What About Dobermanns
The Dobermann Pinscher is the only purposefully bred protection dog. Properly trained, they make effective personal protectors and home guardians.
Originating from Central Germany, by the 20th Century they were well known as Police Dogs and often used as Guard and Personal Protection dogs.
Is it Doberman or Dobermann?
There are two ways of spelling Dobermann. Americans spell it as Doberman and Europeans spell it as Dobermann. Often times the spelling of the word is based on the origins of the dogs genetic heritage.
Breeders may use the spelling to advertise the heritage of their dogs and use it to reference either an American or European Dobermann.
Here at AustralisK9 we love tradition and thus use the traditional European spelling of the word Dobermann. For further information on the Heritage of our Dobermanns please see Our Dobermanns page.
Where do Dobermanns come from?
The Dobermann Pinscher originated from Central Germany. Karl Friedrich Louis Dobermann is the person that bred the foundations of the breed. He required a dog that would provide personal protection while he conducted his business as a Tax Collector. It is thought that various breeds were crossed to develop the Dobermann. These breeds included: Rottweiler, German pinscher, Great Dane, German shepherd dog, Manchester terrier, and English greyhound shorthaired shepherd.
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They were often used as Guard and Police Dogs.
Working Lines
Dobermanns were originally designed for work as Personal Protection and Police Dogs. In the 20th Century, they created a Dobermann that was fierce. In those days, a successful working Dobermann had to have a solid, strong bite, with high drive, determination, dominance and high pain threshold. They were bred to withstand a punishing from an attacker in order to save their human companion in life threatening situations. Yet, these dogs have a soft side for their human, earning their nickname as the 'Velcro Dog'. They loved their people and were suspicious of all others. Its a dedication that is special to behold and understood by few.
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These dogs were strong, powerful and healthy.
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The modern Dobermann Working Lines retain some of their old timers blood. They are generally a taller, thicker set dog compared to their Show Line counterpart. They still posses high drive, strong work ethic, dominance and high pain thresholds. While being a complete sook and Velcro Dog for their people. Due to the nature of their work, these Dobermann lines tend to have a better health record than their Show Line counterparts. Dedicated Breeders continue the hard work, towards a healthier Dobermann breed.
Show Lines
Show Line Dobermanns still retain their Working Line heritage in strong guarding instinct and intelligence. They generally are a slimmer style of Dobermann in comparison to their Working Line counterpart.
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They are bred for the show ring so show lines focused more on the behavior and temperament that more suitable for such a task. As such they are less stubborn, headstrong and dominate. Their bite is now different. They no longer posses the solid, strong bite their ancestors had. The don't bite and hold, that which is more desired in Police and Protection work.
These traits are ideal for being the family pet. These Dobermanns excel at being part of the family unit. They will bark to let the family know when strangers are around. Yet, are more accepting and happy to let the neighbors kids come over to run and play.
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Due to the nature of the Show Ring, where the focus on versatility of the breed is less important, health issues have crept into the breed. Overall, dedicated Breeders are working hard to improve the health record of the Dobermann.
Training Resources
Training a Dobermann starts as soon as the puppy is collected. If the Dobermann Puppy Parent is dedicated to training, day in, day out, they will have a lovely, well adjusted family guardian.
For more intense training and focus, it is highly recommended to participate in a suitable dog sport. Dobermanns excel at any sport their Dobermann Parent wishes to focus on. Yet, each Dobermann is unique, so determine where your Dobermanns strengths lie and focus on a Dog Sport that takes advantage of that strength. They really are an exceptional breed.
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Puppy Training:
Puppies have very short attention spans but that shouldn't delay starting some basic behavioural training like:
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Crate Training
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Start Learning the Place command
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Start Learning to Lead
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Start Learning Tie in Place
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Sit and wait for their food bowl to be placed down.
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Wait at the door for the human to go through first - including the kids
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Substitution: swap a bad behaviour for a good behaviour, praise good behaviour
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Teach the Kids to teach the puppy, especially when the puppy is smaller than the kids.
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Kids making the sleeping dog move out of their path - do not step over the dog.
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There are many very good Dog Trainers who can assist with setting a solid foundation on your young Dobermann. Please find some links to YouTube Channels that AustralisK9 recommends.
Source: https://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/cardiovascular/enlarged-heart-dilated-cardiomyopathy-dogs
You own a Dobermann? Check the ingrediants list on the dog food packaging and make sure it is suitable.
Source: https://www.atlantaskinvet.com/the-grain-free dilemma.pml#:~:text=Since%20
taurine%20deficiency%20has%20been,rice
%20(rice%20bran)%20diets.
Dobermann Health Issues
While AustralisK9 has done all that they can to breed healthy, long lived pups, the Dobermann Pincher does unfortunately have a number of health issues to consider. Essentially, due to lack of genetic diversity in the Dobermann breed, the Dobermann has developed, or is susceptible to, a number of Disorders. These include ​​Dilated Cardiomyopathy, Von Willebrand Disease, Cervical Vertebral Instability (Wobbler Syndrome), Gastric Dilatation and Volvulus Syndrome (GDV or "Bloat").
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However, Dobermanns are not the only breed that suffers from these health issues. Other medium to large size dog breeds can develop these diseases such as: Irish Wolfhounds, Newfoundland dogs, Labradors, German Shepards and Great Danes, to name a few.
Let us focus in on each of these health issues starting with Dilated Cardiomyopathy or DCM for short. Inherited DCM is distinctly different from DCM caused by nutritional (taurine) deficiencies. DCM is a condition where the thick muscle wall of the hearts left ventricle becomes thinner and stretches under pressure from blood flow. Casing the heart to become enlarged. Severity of the disease and age onset varies widely. If symptoms are showing, they include depression, fainting, shortness of breath and weakness. If DCM is noticed early enough, veterinary intervention can prolong the life of the dog. Regular heart check ups by the your vet may identify the early onset of DCM susceptible dogs.
Ongoing research has resulted in some interesting findings regarding Dobermanns and DCM.
DCM caused by nutritional (taurine) deficiencies: The US FDA performed a recent investigation into how specific dog foods maybe contributing to DCM. Their findings are concerning and well worth the read. They have discovered that grain free dog foods rely heavily on legumes like peas or lentils, other legume ingredients or potatoes as main ingredients. It is thought these ingredients maybe contributing to DCM cases in dogs weather their pre-disposed or not. Two Dobermanns were part of the trial. They were on dog food sold as "Grain Free" or "Zero Grain" for 2 years and both developed DCM. Even though both these dogs were genetically pre-disposed to DCM, their Echocardiogram results were much improved after a diet change off the "Grain Free" food. Please have a read of the Research Findings Here: Vet-LIRN Update on Investigation into Dilated Cardiomyopathy. "Since taurine deficiency has been determined to be a cause of DCM, these dogs were placed on a taurine supplement and the diet changed. Some (but not all) saw signs of clinical improvement. What is interesting is that this same issue arose in the 90’s in regards to lamb and rice (rice bran) diets. Those diets were determined to be taurine deficient." (Dr Pat, 2022, GRAIN FREE DOG FOOD, TAURINE DEFICIENCY AND HEART DISEASE - WHAT'S THE STORY? , Atlanta Veterinary Skin & Allergy Clinic).
Taurine Deficiency: Taurine Deficiency can disrupt various metabolic processes within the body. Such disruptions may cause: - DCM - Vision impairment - High blood pressure - Hypothyroidism (overactive thyroid) - Kidney disorder - Anxiety - Obesity - Depression It is thought that Taurine is depleted from the body via overuse of muscles and in particular in fast twitch muscle fibers  (Dawson et al., 2000; Matsuzaki et al., 2002; Yatabe et al., 2003). Foods that contain Taurine include: muscle meat, eggs, dairy, shellfish, especially scallops, mussels, and clams. Foods that have no or very low levels of Taurine include: plants, vegetables, in particular peas, beans, other legumes, potatoes and rice bran.
Inherited DCM:  Two genetic mutations have been identified in Dobermanns who have DCM. These are PDK4; NCSU DCM1 and NCSU DCM2. While having one or two copies of these genes are thought to increase risk of developing disease, it is no means predictive of disease. Over 40 genes are associated with DCM and we know about two of them. Majority of the research done on DCM has been performed on the American Doberman, a high risk population for DCM. Sadly, 37% of Dobermans with the DCM1 (PDK4) mutation will develop disease, 50% with the DCM2 mutation will develop disease, and 60% with the DCM1 and DCM2 mutations will develop disease. These statistics correlate more to disease in American lines of Dobermans than European lines of Dobermanns. DCM is a highly complex disease regulated by many genetic factors, most of which is unknown. Testing negative for DCM1 and DCM2 does not rule out that your Dobermann will be DCM free. Not enough is yet understood of the disease. What can Dobermann Breeders do to help reduce the impact of DCM in their puppies? Breeders need to genetically test their Dobermanns to determine which genetic mutation the dog has. At this stage the breeds genetic diversity is so low, its a high likelihood they will carry either DCM1 or DCM2. Breeders than need to determine how healthy and long-lived the blood lines their dogs come from are. They need to make sure these blood lines have low rate of clinically diagnosed DCM in those lines. The aim is to work towards reducing the clinical risk while not reducing the breed diversity. To save the Dobermann, Breeders have to make a commitment to not breed dogs with the DCM1 variant to dogs with the DCM2 variant so as to not produce puppies with both variants. AustralisK9 is performing the genetic testing and contributing towards preserving the Dobermann Breed.
Ethical Dobermann Breeders are doing all that they can to eliminate DCM from their breeding program. However, it is still occurring and in no small part due to the lack of genetic diversity within the Dobermann Breed.
At this time the best defence against DCM is researching longevity in blood lines, making sure the diet is not contributing to nutritional (taurine) deficiencies, performing regular Halter Testing, and Echocardiogram Testing.
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Dobermann Breeders are struggling to expel DCM as they have had no tools with which they could work to breed litters with fewer shared genetic mutations and lower levels of inbreeding compared to the parent dogs.
Research continues as there are many more genetic markers that can result in DCM. Please refer to the Doberman Diversity Project for further information.
Von Willebrand Disease
Von Willebrand Disease (vWD) is an inherited coagulation defect in dogs. It is a bleeding disorder that is caused by a deficiency in, or lack of, von Willebrand Factor (vWF) proteins, preventing the blood from clotting. When a cut occurs, vWF proteins act as a bridge between platelets, holding them together. Without this 'bridge' affected dogs are unable to clot the blood and thus stop bleeding.
vWD has been diagnosed in over 40 different dog breeds, however, highest incident of disease occurs in Dobermanns.
There are three types of von Willebrand disease: Type 1: There are fewer amounts of vWF proteins but they are formed normally. This type is most common in Dobermanns, Shetland sheepdogs, German shepherds, and standard poodles. Type 2: A more sever form than Type 1. Some proteins are present, or there is an abnormal structure of the proteins and they are not functioning correctly. This type is most common in German shorthaired and German wirehaired pointers. Type 3: The most sever form: Little to no proteins available. This type is most common in Scottish terriers, Chesapeake Bay retrievers, and Shetland sheepdogs. Dogs may "carry" the vWD trait without expressing a bleeding tendency. Some affected Dobermanns may not exhibit symptoms until they are 4 years old. However if they do express a bleeding tendency, symptoms can include: - Blood in the urine - Blood in the feces (bright red or black tarry coloration) - Nose bleeds - Bleeding from the mouth or gums - Excessive bleeding during loss of baby teeth - Prolonged bleeding after giving birth - Prolonged bleeding during heat cycle ​Genetic testing for vWD is available. vWD is inherited in an autosomal recessive manner. Meaning puppies need to receive two copies of the mutated gene to develop disease. A pairing where the Dame and Sire both carry the mutated gene will result in affected puppies. Each pup that is born to this pairing has a 25% chance of inheriting the disease and a 50% chance of inheriting one copy and being a carrier of the vWF gene mutation.
Cervical Vertebral Instability
(Wobbler Syndrome)
Wobbler Syndrome is a disease that affects the spine in the neck or cervical region in dogs. It is a debilitating and painful disease that is characterised by the dog having a wobbly gate. It can be caused by either a slipped disk or bony growth that impedes on the spinal cord. The genetic basis for Wobbler Syndrome is unknown. Yet, the cause is thought to be hereditary or from diet. Diets high in protein, calcium, and phosphorous accelerate growth, which may contribute to skeletal changes seen in wobbler dogs. Dobermanns that are genetically disposed to Wobbler Syndrome generally have the classic form of the disease characterised by disk herniations. Affected Dobermann have a reduced size of the neck spinal canal compared to unaffected Dobermanns, which may increase their risk of developing a herniated disk. ​ Dobermanns usually develop the disease when they are middle aged or older - usually around 6 years of age.
Gastric Dilatation and Volvulus Syndrome (GDV or "Bloat")
Gastric dilatation-volvulus (GDV), also known as Bloat, occurs when a dog's stomach is full with gas/ food and than suddenly gets twisted. It is a serious condition and is fatal if left untreated. It is a very painful condition. ​
Bloat develops without warning and can progress quickly. If Bloat occurs, treat it as an emergency and get the dog to the vet ASAP. Symptoms of Bloat include: - An enlargement of the dog’s abdomen - Dry reaching - Salivation - Restlessness - Pain in the abdomen area - Spewing feces - Unable to go to the toilet properly - Depression ​There is no single cause, genetic or otherwise, for Bloat. However, Dobermanns and other big-dog breeds are more susceptible to Bloat than others. How to reduce the risk of Bloat: - Use Slow Feeder Bowles to stop gorging habits and gulping air - Increase meal frequency and reduce meal size - Dampen the food prior to feeding - Avoid exercise after meals Reduce anxiety around meal times​