Your first experience ever with a Dobe?

I was looking for a puppy...

I was browsing Craigslist, and came across these 2 pictures and knew I wanted THAT puppy

I'd never owned a dog before, just watching my neighbors dogs... No idea on a temperament of a Doberman...

His story... Family moving, didn't want to travel with a 10 week old puppy.... He's been the best dog I could ever ask for! I wouldn't trade him for the world

I was fostering several litters of kittens for the Animal Shelter in Cary, NC., when they called back to ask if I could foster a dog. I said, "Sure, I'll be right over."

At the shelter, I was told the dog was marked for euthansia the next day because she was "vicious." Oh great.

Tied all the way in back of the shelter, on a long chain, was the most beautiful dog I'd ever seen. I called her name, and with tail tucked and eyes searching mine, she slunk over to me. I whispered her name, and she looked at me like only a Dobe can. I put a leash on her, and she dragged me through the front door!

After one night, listening to her moan herslef to sleep, only to wake and discover she had somehow gotten on the bed and was spooning me, I thought, "Crap, now I have to scrape up $**** to adopt her."

Buffy and I had the 5 most wonderful years of our lives together. When she passed, a HUGE part of me caved in.

It was only after many months, did I even start looking at Dobes again. I adopted Baron, who sadly was "unpredicatable", and I had to put him down after 1 1/2 months.

And the hole gets bigger everyday. Know I have no idea where to go - I want another one, but am so afraid of making another hasty descision. I miss Buffy so much, and will never have a dog like that again.

Wow, sorry, this should be posted elsewhere.

I was dog obessessed as a kid and knew pretty much every breed there was. Dobermans had always struck me as incredibly beautiful and elegant, but I bought into the vicious rumors and never considered owning one. When I took a job at a vet's office 6 years ago, I was sitting in the front office about to leave when the vet said she needed me to watch her dog a minute. She opened the door, and in trotted the most gorgeous animal I had ever seen. He was a retired show dobe and literally took my breath away. He walked right up to me and looked me over with almost a human like intelligence. I worked for the vet for 3 years and had daily contact with this dobe as well as many more doberman clients. I fell head over heels in love and swore this would be my breed. I fostered a starving female dobe at one point but was unable to keep her long term due to long work hours and a new baby. I swore though that one day, we would own a doberman. Fast forward a few years later and Gunner has made my dream finally come true. There is no other breed for me

Duke came to us from a police officer in Gary, Indiana. He needed to give him to a good home. My husband met the officer in training dogs. When he came home I told my husband it was the dog or me .....I had a bad experience with dobermans and thought the worse............Duke was loving and patient with me. As I type this I have tears thinking about his love for my husband and I. We moved to south Florida and Duke got sick with a heart disease with no cure...he lived 6 months to the day of being diagnosed. I held him in my arms as he took his last breath.


Many years would pass before we ever considered another dog. My dad went into the hospital and I stayed with him. The nurse came into to check on my dad and we started talking. She said she raised and trained dobermans....I said I was looking for a dog. I told her my story about our first doberman. She came back with a beautiful picture of a red female doberman. She said she needed a special home and I ask her to come over my home and check it out. I worked from home and cared for my dad until his death. My friend brought Devon over and it was love at first sight. She was loving, free spirited, but obedient . She was groomed for the court.
We did several shows with great success but, in my heart she needed to be at home. We retired her and her free spirit has been tamed. She is the love of our life. I don't want to even think about the day she leaves me. We have been blessed with 3 wonderful years.......

My first dog obedience teacher was a stern elderly lady who had a gorgeous black Dobe named "Dieter" --- and I couldn't peel my eyes from him. I took about 30 weeks of training from this teacher (with a cattle dog mix and a shelty) just so that I could watch Dieter.

He kept the class in line! He'd patrol the room, trot over to misbehaving dogs with stern disapproval.

He would even go get his leather leash and fold it into layers before he brought it to his master. She swore she didn't train him to do it, either.

When I took a job that required me to travel on an occasional overnight trip, I insisted on getting a Dobe to sleep in my 12 year old son's room. Luckily, husband agreed.

We got a "re-home" from a fabulous breeder, and Loki the magnificent was with us till last year, when he died at age 9. Just about killed me.

Now I have Dexter, a funny red doberteen, and on Saturday, I get Kaleesi -- and she'll be my first Dobe puppy!

Can't wait. (but kinda nervous).

This is a picture of our beloved, Loki, RIP.

I don’t remember a "first experience" with a Doberman... My love for the breed evolved from the love of other breeds, if that makes any sense. Dobermans have in one package, the things I loved about many different breeds.

I wanted a pit bull for the longest time, but one day I was looking at dog breeds and I came across Dobermans. The more I researched, the more I fell in love with the idea of owning one of these amazing dogs someday. I did everything that I could to make sure I got into contact with as many Dobermans as possible. I went to shows, started meeting people in the breed, and finally, after graduating college, started seriously looking into breeders.

I was referred to Perrin's breeder by another breeder who had a litter planned that didn’t take. I met Perrin, his mom, his grandmother, a few of his aunts and an uncle. They were all beautiful and so affectionate.

I took Perrin home at 10 weeks, and the rest is history! I will always have a Doberman, and if I had it my way, only Dobermans in the future.

I didn't really have much hands-on Doberman experience prior to adopting our first Dobe, Winston, in 2005. Before then our neighbours had a pair and I thought the were pretty, and then there were three in a conformation handling class being taught beside Echo's (one of our Rottweilers) obedience classes in another room. All three were red, and I was just a kid, but I thought they were the prettiest dogs ever. I didn't know much about them, though. Just that they were pretty. We weren't even seeking out a Doberman when we adopted Winston. Echo was really sick (megaesophagus and cancer) and dying, and somehow our current dogs' breeder ended up hearing about it through a friend of my mom's at work. She ended up contacting my mom (they worked in the same building) and asked if we'd like to come meet a 7 year old rescued male Doberman.

I was excited, but we were all a bit hesitant, as we weren't sure what breed we were going to get next or if we even wanted to add another dog at that particular point. But we went to meet him anyway, and fell in love. He was truly the kindest, most gentle, sweetest dog ever. The night we met him my breeder was also having a Dober-dinner, so she had a bunch of friends over with their Dobermans. There were probably at least 12. That was my first real hands-on experience with the breed. And while a little overwhelmed at the sheer number of dogs that night, they were all on their best behaviour and couldn't have made a better first impression. So we just kind of fell into Dobermans.

When I was 8 years old, I started spending summers with my aunt and uncle in the Domincan Republic. They always kept dogs, 2-6 at a time, as property guards. They were very much of the mindset that dogs belonged outside and needed to earn their keep. It was on during my first summer there that I met my very first dogs: two black/rust dobes named Katy and Rocky.

The yard was moderately sized and had a smaller enclosed area in one end. The dogs were kept behind that gate all day. Katy was let out overnight to patrol the property. Rocky had gone crazy from that doberman-brain-shrinking-disease and was too aggressive to be handled. He lived his entire life in that small enclosure. (Looking back, who knows what medical issues that dog could have had. Or possibly rage syndrome?)

My uncle was the "dog person," and occasionally let Katy out during the day for some socialization. Katy was a mush and would melt at the first signs of affection. She quickly bonded with me during our short interactions. I fell for her hard and spent a lot of my summer petting and feeding her through the gate. I was eventually able to convince my uncle to leave her out in the yard with me on most days. By the end of the summer, I was sneaking her into the house. I cried when I had to leave and was counting down the days until I could see her again.

Sadly, Katy died in whelp that fall (yes, Rocky's puppies) and I would never look upon her sweet face again.