[Dikadog]

Hi everyone! I was dreaming of getting a Doberman for many years now, and in few month will be a lucky owner!

My question is maybe a strange one.. Breeder gives me a choice from two puppies (which are red, can not get black one ehhh). And they are too little to visit and I live abroad too. So I have to chose 1 as soon as I can so he can obviously find another owner for other puppy.

He sent me some pictures of them and the look like absolute twin brothers, although there is a black puppy sitting behind them and To Me -it looks like he has a slightly longer 'face' then the red once.

Am I wrong, or Doberman puppies can look slightly different on first weeks? I have experience with mixed German Shepherd puppies, when almost all of them looked different

I am really excited and nervous to chose the right (or wrong) puppy as most of us I guess, so every detail seems so important!

Can you tell from this picture is black puppy has a slightly different 'face'?
Also are there any parameters at all on - 'predicting' of how will look puppy as an adult dog (if it will be long/short face/nose, chubby, big ,skinny, dark red/light red etc etc) ??

Looking forward to hear as much info as possible, please

 

[Dikadog]

picture

it looks that link didn't work, so here it is:

http://www.dobermantalk.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=31418&c=8

 

[PatchworkRobot]

Dogs, like people, are all different. Just like you can have two human siblings who come from the same parents but do not look the same you can have a litter of dogs all with similarities and differences. With purebred dogs, however, since there's a standard, if the parents are bred to the standard than the deviations from the standard on the puppies will be harder to see. Plus, since puppies are quickly growing and developing they can look slightly different from one day to the next.

I'm definitely no judge of dogs but this is something that I would trust your breeder on. Are you getting a dog for show or as a pet? Are you getting your dog from a reputable breeder? If the dog is well bred and intended to be a pet than structure shouldn't be as much of a concern as personality is (my thought being that structure should be good anyways, coming from correct parents). If you are getting a dog for show than your breeder should be able to pick out which puppies are "show" picks (as opposed to the "pet" picks) and should be able to pick the best match for you out of those puppies.

What I'm trying to say is that your breeder will know about these puppies far better than anybody else. If the breeder is reputable and knows their stuff (the breed, it's standards, the health issues within their lines, etc) than I would suggest the breeder pick out which puppy is the best match for what you're looking for and your lifestyle. Most reputable breeders, to my knowledge, do this.

If your breeder is not reputable than I would consider looking elsewhere, personally.
A good post about "reputable" breeders can be found by clicking on this sentence.

 

[Dikadog]

Thanks PatchworkRobot!

Yes, the breeder is reputable and very very great for communication, and his pups are coming from show (world/Europe) champs and working parents.

I just don't want to ask him 100 questions every day (I did already ) and also wanted to know a second opinion from you guys who have Dobermans for a long time.

Also I agree I would rather have a great personality dog than just looks, but you know we all love Dobies for their looks a lot so do not want to look 'too picky' in his eyes by asking - 'Oh, would this pup look exactly like his dad'?

I had an image of a Doberman I want for years (which I know its hard to pick a perfect one) and would love to train my dog in future, and use as a stud too (unfortunately can not enter shows with him in most European countries because he will be docked and cropped).

 

[alan j.]

Just look at some photos of the parents and you can get a real good idea of what you are going to get.