce their natural oils that keep the coat healthy and shiny.
Living Conditions.
The Doberman is best suited to somewhere with a medium sized garden, however they could live in an apartment, as long as they have good regular exercise. They can be good with other animals, although this is not always true so wouldn't necessarily be a good idea, unless they were raised together.
