[Steve253d]

Hello,

My fiance recently gifted me with a Doberman puppy for Christmas from an alleged breeder. She said that she found the puppy on Craigslist. She met the breeder and saw the rest of the litter and said he was the largest one but his coat was different from the others. Her never owning a dog she has no idea what AKC or CKC are. She had no idea that she should have seen the parents and their temperament, so she didn't. The breeder ensured her that the puppies were pure bred. However when they met up he "forgot" the papers and has hardly responded and has only sent questionable screenshots.

I've only ever owned akitas so I'm not sure what size a dobe puppy of his age should be. However from the research I've done he appears to be smaller than what the breeder claims his age is. Also his coat seems much thicker than doves I've seen.

Can you all provide me your opinions on if he could be mixed and perhaps with what or do some Dobermans have a coat like his? Also the breeder claims he's 9 weeks but he's only 9lbs, is this normal or could the age be wrong (remember she said he was the largest of the litter that was left)? He also is Red with blue eyes which I am yet to see anywhere else.

His name is Kobe and we love him and he's staying. Just trying to get to the bottom of if he's pure bread.

Thanks!

 

[Rosemary]

Welcome to DT.

Are his eyes blue blue, or are they changing to a darker color? If they are just starting to change, I'd say he's quite a bit younger than nine weeks. If they are blue blue, then, given his coat, I'd suspect he's mixed with something like Siberian Husky. Litters can have more than one sire, so even if the person she got him from had two Dobermans, if they weren't careful about keeping the bitch up, she very well could have mated with another dog, and had a litter of some purebred and some mixed breed puppies. My late Gin was the only mixed breed puppy in a litter of Dobermans.

 

[Steve253d]

Welcome to DT.

Are his eyes blue blue, or are they changing to a darker color? If they are just starting to change, I'd say he's quite a bit younger than nine weeks. If they are blue blue, then, given his coat, I'd suspect he's mixed with something like Siberian Husky. Litters can have more than one sire, so even if the person she got him from had two Dobermans, if they weren't careful about keeping the bitch up, she very well could have mated with another dog, and had a litter of some purebred and some mixed breed puppies. My late Gin was the only mixed breed puppy in a litter of Dobermans.

Thank you for the feedback. That is interest. I had no idea a bitch could have purebred and mixed pups I the same litter. That could explain why she said he was bigger than the rest of the litter but his coat was off. His eyes have not changed any color. They seem to be staying blue/gray.

Thanks again

 

[Rosemary]

I honestly would expect the Dobe puppies to be larger than him. Male Sibes are in the 45 to 60 pound range as adults, while male Dobes are generally 75 pounds plus.

There is a picture of my girl in this thread. Switched my dog from Purina to Instinct

 

[brw1982]

Welcome to the forum! Kobe is a cute name and he looks very sweet. Full disclosure: I am not a Doberman "professional."

Overall, he looks like a mixed breed to me. Nine pounds at 9 weeks seems very small for a male Dobe pup. My first girl Dobe pup was about 12-lbs at 9 weeks old. And she didn't have heavy bone. Her eyes were already an amber-turning-brown color at 9 weeks old, too.

So, I would say that either your pup is a mixed breed and one of the parents might be a Doberman (although there are several breeds that have the tan points/markings), and/or your pup is much younger than the breeder said he is.

His coat doesn't look "right" for a Dobe pup either. Although, in general, he doesn't look very healthy yet (probably just needs some good food and lots of play and snuggles with you), so his coat might not look right now what it will look like later.

Has he been to see a vet for an initial check-up? If not, I would highly recommend that. It's good to establish a relationship with a vet before any illness or injury because it can make easier to get an appointment when something urgent comes up, it also helps the vet become familiar with what's "normal" for your dog. And, as part of a general wellness check, a vet will certainly take a stool sample to check for parasites (which can be so damaging to a young pup's system if not addressed quickly) and just do a baseline evaluation.

 

[brw1982]

For reference, here's a picture of my Dobe puppy girl (Fiona) at 9-weeks old. You can see her eyes are definitely not still blue and her coat wasn't really fuzzy.

 

[Fitzmar Dobermans]

I'm torn about what your puppy is. If it's a Doberman, it is not well bred, and much much younger than 9 weeks to still have blue eyes - more like 5 weeks. I'd be interested to see pictures as he gets a bit older. Right now I'd guess not purebred, but it's just a guess at this point.

 

[MaryAndDobes]

I agree with Fitzmar. It is normal for red Dobermans to have blue eyes when really young but more of a navy and then they darken to brown. Darker coloured eyes are always the preference. If he is a Doberman, I'd say it's very crappy breeding, and no offense to the puppy - this is on the "breeder." I wonder if he was kept in a pretty cold spot like a barn or something and he's just got a thicker coat due to his surroundings? It's not a normal Doberman coat for sure but I'm also used to pampered, house dogs which is what a Doberman should be, imo.

 

[MaryAndDobes]

Also meant to add that I'd expect a male 9 week old Doberman to be in the 15-20 lb range.

 

[dobebug]

I just took a good look at all of the pictures of your puppy--he looks very small and undeveloped for a 9 week old male Dobe. And with eye color on very young red Dobe puppies in my experience it wouldn't be a light blue (as his appear to be) and generally even at six or seven weeks the color has started to shift to a greenish blue and that shift continues until the eyes are amber or dark amber or a clear dark brown.

I am presently posting ears for some folks who I know well having posted ears for their last puppy (a red bitch) they acquired a fawn puppy (male and they got him under some kind of strange circumstances) I saw him first just before he was cropped--and he was pushing the envelop for time--since he was 12 weeks then. He had blue eyes (I told them they would change color--I had a fawn Dobe for many years) I thought he looked a bit older than 12 weeks but they didn't have the AKC registration back yet. They got the AKC registration back and it turned out he was then (when he was cropped) 16 weeks not 12 weeks and a week later when I saw him right after the sutures were removed (at 17 weeks) I looked at those very blue eyes and wondered if, perhaps, he was not purebred. Unlike your puppy he definitely looks like a Dobe, except for those blue eyes. But--I didn't have my fawn until he was 6 months so I didn't know how fast the eye color change went for a fawn. Also my fawn had a very dark eye--in a black puppy at six months it would have been a 'black' eye. So next Tuesday, Roscoe, this fawn puppy who will be around 20 weeks will be back for reposting. And I'll take another look at him and I'll have them bring me the registration so I can see who the breeder was (he came from Ohio--and Ohio is kind of notorious for having a lot of BYB's and puppy mills) and who his sire and dam are purported to be.

I have seen a lot of fawns who had yellow eyes when the final eye color emerged and to the extent I even thought about it, I believed that he'd probably end up with yellow eyes. Now I'm starting to think about the possibility that his parents might not have both been Dobermans.

I'll post what I see when he's here next but sadly, I don't think your puppy looks purebred.

dobebug

 

[Kayla S.]

Hello,

My fiance recently gifted me with a Doberman puppy for Christmas from an alleged breeder. She said that she found the puppy on Craigslist. She met the breeder and saw the rest of the litter and said he was the largest one but his coat was different from the others. Her never owning a dog she has no idea what AKC or CKC are. She had no idea that she should have seen the parents and their temperament, so she didn't. The breeder ensured her that the puppies were pure bred. However when they met up he "forgot" the papers and has hardly responded and has only sent questionable screenshots.

I've only ever owned akitas so I'm not sure what size a dobe puppy of his age should be. However from the research I've done he appears to be smaller than what the breeder claims his age is. Also his coat seems much thicker than doves I've seen.

Can you all provide me your opinions on if he could be mixed and perhaps with what or do some Dobermans have a coat like his? Also the breeder claims he's 9 weeks but he's only 9lbs, is this normal or could the age be wrong (remember she said he was the largest of the litter that was left)? He also is Red with blue eyes which I am yet to see anywhere else.

His name is Kobe and we love him and he's staying. Just trying to get to the bottom of if he's pure bread.

Thanks!

I too have a red doberman, He had these really bright green/blue eyes when we got him at 4 weeks. But as they age the eye colour will either change or stay the same. I wouldn't depict that on whether or not a doberman is purebred, as it very well could be a genetic mutation. I would say that from the looks of your picture, he seems normal and healthy. Our doberman is a full grown healthy male weighing in at 98lbs.
here is a picture of him as a puppy!

 

[Steve253d]

Hey everybody. Thanks so much for the welcome, replies and advice! Based of of what you guys have let me know and other research I've done I'm 98% positive he's mixed with something. So I'm not going to crop his ears.

We absolutely love him tho. He's loving and full of energy. Follows us everywhere and is thus far the smartest puppy I've ever owned. The only thing we have to work on is how rough he plays with our shih tzu.

Thanks again for all the replies and I definitely will be sticking around the forum. Whatever he's mixed with is pretty subtle. I wonder if working on his coat is possible. Either way, the way things are going I'm sure a purebred Doberman is in my future.

 

[melbrod]

I think given that his condition didn't look all that great when he came from the breeder, it is quite possible his coat will improve and perhaps look less wooly and dull. What it will look like as he matures is anyone's guess—though it will be short, it's hard to know what texture coat he'll end up with.

I think he's precious, though. And I'm glad to hear he's a smart little firecracker. Seems like he's got some dobe temperament in there for sure.

Yes, do hang around. We welcome everyone 😁 I don't even have a dobe anymore—I just have Hairy, a cattle dog mix (who would be upset to hear himself called a "just", but he can't read, so I'm safe.) And there are some folks here who don't even have dogs at all. This is a great place to learn and to share the little triumphs (and disasters) that come from raising a puppy.

 

[mhebner]

IMO He's mixed with something. 50 years ago I had a Labrador jump the fence and breed with my Dobe bitch who I'd spent a lot of money on a stud fee. She ended up having 3 Purebred Dobes and 2 mixed pups. They were adorable and found homes easily. I don't know about the eye color of your pup. You'll just have to wait and see. Your Kobe is adorable nonetheless.