SteevieG said:
That's awesome..... How are they? I've always wanted dobermans.
My wife had 2 Dobermans when I met her and they were good dogs but they weren't mine and didn't know me so I didn't appreciate them as much as I should have. These 2 are the loves of my life (other than my wife). I honestly wish we hadn't let so much time go by without Dobermans being a part of our lives after those 2 were gone. They are just amazing companions. Yeah, they are protective and take a good bit of training to control them, but they are really sweet, smart and, overall, just wonderful.
I know they've had a bad rap with being portrayed as vicious, and they could be I suppose, but the Doberman has had most of the vicious bred out of them.
When we got them we wanted to do things with them, not just have them be house dogs, so we've been training and trying different activities with them.
I've had Xena in agility and she was doing very good at it, but she lost interest for some reason and now we're in nose work and she's going to be very good at this so I'm hoping to do a little competing with her. Maia is a few months younger than Xena has been doing the nose/scent work with my wife for over a year but had to take time off after tearing her ACL. She's back at it now after recovering from her surgery and has picked up right where she left off and will be entering her first competition in April. Maia
will be a champion at it.
So, to anyone who is considering a Doberman, my advice is to do it but please do a little research about them and make sure you're prepared for the time and effort they require. There are a lot of them in rescue situations ready for homes. My wife is a member of the Doberman Club of Atlanta and they run a rescue for them. It is so disheartening to hear of people who thought they were pretty dogs and got one only to find they weren't ready for the commitment the breed requires or couldn't deal with their abundant energy.
If you live in an apartment they probably aren't for you due to the exercise they need but if you have a house and even a little bit of yard, I'd tell anyone to at least consider them. You probably won't ever want any other breed of dog if you get, love, and are loved, by a Doberman.
I'll step down from my soapbox now.