50 Fun Facts About Doberman

What was the profession of Louis Dobermann, who created the breed around 1890?

He also ran a dog pound in Apolda, giving him access to dogs of many breeds to build a protector for himself.

In which German region was the Doberman first bred?

Dobermann's home town of Apolda lies in present-day Thuringia in central Germany.

Which breeder founded the National Doberman Pinscher Club and perfected the breed in the 1890s?

He did so five years after Dobermann's death in 1894.

Which two breeds are the only documented crosses in the Doberman's creation?

The rest of the recipe is guesswork, though the old German Shepherd is widely believed to be the biggest contributor.

Which breed is widely believed to have been the single largest contributor to the Doberman?

The AKC lists the old shorthaired shepherd, Rottweiler, Black and Tan Terrier and German Pinscher as likely ingredients.

Why did Germany drop 'pinscher' from the breed name about fifty years after Dobermann's death?

Britain followed a few years later; only the US and Canada still say Doberman Pinscher, and they dropped an 'n' from his surname too.

Which countries are the only ones still to use the name 'Doberman Pinscher'?

Everywhere else the breed is simply the Dobermann, with two n's.

Which US service used the Doberman, alongside German Shepherds, as a war dog in World War II?

The Marine war dogs of Guam have their own cemetery at Naval Base Guam, the first official war dog monument in the US.

Kurt, a Doberman on Guam in 1944, is credited with saving how many US servicemen?

He was mortally wounded in the mortar attack that followed and became the first war dog killed in action on Guam.

Where did a 2013 FCI survey rank the Doberman among breeds by annual registrations?

That was 20,941 new dogs a year; the AKC had it 15th in 2009 with 10,233.

How tall does a male Doberman stand at the withers?

Males weigh 40–45 kg; bitches are considerably smaller at 63–68 cm and 32–35 kg.

What must a Doberman complete before it can be registered?

It was originally intended as a guard dog, so males typically look muscular and intimidating.

How many colour phenotypes can the Doberman's two colour genes produce?

The nine allele combinations of the black (B) and dilution (D) genes give black, blue, red and fawn.

The fawn Doberman colour is also known by what name?

It is the least common colour, appearing only when both genes carry two recessive alleles; it is a diluted red.

A blue Doberman is genetically what?

It carries at least one dominant black allele but two recessive dilution alleles.

Expression of the gene behind blue and fawn coats is linked to which skin disorder in Dobermans?

It is a kind of follicular dysplasia; not life-threatening, but the dogs can develop skin problems.

In which year was the first white Doberman born?

White Dobermans are cream-coloured albinos with blue eyes and pink noses, caused by a partial deletion in the SLC45A2 gene.

Which problem is NOT linked to the albino mutation in white Dobermans, according to the evidence?

The mutation is a partial deletion in the SLC45A2 gene.

Dobermans born after which year cannot compete at FCI or IDC shows without a full tail and natural ears?

Docking and cropping were written out of the FCI and International Dobermann Club standards.

The AKC standard specifies a Doberman's tail docked near which vertebra?

Docking is illegal throughout the European Union and in Australia.

What does the Doberman Pinscher Club of America require of ears for conformation?

Ear cropping is illegal in many countries and has never been legal in some Commonwealth nations.

Where does Stanley Coren rank the Doberman for obedience command training?

Hart and Hart (1985) put it first in the same category, and Tortora (1980) gave it the top rank for general trainability.

A 2008 aggression study found the Doberman extremely low on aggression directed at whom?

It ranked relatively high on stranger-directed aggression, and average on dog-directed aggression and rivalry.

On bites and attempted bites, Dobermans were less aggressive than which breeds not seen as fierce?

The study concluded that contemporary Dobermans are not an aggressive breed overall.

Why are North American Dobermans thought to have calmer temperaments than European ones?

Even so, the American standard says aggression toward other dogs does not count as viciousness for conformation faults.

A 2005 Swedish insurance study found what share of Dobermans had died by age 10?

That is nearly double the 35% rate for all dogs; a 2024 UK study put life expectancy at 11.2 years.

A 2024 UK study gave the Doberman what average life expectancy?

An Italian study the same year found only 8 years against a 10-year average.

Which heart condition is the Doberman's most notorious health problem?

A UK survey found 15% of Doberman deaths were cardiac, and the breed's form of DCM is unusually severe.

After a cardiomyopathy diagnosis, the average Doberman survives how long, against about eight months for other breeds?

About a quarter of affected Dobermans die suddenly and another half of congestive heart failure.

Which type of cardiomyopathy appears specific to the Doberman and the Boxer?

The breed also gets the attenuated wavy fibre type seen in many other breeds; the disease appears to be inherited as autosomal dominant.

In female Dobermans with cardiomyopathy, which outcome is more common than in males?

Males tend instead to develop congestive heart failure.

One study found canine compulsive disorder in what share of Dobermans?

The breed is also prone to von Willebrand's disease and prostatic disease.

A US study found what share of Dobermans had hypothyroidism, against 1.54% of mixed breeds?

Bloat is another risk, with one American study giving the breed an odds ratio of 5.5.

Compared with the 3.52% average, what hip dysplasia rate did a North American study find in Dobermans?

The Doberman is among the 15 breeds least likely to have both hip and elbow dysplasia.

A US study of over 90,000 dogs found what share of Dobermans had intervertebral disc disease?

That compares with 4.43% of mixed-breed dogs.

The 'Choking Doberman' urban legend has the dog gagging on what?

The owner then finds an intruder in the house with a bleeding hand.

Which folklorist's 1984 book was titled The Choking Doberman and Other 'New' Urban Legends?

The University of Utah professor collected several varying accounts of the tale.

In the 1972 film The Doberman Gang, six trained dogs commit what crime?

The dogs were named after famous robbers including Dillinger, Bonnie, Clyde and Pretty Boy Floyd.

The National War Dog Cemetery, honouring mostly Doberman Marine dogs, is at which naval base?

The 2nd and 3rd War Dog Platoons ran over 450 patrols there in 1944, exploring caves and detecting mines.

On average, roughly how many Doberman puppies were whelped per year in Germany from 2009 to 2023?

That is just over 1% of the roughly 77,000 puppies of all breeds born there each year.

Which 1939 book by Philip Greunig describes the breed's early development?

It credits Otto Goeller with helping to establish the breed.

Which of these is listed among the Doberman's dermatological predispositions?

Chin acne, acral lick dermatitis, vitiligo and interdigital cysts are also on the list.

Per CDC data for 1979-1998, the Doberman was in fatal attacks less often than which breeds?

The CDC study stressed owner responsibility as one of the most important factors in dog bites.

Which personality trait did one study rank Dobermans high on, alongside low aggressiveness?

The same study found them average in curiosity/fearlessness and low on sociability.

In which German town did Louis Dobermann run the dog pound where he developed the breed?

Dobermann's access to dogs of many breeds at the pound gave him the raw material for a dog bred to protect him on his rounds.

Tail docking is illegal in every EU state and in which other country?

In the UK, docked dogs have been banned from the show ring for years and the procedure is now illegal for native-born dogs.

What is the usual weight range of a male Doberman?

Bitches are considerably smaller, typically 32–35 kg and standing 63–68 cm at the withers.

Where did AKC statistics for 2009 place the Doberman Pinscher among breeds by registrations?

The breed logged 10,233 AKC registrations that year, well ahead of its 26th-place standing in a later worldwide FCI survey.

A partial deletion in which gene causes the albino condition of white Dobermans?

White Dobermans are cream-coloured with blue eyes and pink noses, and are prone to photosensitivity and skin lesions.

Which pair of researchers ranked the Doberman first for obedience command training in 1985?

Tortora's 1980 study likewise gave the breed the top rank for general trainability, ahead of Stanley Coren's later fifth-place ranking.