I have the same question as the OP expressed. I would like to purchase a female Doberman puppy some time in the next year or two and am researching breeders in my area. The dog would be for a family pet and possibly to run agility for fun and exercise. Health and temperament are the priorities and color-wise black or red would be my first two choices. I live in New Jersey but would be willing to travel to NY/CT/PA etc. Within a days back and fourth drive. My perfect dog would be somewhere between American and European lines.

I've moved your post to the general "Breeding and Breeders" forum so it will be seen by more people

There are some very good breeders in New Jersey. You can look any of these up on the DPCA web site under Breeder/New Jersey. Eastwick Dobermans, Sophia Koster DVM--doesn't breed a lot but is a vet and does very nice crops and usually knows other good breeders in the area. Kerwynd Dobermans, Susan Kershaw. Niklby ,Betty Cuzzolino. Sharjet, Sharon Marinelli.

All of these are primarily American showline breeders. One thing to remember if you are trying to compare the look of Euro vs North American Dobermans is that Euro show line dogs are usually shown hog fat by our standards--makes them look bulkier but that may not actually be the case. The show line breeders have wonderful pet puppies in every litter that was bred for the conformation ring and tend to have good temperaments and you are likely to see more health testing in the showline stock.

Euro working Dobermans--tend to be smaller that AKC or Euro showline dogs--because of this,they are usually faster, more agile etc.

Cara Kennel, Ray Carlisle is also a New Jersey breeder but from what I've heard lately has very long waiting lists--in part because he breeds more for working ability than any of the other breeders I've listed.

I'll also stick in another warning here--if you have some thoughts of doing agility with your dog--remember that it's you that will get the most exercise--the ideal agility dog will be exercised elsewhere than in the agility ring because they really need to be fit to run agility. And they also need to be adults (over 18 months or so) before you can start training for the obstacles you find in the agility ring. You can teach a lot of stuff before hand but some of the obstacles (weaves, full sized jumps, teeters, and dog walks) should not be part of the agenda for puppies--too hard on growing joints and tendons.

I don't think any of the breeders I listed breed a lot and I believe most of them have waiting lists but they also have puppies that are worth the wait.

Good luck...

Do you have contact information for Sharjet? Their long term health oriented husbandry is impressive and I'd like to get in line (male for obedience).

From the DPCA Breeder Referral page, Sharon Marinelli's contact information (Sharjet):

(856) 589-1010
[email protected]
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If you are interested in a Euro working dog, get in touch with Vicky from Bell'Lavoro in Mt. Hope, NY. her pups are usually gone with out any advertisement. Vicky is not docking and cropping much anymore, but some of her last litter were D&C'd. She recently had a litter of 11 but they are all gone.
She is a wealth of information on the breed, and is definitely not afraid to tell it like it is. Her dogs live in the house with them, are whelped in her kitchen.
Find her on FB
I'm not sure Ray Carlisle is breeding anymore

I will tell you that Sharon is best reached by phone - she is not an email person and has an adversarial relationships with computers ;-)
I don't know what she has planned litter wise for this coming year, but she is a great breeder.

Irene was (hopefully) just bred.

I have to weigh in on this topic because of an experience I had with Susan Kershaw of Kerwynd Dobermans in NJ. It’s been several years since I lost my beautiful Doberman Leo, whom we purchased from Kerwynd sometime around 2012. Leo was a gorgeous, sweet and fun-loving male. Hands down the goofiest and sweetest Dobe I’ve ever had (I’ve had four of them). BUT. Leo was prone to psychotic breaks. We didn’t know this until he was about two years old, when he nipped my youngest daughter on the nose. We made excuses for how that could have happened. A year later, out of the blue, when my other daughter reached forward to pet him, he bit her on the lip and she needed multiple stitches.

I took Leo to a dog psychologist (yes there are such people and I loved him that much, even though the writing was on the wall, I couldn’t face it). She told me I should have him put down, because once a dog exhibits psychotic breaks, they’re likely to continue. I couldn’t do it - he was only three years old and still so totally sweet all the time. The psychologist said that if I couldn’t put him down, I’d have to make sure nobody ever petted him, that I would be the only one who could touch him (since I was his alpha).

Ok. Three months later, I was heading out of town on a trip and reached down to say goodbye to Leo, and he ripped the left side of my face open. Fifty plus stitches later, I knew what would have to be done, but it broke my heart. I did put him to sleep the next day, but it remains one of the great traumas of my life, because I did love him so.

Anyway, when I called Sue Kershaw to tell her about this, thinking that the breeder might want to know what bloodlines might be problematic, genetically, she didn’t want to hear anything about it. She said she’d never had any issues with any of her dogs and was eager to get off the phone.

I have no doubt that Kerwynd has many wonderful dogs, but if breeders really want to be responsible, they need to take note of what problems are arising in some of the litters they are breeding. So just a word of warning about Kerwynd.

Well written. Thank you.

I'm really very sorry this happened to you. I know Sue Kershaw personally and I can't imagine that that is how she handled this news. She really does care about the dogs she produces, and I'm sure she appreciated you letting her know. Just like humans, dogs can be mentally ill and there are several reasons why a dog would exhibit this kind of behavior for both mental, environmental, and physical reasons. I have a personal dog that is great with us, but is reactive to other dogs (except the ones she lives with) and sometimes people she does not know .... mostly in our home. She has excellent bloodlines and there are no issues with any of her littermate. Sometimes this just happens. Dobermans are also one of the breeds that can be affected by what we call "rage syndrome " - it is not common but there are documented cases. It is not generally genetic that I know of.