Skinnyxpuppy

Thanks, those threads are what actually brought me to DT. Thats what I had gathered from the information when I had read those threads here, which is what led me to create a profile and post here.

Hilary

You are so right to do your research before you buy. You'd be surprised how many come here and research a breeder only after they've already purchased a puppy, and it is can be incredibly frustrating.

Since you have checked out those threads in advance, what is still drawing you to Happy Dobermans? Is it because they offer the choice of crop/dock? Just curious.

You are correct that puppies are generally the ones quickest to be adopted through rescue, but unfortunately there are still plenty to go around and intake happens daily. It might be worth getting approved thru a rescue now even if there is no one of interest to you available. And Doberman rescues always need volunteers and foster parents too!

workingk9s

There are a few breeders that will leave a natural puppy for you here in USA and there are a number of reputable breeders in other countries that will have a natural dog as well. Please don't resort to shady breeders just to have a tail. You run the risk of DCM with all Dobermans, but with a reputable breeder that tests and tests and tests you mitigate your risk.

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Skinnyxpuppy

Yeah, I am deff glad that I was able to find this place before I made my decision on my next dobie. I feel I will have more confidence when the time is right and the choice is made.

I actually am not drawn to Happy Dobermans much at all anymore after the read on those threads previously, sorry to sound misleading. That was just where I stated, and was making an example for when I had talked with someone there about keeping the tail. I just had gotten a little hope when it came to talking with them in keeping the tail and ears, and I figured if I could do it with them, then other breeders might be able to provide that same service. I totally understand that selling a dobie with a tail is much harder, and I have no problem in paying money up front to provide I am serious about staying dedicated to my decision.

Thanks for the info. I will definitely be lending my time and donations to my local rescue as much as possible. Maybe even doing a foster thing for both Great Danes and Dobies if possible .

Burns

Cool All our animals are named after Final Fantasy characters - we have a Red XIII (Doberman of course), Cloud, Tidus and Lulu (the 3 cats). Yes we are nerds and proud of it!

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Gorrmae's Fantasy Red XIII CD RE CGC TDI
DOB 2/17/07, red/rust, male neutered Doberman

Q734

My condolences on the loss of your boy Tyrant. What a cool name.
Please stay and learn all you can. This board is full of people who've been in dobermans for decades.

Should you find yourself in a search for another with longevity behind it, prepare yourself for learning to study pedigrees.

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New here looking for a breeder to get your dog from?
Check out links BELOW for health testing behind sires & dams when considering a puppy.

Each link has something different to offer.
> http://dobequest.org/ (<-incomplete but worthwhile)

*http://www.offa.org/

>http://www.dpca.org/longevity/listsemen.php

>http://www.puppiesonice.com/breed.cfm?breedid=56
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Amelia_

Welcome to the forum. I am very sorry for your loss, he was a very handsome boy.

Best of luck in your search for a new companion.

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flash98

I am so sorry for your loss! You might want to google the story of "Red the Doberman". That story touched my heart. Found it after grieving my 14 old dober girl, Flash,who I lost to DCM this June (complicated with cancer) but the point is, Red the Doberman was so much like your story....the author thought Red had a "cold" the vet did the basics but not x-rays, etc, till two weeks later. Red was initially presented with heavy breathing. The author got x-rays done at that later two week visit, the vet still didnt get it, and sent him home with antibiotics or something to that effect, thinking the congestion was pneumonia. Well upon getting home and then going out to work, he gave the dog meds, then came home later to a warm but dead dog. Sure sounds like DCM to me. My dog went to the vet with slightly heavy breathing, had been treated for occult dcm for a couple yrs but also had had successful surgery for mammary cancer years earlier which can spread to the lymph nodes. We and the vet were under the impression this slightly heavy breathing was due to large lymph nodes but as her death a week later (dcm like) showed, it most likely was due to the dcm becoming active. We knew the end was coming but were totally shocked it came so fast. My girl was taking good length walks just a short time prior to any symptoms, and was even happy and herself much of the time, on the day she died.

DCM is very very scary and with Dobermans you can have little to no warning of a quickly approaching death. If the dog is older like mine it can all look like something else as well!

I think what one has to do in your situation, or mine, or with Reds in the article I mentioned, is at least it all went fast, and the dog didn't in each case go in and out of active failure, which is what can happen when on the meds in some cases. Once they go into active failure even if stabilized for a while, things get worse and worse, they still have a ton of bad days on the meds at that point. Countless people on here say that a quick death is preferable to watching a decline.

Again sorry to hear of your loss. Your beautiful dog will be in my thoughts and prayers.

eegreen

So sorry for your loss.


Sent from my iPhone using Petguide.com Free App

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Elaine



Dragon Slaying Doberman's Inc. Member #095

Beaumont67

So very sorry Drew & family...Tyrant story was a most beautiful tribute, you wrote.
- I know his paw print, has been left on your heart
I said good by to our old girl (last year)...it was like loosing a child...we can all relate.
Feel proud that you did the best job possible, and they know this of their loving mom or dad.

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------------Kelly & (Amy - RIP @ 11.7 y/o)

thea2003

Very sorry to hear of the loss of your boy at such a young age. He was very handsome.
Where are you located?
I'm not sure if you are looking immediately, or are just looking for referrals, but I know of 2 10month old female dobes with tails. They are rescues, so no known history or pedigree.

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Patches Mom

1st Hugs to you and your family for your loss may Tryant RIP, The most likely reason your male Great Dane & Tryant did not have issues is because Tryant was not sexually mature yet which can be around 2-3 years old. Same sex aggression is very realy you always will usually have less problems if you have a girl & a boy. Mine are a male Doberman and a female Dachshund.

hbwright

I am so sorry for your family's loss. I think all of us who have had dobermans for a while have felt this very same loss. My first red boy died of CHF at 7 1/2 and my precious girl died 6 years ago on New Years of sudden death at 9 1/2. It's never easy, no matter the age but I feel so blessed to have had the time that I did.

Don't give up on finding a pup in rescue with full tail and ears. When I was mourning my Cleo I perused Pet Finder occasionally and found Jordan on there one day from a high kill shelter and knew in the deepest part of my heart he was mine. He was 12 weeks old and to this day owns my heart. I had a finicky senior at home that was pretty choosy with her friends also but loved him the second she laid eyes on him.

diego_is_his_name_o

i'm so sorry to hear of your loss. i lost my first doberman 4 yrs ago and still i cry. she was my first love. i didn't let my bf at the time crop or dock her and i never regretted it. her tail was a whip but, i loved it and her silky ears were beautiful! i was home when i lost her and the house was so empty i couldn't deal w/ my loss i was so heartbroken. i rescued diego at 10 mos. he was not cropped or docked and knew he was the boy to heal my heart and i could heal his too. time and memories will help you heal. and i hope you always keep your dobermans natural too. it's ok to like them that way

KissNme

Welcome to DT. I, too, am sorry it is under these conditions. I wish you peace. It's just so very sad. Again, I'm so sorry for your loss.
I loved the baby picture. He was very beautiful.

Cathy43

Just wanted to suggest checking out the United Doberman Club breeder's list. A lot of the working breeders are willing to leave a dog natural.

Skinnyxpuppy

Just stopping back in to say thank you for all the kind words again to all the new posts. The amount of love and compassion I am getting brings me close to tears. Thank you all also for all the information and help, I definitely need all I can get, and I am starting my research and search this weekend.

I still would like to have a dobie all natural. To answer the question of my location, I am in Tampa, Florida. Or, close enough to it anyways . I will for sure be looking for a female dobie, and If I get it from a breeder, I want it to be a reputable one for sure. I care most about longevity and heath. I would like to stack the odds in my favor that this tragedy will not happen again.

One question I have been meaning to ask... When you get a puppy from a very high reputable place, and you spend, from what i see here, anywhere up to 4 grand from a dog, and this , god forbid, happens. Is it just a "sorry for your luck" kinda deal? Or do most breeders offer some kind of compensation? Sorry, I wish i could word that better, I am making it sound like dogs are just dollar signs, and thats not what I want to come off as at all. Just kinda curious.

Hilary

I think that is a completely fair question. You just had your heart ripped out and there is no breeder around to support you and help you through this.

I paid $2000 for my girl in TX, and that is pretty average for a pet quality pup from a tested and titled breeding pair. I can tell you that her breeder has become a great friend. In the first couple of months I talked to her weekly, I try to go to all the local shows she's showing at and spend time with her. She calls me periodically and emails all the time just to see how we're doing. If anything were to happen and I couldn't keep Remy for any reason, she would go straight back to her breeder. It's in the contract.

I certainly cannot speak for all breeders, but I know mine would do anything in her power to make me whole again if DCM were to strike one of her pups. I don't know about compensation, but I would most likely get first dibs on a future puppy.

So not only did I get an amazing dog for my $2000, but I also got the lifetime support, education and friendship of a doberman expert and that is dang near priceless!

falnfenix

any good breeder would offer support, compensation, or another pup with a genetic disorder like DCM or - in our case - renal displaysia.

we lost our boy at 10 months. we haven't given our breeder our decision, but she offered a refund or another pup.

JNKHANGMAN

So sorry, feeling your pain. Thanks for sharing your story.

Never easy. The only thing I could do to fill the void was get another pup.
I still think of the two dobies we have lost, our hearts will never heal.

vivienne00

I just want to add, you may not have seen anything happening between your 2 boys - it tends to start around 3-4 yrs old when the young male dobe has matured enough to want to be top dog. It starts with little looks, and then not sharing as nicely as they once did - food, toys, space, you. Then the play gets a little rougher and the sniping starts. Then one day, for no good reason, they are in a death grip on each other's throats. And you didn't see it coming but the tiny little signs were probably there and then again, maybe they weren't. It is not a guarantee and I have had multiple males living together harmoniously but it has always managed to come down to one when the age is around 3-4 - pure luck on my part, not good planning.

I am very sorry for your loss. I have lost a young male at 13 mths. It is so hard when they didn't even reach their promise of maturity and sharing years with you. We mourn the early loss harder and deeper. I do know what you are going thru and it gets easier with time, but never really better. A piece of you dies with each one, but you grow more for each new addition - a balance is achieved - but you will always carry a level of your grief with you to remind you, so you remember.

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Cato and Emerald's Black Onyx (r.i.p.)
Owned by Enid, Yoda, Jill (kelpie) and Lana.

Fortheloveofadoberman

So sorry to be reading this story. How hard to take thinking you were taking him to be helped only going home alone. It is always heartbreaking putting any of our pets at rest, but please know you did right by him. He understands and is running free at that bridge probably watching over you. RIP Tyrant and have fun with all those others up there.

Drew you will find many here who have alot of knowledge and can offer alot of sound advice to you in the future. I understand how you feel, I cried reading your story and I wish you and your wife the best. hugs and prayers.

Sam1491

So sorry for your loss....

Are you looking/open to shipping a pup from across the country/out of state or even over seas?

I mainly bring up over seas because of your want to have an all natural pup. Some breeders here leave them natural but it can be hard if they aren't doing a whole litter to know which pup will grow to fit you best when they are only a few days old and being docked.... or not

I get why you like the all natural, before I left my job two were left natural, it's a very different look but there is something very unique and endearing about having all that ear and tail

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"The Red Devil Diva" & Her Shamelessly Obedient Human

Toby'shuman

I would like to extend my deepest condolences over the loss of your beautiful boy. The love within your tribute brought tears to my eyes, as did his story. It is so frustrating when a Vet, the person you turn too whom you trust to know what is wrong and make it right fails you so miserably.

Regards your wanting an uncropped/docked Dobe. I can understand this and in truth I would have preferred to have received my boy with his tail intact. Unfortunately docking is done very soon after birth, (a few days I believe) so the chances of you getting an undocked pup is probably pretty slim in the US unless the breeder is known to favour leaving their dogs natural. As for their ears, well you may be able to leave them. From what I understand (I am British by the way and we no longer crop and dock so I do not know for sure this is the case) the cropping is done around 8 weeks. Now if you have already chosen your puppy from a reputable breeder then it might be possible for you to request the cropping be left undone. You can then decide once you get the puppy home if you wish to have him cropped or not. Now some breeders might be none too happy with this idea, so you will have to pass it by them before you reserve your pup etc.
You need decide now if you wish to work, show or just have a pet, this will determine both price and character of your pup.

Please definitely go with a female this time. I have 2 males, all was fine until one day my Terrier said something to my Dobe he took offence at and bham, major league dog fight with my Terrier coming out the worse for wear because of size difference etc.

Once again, I am so sorry for your loss.

Tyrant, may you sleep in the arms of Angels and run free with all the other dogs that have crossed the Bridge before you.

Veda

I am SHOCKED reading this sentence. I had *no idea the percentage could be THAT. I have read some about DCM over the years having had a female for 13 years before losing her last June. I never read statistics, though,

That just blows me away.