Hello everyone. I am new here and thought this would definitely be the right site to ask about dobermans. You see, I am a stay at home mom of three boys, aged 2 yrs, 4 yrs, and 8 yrs. We have a male english springer spaniel who loves everyone/everything and he is 5 years old now. We had a German Shepherd Dog that passed away in December and she was my "little girl". How I miss her. She was excellent with our children, though I did not trust her around other people's children with the exception of my close friend's son whom she saw often.
My husband and I have talked at length about purchasing/adopting a puppy or young dog. He would like to get a doberman. He has mentioned this throughout the years and we have friends who have two dobermans so we are familiar with their dogs. Their dogs play well with our children under supervision of course as with any dog.
We have horses, goats, free range chickens, turkeys, and a couple donkeys. We do have a chain-link fenced in yard that connects to the back door. We have the room, finances, and ability to add a second dog/pup into our home but I want to make sure it is a good match.
Our children are used to dogs and though they do not do anything intentionally harmful to a dog, I have seen them hug our dogs (current spaniel and deceased GSD) around the neck and lean against them while laying on the floor. Both of our dogs have always been ok with this and I never had a problem concerning them and our human children.
I have read about dobermans and have seen conflicting articles on whether or not a doberman is a suitable family pet for children aged young as mine. And so I ask the much more experienced and knowledgable people on this board if you think this is an able breed to blend into our family or if you think a doberman would not be suited well to our family?
I purchased our deceased GSD when she was 12 weeks old. We went through obedience together and often did "just for fun" agility trials in a relative's backyard. She adjusted to having my sons borne without any problems and adored them as much as they adored her. I think my children learned how to walk by holding onto her side when she would step forward. We adopted our spaniel dog over a year ago and he was previously housed with a family of four children so I expected he would be fine around ours and he is.
Any input would be appreciated. We want a "guard" dog breed as we value the protectiveness that our cuddly spaniel dog lacks, but we need, obviously, a dog that will be good with our children.
My husband and I have talked at length about purchasing/adopting a puppy or young dog. He would like to get a doberman. He has mentioned this throughout the years and we have friends who have two dobermans so we are familiar with their dogs. Their dogs play well with our children under supervision of course as with any dog.
We have horses, goats, free range chickens, turkeys, and a couple donkeys. We do have a chain-link fenced in yard that connects to the back door. We have the room, finances, and ability to add a second dog/pup into our home but I want to make sure it is a good match.
Our children are used to dogs and though they do not do anything intentionally harmful to a dog, I have seen them hug our dogs (current spaniel and deceased GSD) around the neck and lean against them while laying on the floor. Both of our dogs have always been ok with this and I never had a problem concerning them and our human children.
I have read about dobermans and have seen conflicting articles on whether or not a doberman is a suitable family pet for children aged young as mine. And so I ask the much more experienced and knowledgable people on this board if you think this is an able breed to blend into our family or if you think a doberman would not be suited well to our family?
I purchased our deceased GSD when she was 12 weeks old. We went through obedience together and often did "just for fun" agility trials in a relative's backyard. She adjusted to having my sons borne without any problems and adored them as much as they adored her. I think my children learned how to walk by holding onto her side when she would step forward. We adopted our spaniel dog over a year ago and he was previously housed with a family of four children so I expected he would be fine around ours and he is.
Any input would be appreciated. We want a "guard" dog breed as we value the protectiveness that our cuddly spaniel dog lacks, but we need, obviously, a dog that will be good with our children.
) With a male dog in the house you may want to consider a female dobe. Like any dog, their adult behaviour is a reflection of how they were raised and mostly how they have been treated.
