I am inquiring as a potential family for a doberman. I have been doing a lot of research on dogs and breeds to determine the best fit for my family. I want to discuss a few things with doberman owners and see what they think.
I am seriously interested in the doberman because in objective evaluations of breed types, it clearly meets our criteria better than other types of dogs. It is a stand-out match to what we're looking for. Despite this, I didn't start my search with a doberman in mind. Although I think the doberman is hard not to admire, I never really imagined myself as a doberman owner before.
The doberman image -- I grew up watching Magnum PI. I can't help that Zeus and Apollo formed part of my impression of dobermans, but of course I realize the element of fantasy there and I don't consider that to be reliable information about the doberman. Besides, my house hardly looks like Robin Master's estate so against a very different backdrop, Zeus and Apollo would almost certainly lose some of the glamour.
When I was a single person, I rather fancied myself as more the sporting dog type. Remember the show "Airwolf" with Stringfellow Hawke and his bluetick coonhound? Well, I mistook it for a German Shorthaired Pointer and thought it would be cool to live in a mountain cabin with such a gentleman's gun dog. It seems foolish now but who can say they've never been swayed by the images of Grey's Sporting Journal? The reality is when I did hunt birds I never used a dog but if I had I would have hated how far those pointers work from their handler. A brittany or one of the spaniels would be far more satisfying to me but their image is more of a much less rugged gentleman. Nevermind though because I don't hunt anymore.
The reality is I have a typical suburban lifestyle. I have a wife and two children (2 and 3) and I go to work 8 hours a day. Fortunately I live in a rural area and I commute a mile down a country road so I can come home for lunch every day. Despite all that I've still got a four bedroom house on 0.2 acres. I live in a tract house with masonite siding and all my neighbors houses are jammed up together like barracks. Nevertheless, we've got plenty of parks and open space just down the road.
Before I got in this situation, I've had some experience with dogs in the past. I grew up with a dalmatian and a border collie. I've also lived with two great pyrenes, and I've cared for a rottweiler, an OES, and a few mutts. The rest of my family has never had a dog before.
We've determined that we know we don't want a lap dog or a toy dog. My wife wonders what a dog is good for if he can't protect you -- she wants a protection dog, but I haven't limited our search on that criteria alone. She also wants minimal shedding. So do I but we would be willing to accept some shedding as long as we didn't have to change our entire wardrobe into nylon suits only.
I seriously considered some low-shedding shaggy dogs like the Bouvier, the Giant Schnauzer and the Black Russian Terrier or even the Briard. The Bouvier's indoor activity level and excercise requirements matched us best but we decided that the long shaggy fur of any of these dogs wouldn't work for us. If the dog ever got outside the house, he'd probably be permanantly banned by my wife from ever coming in again.
Excercising the dog with a jog or a bike ride to the park and a runaround the park everyday is not a problem for us, but if the dog absolutely needed 2 hours or more a day of excercise away from the house, we probably couldn't offer that. We can do a lot more on weekends but the reality during the week is I go to work, and my wife and kids have a lot of other things to do -- mostly at home. Our backyard is based on a 0.2 acre lot so the dog can play but not really excercise out there.
I know some dogs are the other half of their owner's life but we can't offer that. The dog has to fit into the whole family and while he'll probably never be left at home alone, he won't be the center of attention. He will be in the house with us though.
We're not just looking for a companion or family dog. We want a working dog and we have a job for him to do. His job is to protect the family and our property, and to help us raise our boys (2 and 3 years old now) by demanding strong leadership, command and control from all his human masters. Personally, I'm not the defensive type or seeking a defensive weapon but I can appreciate a dog that has the desire and capability to protect. For me, I see the greatest value in a dog that demands authority and responds to it magnificently.
Everyone in my family is very gentle and we would not naturally be assertive or dominate -- we would have trouble with a willful dog if we did not conscientously rise to meet the need. This is something I want. I want a dog that will challenge us if we fail to maintain command, control and leadership. I do not want a dog that will just acquiesce in submissiveness. To me, it is a postive quality when the dog works to ensure there is a strong leader in the family even if it means he makes some trouble for the weak-willed. I appreciate what I understand about the Doberman's sensitivity and responsiveness but I'm skeptical that he would challenge us to show leadership as much as say a Giant Schnauzer. Nevertheless, there is nothing we would enjoy about a continual on-going power struggle. Provided we demonstrate leadership, we need the dog to submit and obey.
We want to train the dog to an advanced level of obedience so we want a dog that is intelligent enough that training can be an ongoing thing that continually makes progress because we are able to advance further and further without coming to the dog's limits. We would enjoy a dog capable of advanced obedience, commands in multiple languages, reading hand and body signals, and performing well off-leash. Training for these purposes would be one of the ongoing activities we do with our dog whom we expect to need mental stimulus.
Because I believe the Doberman matches what we're looking for so well, perhaps my greatest remaining concern is about how he might connect with my 2 year old son. Both my boys are very gentle, peaceful and sensitive. A lot of breed profiles rank compatibility with children based on boisterous, rowdy and abusive kids but mine are far from that. I am more concerned about how well a Doberman would really connect with my gentlest and affectionate son. My 2 year old will especially enjoy a dog. I am sure that he would ultimately prefer to have a great friend and not just a servant or even an opponent in a competition of wills. I would give up a lot of what we hope for from a dog to make sure my little boy gets a friend. As an experienced Doberman owner, what do you think?
I am seriously interested in the doberman because in objective evaluations of breed types, it clearly meets our criteria better than other types of dogs. It is a stand-out match to what we're looking for. Despite this, I didn't start my search with a doberman in mind. Although I think the doberman is hard not to admire, I never really imagined myself as a doberman owner before.
The doberman image -- I grew up watching Magnum PI. I can't help that Zeus and Apollo formed part of my impression of dobermans, but of course I realize the element of fantasy there and I don't consider that to be reliable information about the doberman. Besides, my house hardly looks like Robin Master's estate so against a very different backdrop, Zeus and Apollo would almost certainly lose some of the glamour.
When I was a single person, I rather fancied myself as more the sporting dog type. Remember the show "Airwolf" with Stringfellow Hawke and his bluetick coonhound? Well, I mistook it for a German Shorthaired Pointer and thought it would be cool to live in a mountain cabin with such a gentleman's gun dog. It seems foolish now but who can say they've never been swayed by the images of Grey's Sporting Journal? The reality is when I did hunt birds I never used a dog but if I had I would have hated how far those pointers work from their handler. A brittany or one of the spaniels would be far more satisfying to me but their image is more of a much less rugged gentleman. Nevermind though because I don't hunt anymore.
The reality is I have a typical suburban lifestyle. I have a wife and two children (2 and 3) and I go to work 8 hours a day. Fortunately I live in a rural area and I commute a mile down a country road so I can come home for lunch every day. Despite all that I've still got a four bedroom house on 0.2 acres. I live in a tract house with masonite siding and all my neighbors houses are jammed up together like barracks. Nevertheless, we've got plenty of parks and open space just down the road.
Before I got in this situation, I've had some experience with dogs in the past. I grew up with a dalmatian and a border collie. I've also lived with two great pyrenes, and I've cared for a rottweiler, an OES, and a few mutts. The rest of my family has never had a dog before.
We've determined that we know we don't want a lap dog or a toy dog. My wife wonders what a dog is good for if he can't protect you -- she wants a protection dog, but I haven't limited our search on that criteria alone. She also wants minimal shedding. So do I but we would be willing to accept some shedding as long as we didn't have to change our entire wardrobe into nylon suits only.
I seriously considered some low-shedding shaggy dogs like the Bouvier, the Giant Schnauzer and the Black Russian Terrier or even the Briard. The Bouvier's indoor activity level and excercise requirements matched us best but we decided that the long shaggy fur of any of these dogs wouldn't work for us. If the dog ever got outside the house, he'd probably be permanantly banned by my wife from ever coming in again.
Excercising the dog with a jog or a bike ride to the park and a runaround the park everyday is not a problem for us, but if the dog absolutely needed 2 hours or more a day of excercise away from the house, we probably couldn't offer that. We can do a lot more on weekends but the reality during the week is I go to work, and my wife and kids have a lot of other things to do -- mostly at home. Our backyard is based on a 0.2 acre lot so the dog can play but not really excercise out there.
I know some dogs are the other half of their owner's life but we can't offer that. The dog has to fit into the whole family and while he'll probably never be left at home alone, he won't be the center of attention. He will be in the house with us though.
We're not just looking for a companion or family dog. We want a working dog and we have a job for him to do. His job is to protect the family and our property, and to help us raise our boys (2 and 3 years old now) by demanding strong leadership, command and control from all his human masters. Personally, I'm not the defensive type or seeking a defensive weapon but I can appreciate a dog that has the desire and capability to protect. For me, I see the greatest value in a dog that demands authority and responds to it magnificently.
Everyone in my family is very gentle and we would not naturally be assertive or dominate -- we would have trouble with a willful dog if we did not conscientously rise to meet the need. This is something I want. I want a dog that will challenge us if we fail to maintain command, control and leadership. I do not want a dog that will just acquiesce in submissiveness. To me, it is a postive quality when the dog works to ensure there is a strong leader in the family even if it means he makes some trouble for the weak-willed. I appreciate what I understand about the Doberman's sensitivity and responsiveness but I'm skeptical that he would challenge us to show leadership as much as say a Giant Schnauzer. Nevertheless, there is nothing we would enjoy about a continual on-going power struggle. Provided we demonstrate leadership, we need the dog to submit and obey.
We want to train the dog to an advanced level of obedience so we want a dog that is intelligent enough that training can be an ongoing thing that continually makes progress because we are able to advance further and further without coming to the dog's limits. We would enjoy a dog capable of advanced obedience, commands in multiple languages, reading hand and body signals, and performing well off-leash. Training for these purposes would be one of the ongoing activities we do with our dog whom we expect to need mental stimulus.
Because I believe the Doberman matches what we're looking for so well, perhaps my greatest remaining concern is about how he might connect with my 2 year old son. Both my boys are very gentle, peaceful and sensitive. A lot of breed profiles rank compatibility with children based on boisterous, rowdy and abusive kids but mine are far from that. I am more concerned about how well a Doberman would really connect with my gentlest and affectionate son. My 2 year old will especially enjoy a dog. I am sure that he would ultimately prefer to have a great friend and not just a servant or even an opponent in a competition of wills. I would give up a lot of what we hope for from a dog to make sure my little boy gets a friend. As an experienced Doberman owner, what do you think?
) With my sister's help, we narrower it down to the Doberman, a Burmese Mountain dog and something else that I can't remember! lol I really preferred the coat of a Doberman and the look of them was so much like the horses I loved! I LOVE my choice! 
) but I will always be watchful around the kids. 
