I have met a lot of badly-bred, nervy Dobes. The best Dobes are observant, intelligent, vigilant, energetic, courageous and have a great deal of discernment. The nervy ones are given elements of these traits but in the wrong proportions. They tend to be hyper-vigilant, hyper-active, reactive fear biters.

The flip-side of the 'not-quite-right' coin are the dogs that are so laid back that they could care less. I haven't seen many of these, but they have invariably been over-sized or from American show lines.

There are some great ones out there, but they ARE hard to find, and I agree 110% that they are a one person dog. I have found that to be true almost without fail. I can imagine that would present a problem when the handler and the trainer are two different people.

IME, Dobes overheat quickly because they are black. I could be over-simplifying, but the black color combined with a non-insulating, short, single coat means that they are especially sensitive to the heat. I have a reflective cooling coat and it makes a HUGE difference.

Let us not forget that Dobermans have served honorably and courageously in war, alongside the GSD and many other breeds. The dogs who helped liberate Guam in WWII were mostly Dobermans and inspired this monument to their memory:

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?GRid=14798700&page=gr

As Polly pointed out, in the late seventies and eighties, Dobermans reached the height of their popularity in the USA, helped along by a couple of movies that were popular at the time (as I recall, about Dobermans that were trained to assist their masters in criminal exploits LOL), and, also, the popularity of a certain TV show by the name of "Magnum, P.I," where two Dobermans guard a beautiful estate in Hawaii and take delight in giving Magnum a hard time.

As always happens when a breed becomes very popular, quantity overtakes quality as unscrupulous breeders try to cash in, and problems ensue, both with physical health and temperament and disposition. As a result, the Doberman became somewhat stereotyped in public perception as an aggressive or dangerous dog.

Fortunately, the fad died down, AKC popularity ranking fell (thank goodness), and responsible and ethical breeders tried to produce dogs who were intelligent and alert but also with stable temperaments and sociable dispositions. In some people's opinions, perhaps the pendulum has gone too far the other way, and drive and work ethic has been bred out of them in favor of toning down the sharpness into a more socially acceptable (at least in the USA) dog.

As with the GSD and others, there is dissent among Doberman people as to American versus German, show line versus working line, etc. But if one is willing to do a little research, I believe it is entirely possible to find a nice Dobe, in good health, with a stable temperament, at a fair price, bred in the USA, if that is what you are looking for.

BTW, I realize that most of the comments in this thread are concerning Dobes in the USA, and the OP is from India. Maybe someone out there can comment on the breed's uses in other parts of the world.

 Quote: Kristel Smart

IME, Dobes overheat quickly because they are black. I could be over-simplifying, but the black color combined with a non-insulating, short, single coat means that they are especially sensitive to the heat. I have a reflective cooling coat and it makes a HUGE difference.

DITTO! Every Dobe I have owned (all have been black) has been very intolerant of hot weather, or, really, any temperature extremes, hot or cold.

I'll have to try one of those reflective cooling coats. Heck, maybe they make them for people???!!!

 Quote: ramachandran subramanian

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?

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



Ram

"Bag of Nerves" generally means; the dog does not have the stable nerves to become a PSD. Fearful, unsure of themselves, hard time adjusting to new surrounding. Just not a solid nerved dog.

The GSD was used in the Jungle of Viet Nam and is currently in use in the big sandbox of the Middle East. Keep in mind, I didn't say there weren't any Dobes that could be PSD's. The certainly are not available in the numbers of the other pointy eared varieties.

DFrost