I am currently researching the Doberman breed and see a lot of puppies posted for sale and say no Z factor.
What is the Z factor and why would it matter when picking a puppy?
Also, I have heard that Doberman's brains continuously grow as they get older and that it can make them mean as they age. I have a 2 year old and I want to make sure I wont have any problems

Thank you.

Question #2 - TOTAL BS.
- but over the years, they do get smarter / in a nice way

The Doberman - Health

*** ALBINISM - "white coated" and "white factored" Dobermans should NOT be bred. These dogs are *TYROSINASE POSITIVE ALBINOS*. In 1996, the AKC established a tracking system (the letter "Z" will be part of the registration number) allowing breeders to identify the normal colored Dobermans which may carry the albinistic gene. A list with all dogs tracing back to Shebah's (the first Albino Doberman registered) parents is available here. All breeders should require an AKC certified pedigree with colors to check that "white coated" and "white factored" dogs are not present in the pedigree of the dog or bitch to be bred.

The Albino Gene Mutation by Dr. Davieds
DPCA | The Doberman | Health

 

The Z-factor means the dog is descended from a single albino Dobe born in the 70s. She was bred back to her own father and son as IIRC to set the trait.

The brain growth is a myth. It's amazing how many of those doozies are out there. If you screen your breeder properly using the tools available on the DPCC/DPCA websites you should be able to pick out the good breeders and dogs from the bad. If you start with a good, ethical breeder and properly train and socialize your dog, beyond the bratty teens, you won't have anything to worry about.

 

Z factor is the term used to indicate that that dog is descended from an particular dog who had a genetic mutation that causes albinism--a white doberman, in other words. Don’t let anyone tell you differently--all white dobes are albino. These dogs have problems with cancer, painful eyesight in bright light, poor temperaments (nervy and sometimes fear biting) and poor conformation.

The mutation is recessive--so a dog descended from this particular dog may not be albino itself, but the possibility that any dog with Z factor can produce albino puppies makes it important to identify what dogs carry the Z factor.

The brain swelling thing is pure bunk. And there are a lot of other false accusations about dobermans--almost too many to list. Hang around here a while to learn the truth.

 

The brain continuously growing is just a load of crap and has no effect on any aggressive traits. Its quite simply a silly myth! The environment in which they are raised, genetics and the way they are trained/treated, etc. can eventually create aggression.

Its also the same with feeding your dog raw food -- it does NOT create an aggressive dog.

 

Well.... I know of one Doberman who's brain grew so large he ended up eating a baby! Seriously, I talk to folks on the sreet daily while walking my boys. The stuff I hear is hilarious. I just heard that one about a month ago....

John
Portland OR

 

We all talk at the same time here--that’s why we get repetitive. Sorry.

 

Or just passionate about jumping to the breeds defense?

 

"Z-factored" comes from the WZ designation in the AKC number of a dog descended from the first albino bitch whelped back in the 1970s. She was then bred back so at least one of her puppies, an her pups were also bred with each other to produce more albino dogs. The DPCA link that Beaumont gave has a lot of information. Z-factored dogs can be one of the four recognized colors, or they may be an albino. Ethical breeders won't breed a Z-factored dog.

And yeah, the old "their brains keep growing, and outgrow their skulls" myth is still making the rounds. That's all it is. A myth. Poor breeding and/or improper treatment can cause a dog to become aggressive. An older dog may well have a medical condition like arthritis that causes them to be more sensitive and reactive. Those are true of dogs in any breed, though.

 

When we got former Amy puppy, we lived 3 houses from a small park.
- so daily, we would have to walk past the corner lot
- new owner said / get that dog away from here / it will hurt-attack my kids (aka like 10 & 12 y/o)
- here is our wee 10 week old puppy girl, being blamed for future viciousness
- I told the idiot / mind your own "beeping" business
- Amy went on to become a certified Therapy dog & OB titled

Years later, one of the guys best friend, lived 2 blocks away / who had 2 Saint Bernard's.
- one day the 2 Saint Bernard's escaped owners back yard & ended up on our street
- our property was on a dead end street / but only the 4th house from a busy road
- the big dog pair was headed to the busy intersection / and they looked friendly
- so I got Amy to play with them, on our dead end street & we loured the dog pair, on our front lawn
- once I figured out, the dogs belonged to neighbors friend / we headed down to the corner house
- and Amy helped to keep the pair together & occupied / while Dad opened up neighbors garage door
- and safety stored the dogs, in his garage
Neighbor finally comes out of his house / and thanks me, for saving his friends 2 dogs.
- I said: "don't thank me, Amy did all the work"...and we both had a good laugh
She was always the good-will doberman, that frequently changed bad stereo type thinking.

 

Lol just read this thread. My neighbors told me that I'm lucky that Juneau has a big head so that it won't compress his brain as it grows and become painful, making him more aggressive. Where did this stuff start?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

And that one is associated to the one about the bump on the top of the dogs scalp. If that bump is small then the skull won't grow, so make sure you pick a pup with as large of a bump as you can. This will ensure that the skull will continue to grow and the skull plates won't fuse together. I wish I would have wrote all the ones I heard down. It would make such a nice funny book.

 

I always rubbed Amy's brain bump, daily / she really loved this attention.
- when I caressed her skull bump, I would always tell her a nice story
- "like how smart she was / and that bump made her very special / it held all her brain power"
- she would look up at her Dad and always give me a wee smirk / in total happiness
One of the unique connections, we shared together.

 

That's actually really sweet. My boy seems to love having the top of his head rubbed too -- maybe another dobermann quirk?

One other thing I should mention (since the topic has shifted this way and I wasn't originally told this by anyone), some dogs that have a very pronounced crown can develop a large bump on their head which most likely will never go down if they bump their head hard enough. They may be brainy, but they sure are silly, so try to keep them away from objects they can put their heads under.

 

The bony bump on a dog's head is called the occiput. People have them too.

 

OMG Larry.... I do the same thing with my youngest, McCoy. Not in bed......Because our boys are not furniture dogs! LOL

My latest touchy thing, which McCoy loves, is a take on the "nose stealing" thing my dad would used to do when I was a kid. Pretend to take off your nose and show it to you (his thumb) and then put it back on.

I do this with McCoy when he is being annoying. I ask him to come over and then I tell him I am going to take/turn his nose off. So I pretend to (gently) "unscrew" his nose, put "it" in my pockect and then put it back on. It is so much fun for him that whe I say: Enough..... I am taking your nose off! He comes over and sits right in front of me so we can play the "No nose" game. Dobermans are so effing weird .....

John

Edit to say; I think ear rubbing is his favorite. Probably based in all the great attention he received during posting.

 

OMG Larry.... I do the same thing with my youngest, McCoy. Not in bed......Because our boys are not furniture dogs! LOL

My latest touchy thing, which McCoy loves, is a take on the "nose stealing" thing my dad would used to do when I was a kid. Pretend to take off your nose and show it to you (his thumb) and then put it back on.

I do this with McCoy when he is being annoying. I ask him to come over and then I tell him I am going to take/turn his nose off. So I pretend to (gently) "unscrew" his nose, put "it" in my pocket and then put it back on. It is so much fun for him that whe I say: Enough..... I am taking your nose off! He comes over and sits right in front of me so we can play the "No nose" game. Dobermans are so effing weird .....

John

Edit to say; I think ear rubbing is his favorite. Probably based in all the great attention he received during posting.

OMG is right John - we are so much alike / and even dates back to our child hood:
Thks for sharing McCoy nice story / this uniqueness, sure makes him special.

My Dad use to steal my nose to & my brothers.
- take it off, and stick the end of his thumb between his index & next finger
- and say: 'there it is / I got your nose" and then put my nose back on
I forgot, but I use to pull Amy's nose off (like that).
- I also would play "this little piggy" and sing the nursery rime playing with Amy toes
- when she wanted kisses & belly rubs, on her love seat @ bed time

When I turned 16 and got my car license, I would never ask mom for the family car.
- growing up / her favorite word was NO, all her life
So I would walk over to Dad, rub his ear lobe & get the car keys / worked every time.
- he always had a big smile for me / and this would piss off mother, which was just as much fun for us to watch

 

I love the way this thread turned into something so positive lol!

My boy Kaiser absolutely loves his ears being touched (massaged gently, etc.) and will groan and absolutely lean into/squish your hand against something if his ear is itchy so you can continue.

4x4 -- you're absolutely right, has to be the weirdest breed ever. I want to try the nose thing haha.

Had some idiot see me playing with my boy's floppy ears on a walk and decided to point out that, "you shouldn't be playing with a dogs ears, they don't like it". Um no, he loves it. Some people. :rolleyesww: