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The Dobermann breed - History
The breed
Dobermann has through the years faced enormous prejudice and had bad reputation. The breed was supposed to be aggressive and vicious and bread only to be guard dogs. Today is´t aggression has mostly been eliminated from the breed and usually Dobermann are a very sweet family dogs. Dobermann is in his nature working and guard dog that requiers much exercise but he also enjoys resting with his husband or family. As a quick description then Dobermann is alert, courageous and rational. He usually takes is obligations seriously even though he is also very playful. He usually is a good tracking dog and suites well for any kind of work.
Below are the FCI Standards for Dobermann(143)General apperance
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.
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.Behaviour/temperament
Head
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 requied, and also adaptability and attention to fit the social environment.
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 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).
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
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
Limbs
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.
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.Skin
Coat
The skin fits closely all over and is of good pigment.
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.
Size and weight
Height at withers : Males : 68 – 72 cm.
Bitches : 63 – 68 cm.Medium size desirable.
Weight : Males : about 40 – 45 kg.
Faults
Bitches : about 32 – 35 kg.
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
Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be disqualified.
- 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.
N.B. : Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
History
Dobermann like we know the breed today is very young breed compared to many other breeds. There are also few breeds that have taken their name after their breeder, Mr. Friedrich Louis Dobermann(1834-1894). The breed however, didn’t receive its name until 5 years after Mr. Dobermann died. It was another man named Mr.Otto Göller who is considered the main recreator and sponsor of the breed. He established the Dobermann Pincher Club Apolda in 1899, which later became the National Dobermann Pinscher Club of Germany.
Unfortunately there are few existing biographical and written details about Louis Dobermann and the mix of dogs that made the breed like we know it today. The mix will remain hidden for eternity. Even though many things have been written about him, most of it isnt baced on facts but fictions. Louis Dobermann was a countryman who was very fond of dogs and dog breeding. He was born 2nd January 1834 in a small town called Apolda, situated in the southern center part of Germany. One of the main hobbies that inhabitants of that area had was dogs and dogs breeding. Louis Dobermann was with out a doubt one of the leader in that field. Louis Dobermann was in a number of jobs at that time, which included being a butcher, the local dogcatcher, night watchman and the official tax collector. Many of these jobs were well suitable for breeding dogs because as a butcher he could get cheap food for his dogs and as a dogcatcher he could obtain breeds that he thought suited his breeding goals. As a night watchman and tax collector he required a guard dog with courage and high protective instinct for his own security.
The first female dogs that Louis Dobermann used for breeding were called Bissart and Schnuppe. Schnuppe was also the first Dobermann which was registered in the National Pinscher Club of Germany when it was founded. That bitch didn’t have many things in common with modern Dobmermann, neither the look nor the temperament.
For some years it was impossible for Louis Dobermann to breed dogs himself, because he lived in a very small apartment. It wasn’t until 1880 that he moved into a bigger place and began breeding dogs. In the town where he lived there was great dogs culture and since the year 1860 there was annual dog market there. The purpose of this dog market wasn’t only buying and selling but as well to promote dog breeding. All breeds were there, small and big and they were divided into groups. The market was very popular and usually there were over one hundred dogs exhibited. Louis Dobermann was a regular visitor because at his market he could get to know all the types of dogs that interested him, regarding looks and character.
Luckily Louis Dobermann had some friends that were very into dog breeding and were able to help him and co-operated with the breeding. One of his friends was Mr. Rebel, he was also a night watchman and he collaborated with another man, Mr. Stegmann, who owed particularly large, strong a useful dogs, which he used for herding his cattle. He very often had to travel to Switzerland where he bought new cattle. At his travel he usually had to go through small narrow roads which were dangerous because of robbers. To make his money secured Mr. Stegmann used to tie it to the collars of his dogs because the robbers were less likely to attack the dogs than him. After some years the three men and their fierce dogs became known with Louis Dobermann as their leader. Great demand up rise and they were sold as fast as they were breed.
In the end of nineteenth century, couple of years after Friedrich Dobermann and his friends were dead, some other people started to have interest in this new breed. Mr Otto Göller, also from Apolda, was number one in creating and reform the modern Dobermann. Otto Göller was quick to realize the pros and cons of the breed and. He figured out that to use better the pros he needed to start breeding out the cons of the basic stock. He was aware of the exceptional intelligence of the breed, its alertness and its excellent qualifies as a guard dog. He thought that these dogs were to fierce and vicious. He therefore started adding sweeter tempered dog into the breeding stock but still kept the guard instinct.
It was also Otto Göller that added the Pincher to the name - like we know it today Dobermann Pincher. The year 1889 he founded the first Dobermann club in Germany. Ten years later, he started to register some kind of standards for the breed first of all. The first show was the year 1899 and the judge was Mr Ullrich. Twelve dogs were registered. The dog that won was Graf Belling von Grönland from Otto Göller kennel which had the name Von Thúringen. One of the best known dogs from his kennel was Hellegraf Von Thúringen, born 1904. Another Dobermann breeder who was there from the beginning was Goswin Tischler, owner of the well known kennel Von Grönland. His bloodlines can been found throughout of the world.
At this time the look of Rotthweiler and Dobermann were very similar and often it was difficult to distinguish between them. Down below we have the two first registered Dobermann, Graf Belling Von Grönlad and Gerhilde Von Thúringen, born 1898, owner Otto Göller.
Accurate gene combination in Dobermann isn’t known but Otto Göller was convinced that German Shepherd, Shorthaired Gun dog, Great Dane and German Pincher played the most important part in the formation of the breed. Other old breeders and specialists are suggesting that the following dogs also has played a role in the making of Dobermann; Butchers dog, Sheep dog, Rottweiler, Weimaraner, Beauceron, Manchester Terrier and Greyhound.
The German Dobermann club researched the origin of Dobermann the year 1933 and tried to figure out the secret behind the breed. The conclusion was that was the German Pincher had been the main ground in the combination but the accurate combination and history will remain hidden.It wasn’t until the year 1957, in Germany when the ZTP- temperament test was introduced that the temperament in Dobermann took great upswing. All dogs in breeding had to go through and pass this test so they were recommended for breeding. This test looks for insecurity, shyness and aggression in dogs and if the dog didn’t pass it should be excluded from breeding. Since then the temperament has improved and this fierce viciousness and aggression that characterized Dobermann from beginning has been eliminated.
Eyrún Steinsson
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