The Doberman Pinscher
The Doberman Pinscher is a working class dog, bred to work closely at the side of his owner. Keeping this in mind, it’s important to realize that this breed needs interaction and socialization with humans often. It’s not the type of dog to be tied up in the backyard. Not only is this unhealthy, but it will ensure that your dog will remain shy and be unfit for human contact. Taking into consideration this breeds classification as a ‘working breed’, it’s obvious that the Doberman is a high energy dog, requiring daily exercise to keep them fit and happy. They are known for being determined, fearless, and assertive, however not vicious. A vicious dog is never born that way, but trained.
Socializing the puppy from a young age will help a great deal as the pup grows to keep them people oriented. Keep in mind that this breed is often targetted under the Breed Specific Legislation, and is unwelcome in some counties. The bad reputation the Doberman has acquired it mostly due to the use of them in movies as vicious dogs. The best example of this is seen in the movie ‘The Omen’, where the Doberman Pinscher is used as a minion to the antichrist. Before the movie hype, the Doberman had a reputation as a military and police working dog, obviously not as a ‘bad guy’.
From this breeds history, the Doberman Pinscher became the classic guard dog that most people see them as today. The Doberman’s innate protectiveness of their ‘pack’ (i.e. you) helps with this. This breed is known for always wanting to be phsyically close to their owners, a trait often listed in their temperment being ‘protective’. It would take a brave man to come between a Doberman and his owner. This is a devoted and watchful breed, and needs an owner that is not afraid to take the lead.
All family members should know how to handle this high energy dog. Some Dobermans are family dogs, while others preferring to bond with only one person. However, as in the case with most dogs, Dobermans will know when their handler is hesitant, and will attempt to dominate them quickly. That is simply how a dog pack works.
Doberman Pinschers have many talents including man tracking, watchdogging, guarding, personal protection, police K9 work, military K9 work, search & rescue, therapy work, competitive obedience and schutzhund. Schutzhand is the the german term for competitive working dog competitions.
May 12, 2008 at 10:21 am
Thank you for the post…very informative…