At the request of @BG1 I have put this post in its own thread for mored input specifically on the temperament issue.
I stumbled over this post on FB and the author says everything I've tried to put into words myself and failed to get across what I'm seeing and feeling. I've said a hundred times that this breed is not what they use to be, and swear there were never all these problems that we see in today's Dobermans. Finally someone has said it for me. When she describes the "use to be" Doberman, that's the one I call my perfect dog who was whelped in 1991. She was all those things. She wasn't a unicorn, that was the norm back then.
OPEN LETTER TO THE DOBERMAN COMMUNITY
For the love of the Doberman….
I am writing this now because after 25 years of living with, working with, titling, and loving Dobermans, I am seeing something in the breed that I have never seen before. A steady decline in stability, confidence, and resilience that should concern every single one of us who claims to care about this dog.
I have stood beside Dobermans from multiple eras. Dogs who earned championships, obedience titles, temperament certifications, and working titles. Dobermans who lived into double digits with sound minds and bodies. Dogs who could walk into a room, assess it clearly, and settle with quiet dignity. They could be left alone without panic, crated without hysteria, and worked in true drive without spiraling into arousal. These were Dobermans who were present, confident, and sane.
Today, I am seeing far too many Dobermans who cannot tolerate simple confinement. Dogs who cannot be separated from their owners by even a few feet without emotional collapse. Dogs who tremble, spin, self-soothe through compulsive behaviors, scream in crates, and pace endlessly. Not because they are high drive, but because they are overwhelmed by their own nervous system.
You do not get to call anxiety loyalty. Clinginess is not devotion. A Doberman that cannot stand on its own four feet without unraveling is not a guardian. It is a prisoner to its weak nerves.
The Dobermans I came up in the breed with were aloof, discerning, confident, and athletic. They were watchful without hysteria, protective without panic, powerful without over compensation. They could take pressure without folding. They could be asked for work without falling apart. They thrived under structure and clear leadership.
Today, many Dobermans swing between frantic golden-retriever-style neediness and sharp overcompensation. They make defensive displays not from courage but from fear. Worse still, many cannot be fulfilled through healthy drive outlets because their food drive is flat, their toy drive is non-existent, and their genetic confidence is fractured. This is not the Doberman described in our breed standard.
To the breeders reading this. You are the gatekeepers of the Doberman’s future, not its marketers. Please stop romanticizing fragility. A dog that cannot cope with life is not “sensitive” in a charming way. It is unfit for the very role the breed was created for. Stop placing puppies into homes you know are not prepared. That is not kindness. Be brutally honest with your buyers. Tell them that a Doberman without structure becomes neurotic. Tell them that affection alone is not leadership. Tell them that these dogs will run their households if allowed, and once they do, anxiety will follow. Health matters deeply, but a long-lived Doberman with a broken mind is not a win.
To the owners. If you have chosen this breed, you have chosen responsibility. Your Doberman does not need more affection. It needs structure. It needs follow-through. It needs you to show it how to live in this world without falling apart. Crate training is not optional. Independence is not cruel. Obedience is not oppressive. And a walk around the block and a lick mat is not enrichment for a working dog.
Stop confusing hyperactivity with drive. Stop over-socializing your Doberman into insecurity. Stop excusing reactivity as “just how Dobermans are.” They do not need more freedom. They need better leadership. If you do not meet their mental and physical needs, they will not simply grow out of it. They will grow into it.
The Doberman is already under pressure from serious health concerns. To layer compromised temperament on top of that is to walk this breed toward a future where it becomes nothing more than an anxious silhouette in a striking outline.
We can do better. For the love of the Doberman, we must do better. Breeders must choose stability over trend. Owners must choose structure over comfort. As a community, we must choose honesty over righteousness.
Because clarity is kindness, and this letter is written not in judgment but in devotion to a breed that deserves more than what we are currently giving it.
Tamara Champagne
and from @BG1 - ideas for discussion:
what can breeders do to slow/stop the decline
And
Two, what can we owners or new puppy buyers do in terms of structure, etc.
@Ravenbird since you are passionate about this- would you repost as its own topic, for more comments?
I especially appreciate the grounded perspective of those in working sport, on training etc.
I stumbled over this post on FB and the author says everything I've tried to put into words myself and failed to get across what I'm seeing and feeling. I've said a hundred times that this breed is not what they use to be, and swear there were never all these problems that we see in today's Dobermans. Finally someone has said it for me. When she describes the "use to be" Doberman, that's the one I call my perfect dog who was whelped in 1991. She was all those things. She wasn't a unicorn, that was the norm back then.
OPEN LETTER TO THE DOBERMAN COMMUNITY
For the love of the Doberman….
I am writing this now because after 25 years of living with, working with, titling, and loving Dobermans, I am seeing something in the breed that I have never seen before. A steady decline in stability, confidence, and resilience that should concern every single one of us who claims to care about this dog.
I have stood beside Dobermans from multiple eras. Dogs who earned championships, obedience titles, temperament certifications, and working titles. Dobermans who lived into double digits with sound minds and bodies. Dogs who could walk into a room, assess it clearly, and settle with quiet dignity. They could be left alone without panic, crated without hysteria, and worked in true drive without spiraling into arousal. These were Dobermans who were present, confident, and sane.
Today, I am seeing far too many Dobermans who cannot tolerate simple confinement. Dogs who cannot be separated from their owners by even a few feet without emotional collapse. Dogs who tremble, spin, self-soothe through compulsive behaviors, scream in crates, and pace endlessly. Not because they are high drive, but because they are overwhelmed by their own nervous system.
You do not get to call anxiety loyalty. Clinginess is not devotion. A Doberman that cannot stand on its own four feet without unraveling is not a guardian. It is a prisoner to its weak nerves.
The Dobermans I came up in the breed with were aloof, discerning, confident, and athletic. They were watchful without hysteria, protective without panic, powerful without over compensation. They could take pressure without folding. They could be asked for work without falling apart. They thrived under structure and clear leadership.
Today, many Dobermans swing between frantic golden-retriever-style neediness and sharp overcompensation. They make defensive displays not from courage but from fear. Worse still, many cannot be fulfilled through healthy drive outlets because their food drive is flat, their toy drive is non-existent, and their genetic confidence is fractured. This is not the Doberman described in our breed standard.
To the breeders reading this. You are the gatekeepers of the Doberman’s future, not its marketers. Please stop romanticizing fragility. A dog that cannot cope with life is not “sensitive” in a charming way. It is unfit for the very role the breed was created for. Stop placing puppies into homes you know are not prepared. That is not kindness. Be brutally honest with your buyers. Tell them that a Doberman without structure becomes neurotic. Tell them that affection alone is not leadership. Tell them that these dogs will run their households if allowed, and once they do, anxiety will follow. Health matters deeply, but a long-lived Doberman with a broken mind is not a win.
To the owners. If you have chosen this breed, you have chosen responsibility. Your Doberman does not need more affection. It needs structure. It needs follow-through. It needs you to show it how to live in this world without falling apart. Crate training is not optional. Independence is not cruel. Obedience is not oppressive. And a walk around the block and a lick mat is not enrichment for a working dog.
Stop confusing hyperactivity with drive. Stop over-socializing your Doberman into insecurity. Stop excusing reactivity as “just how Dobermans are.” They do not need more freedom. They need better leadership. If you do not meet their mental and physical needs, they will not simply grow out of it. They will grow into it.
The Doberman is already under pressure from serious health concerns. To layer compromised temperament on top of that is to walk this breed toward a future where it becomes nothing more than an anxious silhouette in a striking outline.
We can do better. For the love of the Doberman, we must do better. Breeders must choose stability over trend. Owners must choose structure over comfort. As a community, we must choose honesty over righteousness.
Because clarity is kindness, and this letter is written not in judgment but in devotion to a breed that deserves more than what we are currently giving it.
Tamara Champagne
and from @BG1 - ideas for discussion:
what can breeders do to slow/stop the decline
And
Two, what can we owners or new puppy buyers do in terms of structure, etc.
@Ravenbird since you are passionate about this- would you repost as its own topic, for more comments?
I especially appreciate the grounded perspective of those in working sport, on training etc.
and fortunately my Clarke did 
. It was great to hoot and hollar when someone's dobe did a job well done! I know many who participate are breeders, working to showcase their temperaments, but I enjoyed doing it with my dogs for fun....and also find all of it facinating!
