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Originally Posted by Megs  Hey there Primo, welcome to the forum.
I'm glad you understand the risks involved with keeping a male Dobe together with another male dog in the same household. Especially risky if these are intact males. Definately not a good idea. In the case of visits or playdates or whatever, a stable well-trained Doberman would probably be OK around your parents/friends dogs, if they too are well-socialized dogs. But always be aware, be cautious and supervise their play.
As for not wanting the smallest of the litter.... I wouldn't worry about that. One puppy will always be the biggest and one will always be the smallest. And you're right, the smallest pup won't necessarily be the smallest pup when full grown.
What's really important is the health of the whole litter overall: have both parents had their hips and eyes tested? Heart? Thyroid/liver? vWD? How old are the parents? Have they proven themselves to be of stable and correct Doberman temperment and structure by achieving titles in conformation or performance, or both? This stuff is important to help ensure the most positive contributions to the Doberman gene pool. Will the pups have received at least one set of shots and been dewormed a few times?
FWIW, my boy was the smallest of all the boys and about the same size as the smallest girl in a litter of 8. But he's definately not small in personality. This boy packs punch. |
First I'd like to thank everyone that has posted since I last posted myself. The more information I can gather the better. As I said before I've been doing a ton of research and through that research have become a little weary of the male doberman. The pup that I really want from the litter is a male. I actually know the human parents pretty well and have grown to love the parent dogs. They are both 2 years and 2 months I believe. The male "Fish" is a month or so older than the female "Kitty". They are both healthy and free of any genetic issues. I'm not sure on their awards in the performance ring etc and honestly it doesn't really matter. I've known both parents since puppy hood and always joke about stealing the male "fish".
They both have great temperaments but Fish can definitely be other male aggressive. He's fine within the house, the human parents also have a male and female yorkie and Fish is 100% cool with Oliver the male yorkie. However they no longer go to the dog park because anytime someone has another intact male all hell breaks loose. Fish isn't a biter but he does pin dogs on the ground in a dominating fashion, so his socialization is restricted to the neighborhood dogs that came over for play dates and that is pretty much it. It's going to be their last litter so both Kitty and Fish will be fixed.
My pup male or female will also be fixed at or around 6 months to extend their lives and curtail any sort of behavioral problem. My issue is I don't want my doberman if I choose the male to be just "OK" with my family dogs. I'm not sure if the male/male aggression is worse in Dobermans than it is Amstaffs but we've never had an issue with our Amstaffs. It kind of sucks because I've grown rather attached to this male pup. They are 20 days old and I've probably been over 15 of the 20 days so I've been around the puppies quite a bit. If the male is going to prove a problem regardless of my socialization efforts then I may HAVE to get a female. I WILL be ALPHA so that won't be an issue, but I will be devastated if I get this male which I love and at 2 years old when he reaches full maturity he hates my family dogs which I adore.
I'm hoping to move back to PA (Currently in Ohio) in 6-12 months so it will be more than a once in a while play date. I'll likely see my parents a few times a week at that point. I also already live with my gf and have lived with her for 4 years now so that isn't an issue. The dog will hopefully have a equal bond with us both even though I've read they tend to bond strongly with one person. I'm going to try and prevent that from occurring.
The breeder is confident I'm going to be a good owner and says that it's entirely up to me which sex I choose. She doesn't feel I'll have a problem one way or the other. She knows my family dogs from when my parents have come to visit. Conan are male Amstaff is nearly hospital certified so he's very good and Diego is still really young. Our female is as docile as they come. I need someone to tell me not to worry about getting the male besides the breeder. Otherwise I'm going to get a female. If the male is going to be just "OK" it's not going to work for me. Thoughts? sorry for the novel. lol it's longer than I thought. (Sue me I'm long winded, I feel like I should issue cliff notes.)