Yes, he is very handsome, @Mandyy ! Don't worry. None of us really has much of a guarantee that one of the common maladies that are common in the breed won't show up in our Dobes at some point. Just enjoy him.Great looking boy you have there Mandy
You can have an echo and holter done at 2 years and then every year after that is the best way to monitor the heart and catch anything. They recommend that early and often as many live many more years when DCM is caught and treated early.I, myself, have a Canis Maximus Dobie. I had no idea she was so frowned upon and she literally came up as one of the best European Doberman breeders near me when I initially looked her up. I personally met her at her kennel in West Virginia and she was very cold but I chalked it up to her culture. Some of her dogs looked unkept but my puppy looked very healthy so it didn’t make sense at the time.
I’m not sure how my dogs litter was docked but his tail (or nub) never grew hair on the end of it. I was going to try keeping him in tact but he was getting way too confrontational with other dogs and people (as you can see me holding him back from one of my relatives in a picture below - but I just turned it into a cute picture of us haha) so I neutered him at 2 years. Other than that, he’s been such a good boy. DeSoto has been raised alongside my son whom he protects and loves to play with. But in general I mostly worry about the potential health issues that may come with him later knowing she’s not a positive reputable breeder.
If anyone has any updates on Irina Barrett’s case, I’d be interested to know!
First, I was saddened to learn of the alleged treatment of the animals at Canis Maximus. It breaks my heart to learn of it. I had a dog from Canis Maximus who died just last week from cancer. It was my first Dobie, which we raised from a six-week old puppy. She grew up with my son. Pearl was absolutely beautiful! Very high-energy and one of the sweetest pets we ever owned. Her temperament was exceptional, she was a very gentle and friendly dog. She lived 8 short years - short because she really was the center of our family life. She was our Velcro-dog -she never let family stray too far from her. We even based our home purchase on the yard size just to give her space to run. And run she did! It was so well worth it just to be able to witness her athletic prowess. She would be out with us for hours and never stopped running. Dobies are really smart dogs, too. Pearl would communicate with us in ways I never expected. She gave our family many years of joy and love. She is surely missed and will be for the rest of our lives. Was her cancer the result of anything that happened at Canis Maximus? Probably not, but, if it was, she needed a home, we gave it to her, and, besides our human family, she was the greatest treasure of our life.
Don't let anyone make you feel badly for one second. Yes, we all have ideals for what makes a good breeder, and a lot of it is solid thinking; but you had an awesome Dobe and you gave her the best life! The two Dobes I've had before my current one both died in their 8th year. I just learned the other day that my current Dobe's littermate, that the breeder kept as their breeding bitch, died at 7. I was very surprised. The breeder IS a good breeder and their two biggest things are health and working ability. They were as shocked as I was, or more. Unfortunately, disease is very prevalent in this wonderful breed.
