Dobermans?

[Aleron]

Originally Posted by AdrianneIsabel

How are Dobe hips and knees? They often have some really extreme angles.

Extreme angulation doesn't actually play much role in HD. Some of the breeds most prone to it are dogs with little angulation. Plenty of rather extreme show GSDs are OFA excellent.

Dobes seem fairly low risk for HD according to OFA stats: 122nd out of 160 breeds (with 1 being the highest % of HD and lowest % of excellents), 18% are rated excellent and 6.2% are rated dysplastic. Compartively, Pugs are #2 and have 0% excellent and 64% with HD. From: http://www.offa.org/stats_hip.html


From my understanding, the biggest concerns with Dobes are ones which can't reliably be tested for: cancer, heart problems, immune issues.

[AdrianneIsabel]

I worry more about knees with over or under angulated dogs, I just figured if I asked about one I'd include the other.

It's sad how short their lives are... I didn't know this until about 3 days before this thread a friend with dobes was posting it on her FB. I am selfish, I want the unable to kill 'em dogs of the world.

[Doberluv]

I don't have much to add. Sizzle said it all pretty much. I loved my male. He was a major goof ball, very into learning....really a breeze to train, other than some major distractability as a youngster mostly. Positive reinforcement methods worked best...very sensitive. He certainly was affectionate with the dogs and like Sizzle said, a tumor. LOL! So into their owners. A breeder I talked with prior to getting him was talking about their velcro ways. I said my Lab was pretty velcro and my Chi's certainly want to follow me a lot, even into the bathroom. She said that Dobermans don't just come in the bathroom to watch or hang out with you. They want to help you wipe.

[Toller_08]

Originally Posted by AdrianneIsabel

How are Dobe hips and knees? They often have some really extreme angles.


I also don't know if I could tape my dogs ears for as long as it takes but I do enjoy the cropped look. Is it really as traumatic as people say? I know a lot of people who gave up because it was annoying/upsetting the dog and the owner got soft so now they have cropped floppy ears.

As long as a breeder has thoroughly health tested their dogs, hips and knees don't appear to be a huge concern. The only Dobes with hip dysplaysia that I've ever known were rescues or from BYBs. That's not to say it can't happen in well bred dogs, and there is a reason breeders test for it, but it doesn't seem to be overly common. That said, I've known more than one Dobe to tear their cruciate. Not sure if it's a common breed problem or I just know some very unlucky dogs/owners, though.

And as far as my experience taping ears, it is not traumatic to the puppy at all when done right. My two both fell asleep often when their ears were being taped. And they have no ear sensitivity at all which some people often think can be associated with cropping. You can bend them and play with them just like you would any other dog's ears. Often it seems that owners are nervous about taping and they also don't teach their puppies to be still and relax when handling them, and then you end up with a puppy that's too rambunctious and bad for ear taping (as well as a plethora of other things). I can't imagine having a cropped and flopped dog. The effort, money and time put into a nice crop just would not be worth giving up because the puppy wouldn't hold still. Sometimes ears don't stand because they were too long and/or heavy, and despite a good effort on the owner's part, the ears still don't stand... but that's a different situation to me than "oh well, he didn't like it so we stopped taping them".

[ravennr]

the Dober girl we're looking at in rescue right now has a short, almost Pittie-style crop.
i'm definitely a fan of a nice, long taper.
i'm also going to need to learn all about ear taping for sure.


this may sound exceedingly odd, but i think my opinion of cropping changed a lot after meeting a few HUMANS who have had their own ears surgically tapered, like an elf. it did have an impact, anyway

[ravennr]

i am swooning over these photos too. very exciting!

[JennSLK]

If you are concerned about over angulation stay away from South American lines. They tend to be more over exagerated.

[SizzleDog]

Originally Posted by AdrianneIsabel

How are Dobe hips and knees? They often have some really extreme angles.

I liked the breed a lot but have been hooked since the flick Hugo and our friend Candice at splash dogs, her rescue dobes are AMAZING jumpers and can fly even though I heard most dobies are water-resistant . I need to talk myself out of them before they become my next dog.


I also don't know if I could tape my dogs ears for as long as it takes but I do enjoy the cropped look. Is it really as traumatic as people say? I know a lot of people who gave up because it was annoying/upsetting the dog and the owner got soft so now they have cropped floppy ears.

What Toller said - with good breeders, it's quite uncommon to have hip issues. Cruciate tears are a bit more common, but certainly not more than other breeds doing sports.

You can avoid those extreme angles by being careful where you get a puppy. Some pedigrees are known for being more extreme.

As for the ears... it's not nearly as bad as people make it out to be - especially if you have someone to help you. I actually worked with my breeder to develop a how-to on her method of ear posting, which is the best method I've found in more than a decade of being an ear fanatic.

http://brudadobes.webs.com/earpostingguide.htm

[SizzleDog]

Originally Posted by AdrianneIsabel

I need to talk myself out of them before they become my next dog.

There is no need to do that... just give up...

[Toller_08]

Originally Posted by SizzleDog

As for the ears... it's not nearly as bad as people make it out to be - especially if you have someone to help you. I actually worked with my breeder to develop a how-to on her method of ear posting, which is the best method I've found in more than a decade of being an ear fanatic.

http://brudadobes.webs.com/earpostingguide.htm

Is it crazy that just looking at that ear taping tutorial is making me want another Doberman puppy? I miss Ripley's puppy days. He was so much fun! Keira, OTOH, not so much... but at least she was cute.