Question about Dobes
Why are there so few working dobes? dobes that have actual jobs. Do they not have the right temperament for personal protection and bite work? almost 100 % seem to be GSD or Belgian Shepherd.

I would be grateful for your comments

I am not talking about schutzhund style sleeve bite work , but more like police dog/ppd.

Regards

Ram

PS: As an example, I doubt my dogs have it in them to fight and bite, they are way too soft and playful. I am wondering if dobes as a breed has lost it's edge

When I was a kid we had a Police dobe that lived behind us. He had fight and bite from what I remember and was the K-9 dog in town. I don't have an answer to why there are so few, but maybe the breeding has leaned toward family companion and so their original traits have become diluted. It seems to happen with all working breeds. the general public thinks "I want an intelligent dog like that" but can't handle the work and liability so they end up breeding a "dumbed down" version for the average handler.

I love dobes, but don't have one because a good healthy dobe is really hard to find unless you have a boatload of money. I think in the U.S., dobes were very popular in the mid-1980's and it ruined a lot of their lines with poor breedings being done.

My understanding is that it is far harder to find one with the right stuff. They also seem to mature slower than GSDs, working dogs are trained fairly quickly because the more training then more $$$.

The biggest reason you don't see a lot of Dobes in police work is; what's available are a bunch of nerve bags. I hear of one now and then, but personally haven't seen a working PSD in 20 years. The military tried some Dobes back in the early 80's at the insistence of Dobermann breeders. It didn't work out because basically, the ones they (the breeders) picked were a bunch of nerve bags.

DFrost

Agree with all of the replies so far. Back in the 80's we (Doberman people) had the number 1 spot in popularity. This is not something I wish on any breed and something that the reputable breeders are still 30 years later trying to recover from. It causes over breeding for the sake of making a few bucks. The result was bad health, bad nerve, a lot of bads came out of that. In addition a lot of people who loved the thought of owning one (watched the movie Doberman Gang or Angel Eyes)but not a clue as to the time and effort that goes into one. Many were going into apartment complex's and not exercised etc and little if any obedience. Soon they developed the same stigma as our poor PitBulls have today. Doberman's are a very active breed that thinks constantly and bred to work independently AND they mature slowly. OK so put all of that together, a dog that bonds tightly to its trainer and may not work as well for anyone else is hard to sell to the public (Police etc). Doberman's are notorious for being stubborn, meaning that when trained incorrectly it is very difficult to retrain him or her. It can be done but it takes effort on both the dog and trainers part. It took me 3 years to finish retraining my male when I purchased him at 2 years to compete with him in order for him to be rock steady with doing things my way. So we had lots and lots of dogs being bred simply because people would buy them and dogs going into homes that they should not have been in. Reputation tanked along with a lot of genetics. A good working doberman can be found with excellent genetics but he/she is going to cost these days AND the breeder of these dogs is going to want it to go into an experienced doberman home that has titled dobermans before.

With my personal protection dog I had to crate him when my teenagers started rough housing. Some would say this is a training issue but I would not risk my dog making the decision to stop the rough housing on his own. Again, Dobermans work independently very well and it is only bonding that causes a personal protection doberman to obey in all situations. One day I was at the computer when a friend came over that my dog had never met. Not paying attention I continued finishing my work. My friend (a male) had come to stand behind me to see what I was doing. He says.... Ummmm what is your dog doing? I looked at my dog and he was tense waiting to make a decision on this new person and if I needed to be protected. I told my friend not to move went to my dog released him, had my friend sit down then my dog went over to him relaxed to make friends. So again, dobermans work independently more so than many of the other breeds which can be a liability.

Some may agree some may not this is my opinion on it. I've owned exclusively Dobermans since 1982 (my first being from 2 run aways that showed up on my Sisters farm). The dog I own now is the dog of my dreams. I have waited a life time for this dog and she was worth every cent we paid for her. Her health testing could not be any better, structure, stability, problem solving etc but I can guarantee you that the breeder would NOT have sold her to me at any price without previously owning a doberman and titling it.

Hope this answers your questions. AGAIN this is only my opinion on the question and others may see things differently.

Take care,

Polly

 Quote: David C.Frost

The biggest reason you don't see a lot of Dobes in police work is; what's available are a bunch of nerve bags. I hear of one now and then, but personally haven't seen a working PSD in 20 years. The military tried some Dobes back in the early 80's at the insistence of Dobermann breeders. It didn't work out because basically, the ones they (the breeders) picked were a bunch of nerve bags.

DFrost

My father had one, late 70's Euro model, a sharp dog for sure, but this was the last I saw of his kind.

http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/ae276/tammy715/scan0001.jpg


The one I got, mid 80's, had nerve issues.

In our practice in the 80s there was a beautiful, huge and seemly very gentle and solid dobe who began killing newborn dairy calves on his owners farm. Sadly, that was the end of him.
Most of the dobes I met in our practice (only did SA 2 yrs) were sweet and gentle, calm, not nervous. No fear biting. They were universally loved by their families.

Forgive my ignorance, but what does "Bag of nerves" mean? Does it mean the dog is shy? or does not have aggression to fight and bite?

I love my dogs , but dobes were my second choice. I wanted GSDs but they cant work in Indian conditions. It is bloody hot and humid.

Are there GSDs with really short coats, that can work in tropical conditions?

In comparison, my Bommi will never get tired after 15 minutes if I work her in heat, but Kaiser and Helga start panting after 10 minutes.

Ram

It gets very hot in Texas but our GSD's have no problem working. You just need to aware of heat exhaustion and how to avoid it, goes for dobes too.