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Doberman as a breed

1K views 7 replies 8 participants last post by  mraimondi87 
#1 ·
Hi,

Here in India, dobermans are mainly used as a guard dog and is never treated as a household pet. I have always loved this breed and thought I should have a Doberman and I recently got one from a reputable breeder. Almost every single person I meet tells me that dobermans are aggressive and are prone to bite often. That it is a one owners dog and when the owner isn't around, they tend to be aggressive with the other family members when the owner isn't in the vicinity.

Our puppy is so adorable. He is intelligent, energetic, active and alert. While unlike everything about him, at the back of my mind it disturbs me that as a breed he can turn aggressive.

How far is the truth behind all that I have heard. It's hard for me to believe that aggression can be breed specific.

Any advice /inputs?

Regards,
SRS Iyengar

Sent from my 2014818 using Tapatalk
 
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#2 ·
Whoever told you these statements is uneducated and 110% wrong.

I trust my doberman around new born infants. He is a family dog. He is almost 3 years old and has NEVER been aggressive towards humans or dogs. But that is because I made him that way. I was kind to him, I raised him in my home with my family, I introduced him to hundreds of places people and things. I socialized him and did many training classes. He is not an aggressive dog.

Since you're in India and you said the dogs aren't pets but guard dogs, i am not surprised at your friends statement. If you keep a dog outside all the time, don't socialize it, don't train it and don't interact with it - of course it is going to be fearful and aggressive. It's all about how you nurture the dog. I feel sorry for dogs in India.
 
#3 ·
Here in the U.S. there are lots of misconceptions about Dobermans. "their brain will grow faster then their head if they don't have that bump on the back of the scalp making the dog go crazy", "They will turn on their owners," as well as the ones you stated. Now I can't compare what I have to what you have because I don't know the lines that yours comes from. I will tell you this I trust my two and everyone I have ever had. One Doberman I had when my sons were little wouldn't let any of the other dogs walk by the babies. So protective naturally? yes. and to say if a dog is aggressive, well that would depend on the situation. If I slap someone that would be aggressive, But if they hurt someone I care about and then I slap them am I still being aggressive? well yes but it would be expected and acceptable reaction. In some circumstances I would be looked at as a coward if I didn't protect my family. What I'm saying is the term aggressive is kind of subjective. Are they by nature just aggressive as growling and trying to attack everyone? Not ones of good breeding and raised properly. The easiest thing to train is to be mean. And that is people or dogs. It is rather amazing how some of the same prejudices about different breeds can carry around the world.
One owner dogs: Many Dobermans would be what you term one owner dogs. This does not mean they are aggressive towards others in the family. What it means is they prefer one person in the family and are very devoted to that person. Following that person as if they are attached, hardly being more then a couple of feet away from that person.
Enjoy your pup and don't let other people's paranoia concern you.
 
#4 ·
Dobermans as a breed don't do well without being part of their families. They need the companionship and society of people to be the best dogs they can be.

It's well known, by rescues and animal control faciliities that Dobes are very poor candidates as "kennel" dogs.

Most of the reputation as dogs who will be agressive without warning comes from early situations where a breeder often maintained kennels and a kennel manager and kennel help for the dogs that were owned.

One of my early mentors had worked for a big kennel that bred (among other breeds) Dobermans--they showed them, did not sell them and euthanized puppies that weren't up to the standards--he worked there as a teenager and had graduated to kennel manager assistent and handler in his 20's. He said that very few of the Dobes were reliable--all tended to be aggressive except for the dogs being shown.

He also said that he realized when he started keeping at least the pick puppy from a litter as his personal dog that it pretty clearly wasn't a temperament issue but rather an issue of socialization.

I can only tell you that we've come so far with how we raise Dobe puppies these days that a lot of folk believe that we've "softened" the breed beyond their original "sharp" temperaments. My mentor didn't believe this and I don't either.

If you raise a Doberman as a social dog I think you'll find that Bigfootlives is correct--you'll have raised a social dog who is not likely to be aggressive as an adult.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Here’s an article from our forum you can read about socializing puppies. http://www.dobermantalk.com/puppy-corner/235594-critical-importance-early-socialization.html Be sure to read the comments too--there are some different opinions on some of the things the article said. Here’s a list (from Abby, a member here) of some of the things you can introduce your puppy to in a calm and friendly way (let the puppy choose when and how fast to approach something new--don’t push him)

"Here's a list I put together of random ideas, it totally depends on your situation whether some would be possible though.


People
Children
Teens
Adults
Elderly
Handicapped (wheelchairs, canes, walkers)
Tall people
Short people
Men with beards
People wearing hats
People wearing masks
Different races
Men with deep voices
Women wearing long skirts

Places
Dog show sounds
Park
Beach
Woods/hiking
Sports events
Vets office
Farm/stables
Fair
Outdoor cafe
Superstore parking lot
Doggy day care
Obedience school
Pet store
Drive through
Dog park
Renaissance fair
Parade
Near construction
Drive-thrus
Groomer
Neighborhood garage sale
Outdoor mall
Races (5k's or bike races)

Things
Noisy appliances
Fireworks
TV and radio
Riding in a car, truck or bus
Emergency sirens
Bicycles
Skateboards
Elevators
Wheelchairs, canes, and walkers
Wind and rain
Rivers and creeks
Being on leash
Tunnels
Kiddy pools
Playground equipment
Chute/closed tunnel
Tire
Hose
Clothes
Gunfire

Surfaces
Long grass
Tile
Ice
Grate
Scale
Concrete
Rubber mats with tape
See-saw/Teeter
Sand
Water
Large rocks
Grooming table
A-frame
Anything slippery/wobbly"
 
#6 · (Edited)
Getting a Dobermann from a reputable breeder is an important first step anyway!

So many people keep them as guard dogs and if not socialised properly, or if at all, they can become aggressive. I've been in a situation where there was a guy I met who had two dobes that lived outside and kept as guard dogs who were clearly unsocialised. He invited me into his property thinking his dogs would be okay with me standing next to him and admittedly I had my reservations, even know I love the breed. He let the dogs free and the male came up to me and straight away bit me on my stomach pretty badly (was lucky to have thick denim shorts on!). I can't say this is the same for every dobe, but that's something that can happen with any unsocialised dog, especially one kept as a guard dog.

Socialisation is extremely important with every breed of dog, but they're a breed that suffers from a bad reputation, and they can be the best breed of dog you will ever have. Most are instinctively suspicious of strangers (especially at night) and protective of their family -- don't necessarily mistake that for aggression.

You'll hear it a lot that they're a "dangerous, aggressive breed of dog" and just the other day when I was on a walk with my boy, some random guy walked passed us and said "Nice dog you have there ... is it savage?". I've also been told its a dangerous breed, that is a big dog and needs to be muzzled (not the case here unless the council deems it as a dangerous dog following an incident where the dog has attacked someone), etc.

You'll also hear not to feed it raw meat because of the common misconception that "raw food and blood makes them aggressive and should only be fed to a guard dog". Absolutely not the case!

Its the way the dog is trained and raised that shapes the dog -- a puppy doesn't know aggression.

EDIT: I have to say, it pisses me off when people say they use this breed as a guard dog -- its a personal protection dog that's meant to be with its human, not out being aggressive to everyone it sees. They're such sweet, loving, loyal dogs who just want to please their family and I can't fathom why people intentionally make ANY dog, for that matter, aggressive.
 
#7 ·
All the Doberman I have met were friendly. We used to have a female who was wary of strangers and watchful when we had people over she didn't know. Max (4-year old male) on the other hand is the most laid back, tolerant, and friendly dog I have ever owned or met. He loves people, especially kids.
Attached is a photo I took two days ago when the neighbor kids came over to visit (and yes, properly supervised). He loves the attention and is really gentle with the little ones. I have to say that he was socialized with a lot of children at the shelter where he came from.

Like others mention, take him to as many different places you can and let him meet people and other animals to properly socialize him.
 

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