What do you guys think of this Doberman?

Yeah, I put down my Euro working Dobe a handful of months ago. He stood tall and proud always and with extreme alertness. No back down in that boy, and he full-mouth bit as a birthright. But oh, he wasn't near as handsome as the dog in this video.

He did have separation anxiety, he did have thunderstorm anxiety, he was an extreme loudmouth, he also whined enough for five of my lifetimes and I have a small scar on my face that I just looked at this evening in the mirror after a shower – facebite.

So, not a big powerful looking guy from a big name Euro breeder, but a full Euro working Dobe nonetheless. He was bred for maximum performance on the sport field, oh, and for health too but that didn't completely pan out. Like all the working Dobes bred for speed, agility and IGP titles that I've seen, he wasn't very impressive looking and would get laughed out of a show ring.
 
big powerful looking guy from a big name Euro breeder,
Those "big name kennels" breed hundreds of dogs, literally hundreds, and breed for looks and quick sales, especially exporting to vulnerable wanna-be owners of bigger Dobermans, who later find out they can't hold their own on the working field. Oji may not have been perfect but he was a good dog. Power is in attitude, not size!
 
I went to the shield k9 website to "dogs for sale" and Victor was there with a photo of health papers with his registered name. No pedigree and I can't find other names with his date of birth so I don't know which, if any, of their dogs are his parents... but if this is his breeder then I am not impressed.

Welcome to the internet home of Sculptors Dobermann Kennel

They proudly describe one of their dogs:

"Sculptors Dobermann Leon is a big, handsome, sharp looking guardian with a profundable noble, bold and stunning appearance. He is 2,5 years old, very strong and sleek with a mascular physique weighting in at 120 lbs, and 34-inches in height."

Most of the ones under "our dogs" are show titled, not work titled. :scratch: 🤷‍♀️ Some known DCM lines as well. (wonder if the importer is familiar enough with DCM in Dobermans to know that clear on genetic DCM 1 & 2, does not mean exactly that?).

I will repeat, I am not positive of Victors breeding, just that his registered name on his health papers came from this kennel.
 
Those "big name kennels" breed hundreds of dogs, literally hundreds, and breed for looks and quick sales, especially exporting to vulnerable wanna-be owners of bigger Dobermans, who later find out they can't hold their own on the working field. Oji may not have been perfect but he was a good dog. Power is in attitude, not size!
Stassi has some altabello 3 generations back. And that dog wasn’t work titled but the sire was IGP 2. And that dogs pedigree was all working titles through the whole pedigree. So they do bring in working lines into some their breedings. Or at least used to.
 
Those "big name kennels" breed hundreds of dogs, literally hundreds, and breed for looks and quick sales, especially exporting to vulnerable wanna-be owners of bigger Dobermans, who later find out they can't hold their own on the working field. Oji may not have been perfect but he was a good dog. Power is in attitude, not size!
Thank you. Yes, Oji was a good Dobe. And yes, as a man who is somewhat smaller (and a good deal less fat) than the average American man, I agree with your position on size.
 
Stassi has some altabello 3 generations back. And that dog wasn’t work titled but the sire was IGP 2. And that dogs pedigree was all working titles through the whole pedigree. So they do bring in working lines into some their breedings. Or at least used to.
Yes they have working titles throughout, but with no concentration and just a few IGP3's. Most are 1's which is common with show dogs there. Not saying good or bad, just that if I was wanting a Doberman for a PP dog, or even a IGP dog, that kennel would be a pass for me.
 
Yes they have working titles throughout, but with no concentration and just a few IGP3's. Most are 1's which is common with show dogs there. Not saying good or bad, just that if I was wanting a Doberman for a PP dog, or even a IGP dog, that kennel would be a pass for me.
Oh I totally agree if I was looking for a working dog. I wouldn’t go to altabello. And the dogs I saw that had working titles were DOB around 2014-2016. They probably don’t have as much interest to export working titled dogs now days. Just a Euro Doberman
 
Yes they have working titles throughout, but with no concentration and just a few IGP3's. Most are 1's which is common with show dogs there. Not saying good or bad, just that if I was wanting a Doberman for a PP dog, or even a IGP dog, that kennel would be a pass for me.
^^^ @Cferg I may have made you think I was talking about Altobello &/or your Stassi... that statement was referring to Sculptors and the fact that the trainer in those videos was somehow drawn there to import a dog for PP. That's what I don't get. And he may succeed, who knows? I'd be curious to follow along. And I'm curious about the Dutch that was mentioned by @StateOfMine that bit it's owner - some trainers might purposely choose sharper dogs? I did watch the rest of that video with the different breeds. I thought they all looked OK, but hard to say because I don't know where they are in training or what he's wanting to accomplish. None looked as stressed as the Dobe though...
 
^^^ @Cferg I may have made you think I was talking about Altobello &/or your Stassi... that statement was referring to Sculptors and the fact that the trainer in those videos was somehow drawn there to import a dog for PP. That's what I don't get. And he may succeed, who knows? I'd be curious to follow along. And I'm curious about the Dutch that was mentioned by @StateOfMine that bit it's owner - some trainers might purposely choose sharper dogs? I did watch the rest of that video with the different breeds. I thought they all looked OK, but hard to say because I don't know where they are in training or what he's wanting to accomplish. None looked as stressed as the Dobe though...


Mace's Situation
 
The dog definitely has some nerve issues. This is a young dog, so being unsure is to be expected. He has whale eye, chewy grip, and barking on the grip. The decoy does the dog no favors. Having these opinions on breed will only set the dog back, or worse, the handler. “Typical Doberman” Why is it typical? Is it because it is tolerated by the training group? There is a way to stop that.

The dog is about what I would expect from Eastern Europe. However, I am very much “Train the dog in front of you. Not the breed for the dog.”
 
The dog definitely has some nerve issues. This is a young dog, so being unsure is to be expected. He has whale eye, chewy grip, and barking on the grip. The decoy does the dog no favors. Having these opinions on breed will only set the dog back, or worse, the handler. “Typical Doberman” Why is it typical? Is it because it is tolerated by the training group? There is a way to stop that.

The dog is about what I would expect from Eastern Europe. However, I am very much “Train the dog in front of you. Not the breed for the dog.”
OMG it's good to see you drop in! You don't know how much your old posts did to convince me that I could find a working Doberman. About the time I got my puppy I didn't see you around her any more... Hope you are doing well and still trialing. If so, wake up the working threads with photos and stories!
 

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