Author Topic: Dobermans (Read 850 times)

moot · « **on:** August 23, 2007, 11:51:29 AM »

I do some consulting sort of work for this construction company. Most of the time I am at their central depot reworking their inventory management and other accounting aspects from scratch.
This yard's on a semi-wild piece of land, and there are a few stray dogs that stick around for the free roaming grounds and food scraps from the lunch and morning snack breaks.

I've asked a few of the old timers, and they estimate the dobermans are 5 or 6 years old, the sheppard about 1 year old. One of them said these breeds of dogs have a disorder where the brain grows faster than the skull, making the dog's temper dicey.
I was thinking of adopting one of the dobe's, but having heard of Doberman's being a little dodgy by nature (turning on their owner for relatively little), and now this, I'm almost sure I won't after all.

The sheppard's lively, affective and easily spooked. One of the two dobermans' very calm, the other (the skinnier one) is a little on edge, obviously having some bad memories of humans; I fed him by hand once and although it was a first time feed and feed by hand, he nearly snapped my fingers with the piece of sausage. Granted, he's starving, but there's something about him I don't trust, unlike his brother.
So what's the verdict?

BTW, is it dogs or cats that have an aversion to chocolate?

AquaShrimp · « **Reply #1 on:** August 23, 2007, 12:00:47 PM »

We've had several German Sheps, and when they are young they do act crazy. Mostly chewing stuff up. Never had a Doberman. Btw, dogs like chocolate, but it will kill them.

RTR · « **Reply #2 on:** August 23, 2007, 12:04:00 PM »

I have heard the same about Dobermans as well. As I understand it, it really depends on thier lineage. Overbreeding to achieve a certain "look" has caused some problems with temperment etc.

The same has been said about Shepherds, although I have owned a few Shepherds (still have one, and he's a great dog...12 years old now) and not had any problems with temperment. In fact the ones I have had the pleasure of owning have all been spectacular dogs. Smart, loyal and very friendly. They do need to have attention payed to them though.

cheers,
RTR

Maverick · « **Reply #3 on:** August 23, 2007, 12:07:00 PM »

I've had dobies. You already saw there was a difference between the 2 there. Go for the calm and submissive one. The other probably could be saved, being fed does wonders for the attitude. It may taqke more time and effort than you want to invest however. If they are always together they might be difficult to separate causing the calm one to be more aggressive or destructive due to stress.

Dobies are kind of high strucng at times but the calm ones make dandy pets. Someone spent the $ to crop the ears and dock the tails. The ears weren't blocked properly causing them to flop.

cav58d · « **Reply #4 on:** August 23, 2007, 12:45:59 PM »

GSD's as adolescents are crazy...It's like having a 5 year old after drinking 100 bottles of coke! Awesome dogs, but let me warn you my friend...DO NOT LEAVE ANYTHING YOU DONT WANT CHEWED IN REACH OF THE DOG. They will chew it! Believe me!

have fun!

Be careful too!

ChickenHawk · « **Reply #5 on:** August 23, 2007, 01:27:38 PM »

When I was a kid, my grandmother had a Doberman. That was one temperamental dog. My cousins and I would always have to keep one eye on the dog because you never know when she would turn on you.

I'm sure there are plenty of people who never have problems with them but I will never own one.

indy007 · « **Reply #6 on:** August 23, 2007, 01:47:09 PM »

Looked up dog bite statistics. German sherheds were pretty consistent at 3rd or 4th across various injury levels, etc. Dobermans didn't even get their own column, they ended up under "All Others". So if you're worried about getting bit, statistically, the Dobermans are safer.

cav58d · « **Reply #7 on:** August 23, 2007, 02:01:57 PM »

From dogbitelaw.com

* Any dog, treated harshly or trained to attack, may bite a person. Any dog can be turned into a dangerous dog. The owner or handler most often is responsible for making a dog into something dangerous.

* An irresponsible owner or dog handler might create a situation that places another person in danger by a dog, without the dog itself being dangerous, as in the case of the Pomeranian that killed the infant (see above).

* Any individual dog may be a good, loving pet, even though its breed is considered to be potentially dangerous. A responsible owner can win the love and respect of a dog, no matter its breed. One cannot look at an individual dog, recognize its breed, and then state whether or not it is going to attack.

Coshy · « **Reply #8 on:** August 23, 2007, 03:32:48 PM »

I would take the German Shepard home, contact some Doberman rescues and get those two into a place where at least they'll be fed properly.

Why choose the shepard? Because of the idiotic steryotypes people have.

rogwar · « **Reply #9 on:** August 23, 2007, 03:57:42 PM »

Those dogs ought to be rescued or disposed of promptly. Used to have to shoot lots of strays and burn them a time ago.

moot · « **Reply #10 on:** August 23, 2007, 04:33:29 PM »

Thanks guys.
I looked around quickly and found no references to the brain disorder. I'll have to remember the formal name and look into it some more to be sure it's nothing.

Mav or anyone else, how much time and money would it take to reach deminishing returns with feeding and playing around with the dobes a bit during work breaks? I have between 6 months and a year ahead of me working there.

Rogwar, there's a stray dog epidemic over here. It's improved a little, but the odds are that they would not be bothered with since they haven't attacked anyone (plenty of dogs that do keep the pound busy), and the workers would probably prefer to keep them around. I'm pretty sure it'd be the case, but I'd rather not test my impression that if the pound did show up, the workers would pony up enough food to keep the dogs in respectable shape rather than see them go.
The work is pretty tough on the guys, and the dogs' company is part of the morale. It's a pretty tightly knit group, and I'm the FNG that mostly does paperwork in the airconditioned room while they sweat it out.. I can't just call in the dog pound

I can't see any easy way to feed one dog but not the other two. It'd be ideal because the cool tempered dobe is the one I'd get along with best... Feeding all three is the choice my conscience favors but is beyond what I'm willing to provide, and feeding two would leave one of the three out in the cold. I don't mind not feeding the more nervous dobe if it makes no difference to his behavior, but if the better dobe will make a good adoption only if they're kept together AND the worse one doesn't improve, then I'm not interested.
Feeding the shepard and the good dobe is the easiest compromise, but I'm pretty sure I won't get along with the shepard, so it'd be a waste.
Feeding only the good dobe is probably the shrewdest choice, but it seems selfish enough that I'd almost rather just not get involved than risk upseting the good dobe by separating them. They're together anytime I see them.

I guess I'll try and see if feeding only the good dobie is feasible. I do mean feed only him well, I'm not going to have the dogs see me feed him and give them nothing.

Any obvious flaws anywhere?

AquaShrimp · « **Reply #11 on:** August 23, 2007, 05:31:12 PM »

A huge gigantic bag of dogfood isn't expensive. We used to buy 50 or 75lb bags of food for our dogs for $10 or $12. Our dogs were natural hunters though, and would eat wild rabbits in addition to dry food.

rogwar · « **Reply #12 on:** August 23, 2007, 05:44:47 PM »

I understand your position. It's just that they will continue to populate. Additional food just gives them more energy to do so. There's also the possible chance of rabies in the future.

SuperDud · « **Reply #13 on:** August 23, 2007, 05:59:50 PM »

It really depends on the owner. A firm hand is needed(nothing abusive) and patience. They are great dogs with the right handler training them.

One other note, they are a high energy dog. I think some mistake that as to why they can be mean. If a dog with high energy doesn't get the exercise it needs it can then escilate into undesirable behavior. Basically a dog is a dog, it's how the owner handles it and meets the specific breeds needs.

kamilyun · « **Reply #14 on:** August 23, 2007, 06:20:14 PM »

I don't know much specifically about Dobermans, but my family only adopts stray pets and shelter pets. I have quite a few friends who have adopted abused/neglected animals as well. The abused animals are tough, the neglected animals tend to be great!

Be great if you could adopt the nicer one. At 6 years old, I doubt there will be much personality change over the years. The only thing I'd worry about is the house/yard situation. Since he's had free roam of the yard there, might get stir crazy in your house or if you had a small yard.

Do you have other pets? One thing that occured to me is that the well fed dobie might be dominant and kick the skinny one of any scraps or kills. It would be interesting if you started feeding all three to see how they interact. Nothing brings out true personalities like the presence of food. I've been around some dogs that are really scary when their food bowl is on the floor. Hair standing up on back, growling when you walk near them. It would be a good test.

Let us know how it goes!