Another Person Curious about Dobes.. Dobe people, you around?

After curiously perusing craigslist, I found a beauuutiful blue dobe girl. Sadly, two dogs won't work right now, but I really would like to have another dog within the next year, possibly two.

I'll likely be enrolling into college within the next few years as well, but I'm a bit older and I feel like my priorities are a little atypical for the 'standard college student'.

Just a few questions so far, for conversation's sake and your direct experience:

What are your Dobes like? How has it been to train them, what's their threshold like? Temperament?

If anyone has any renting experience with Dobes, please let me know - I feel like that's where my biggest issue would lie.

I'd be interested in a female Dobe, as I feel like it would likely be easier on my dog and seems to fit my preferences as well.

And this is sort of just for fun, I may just adopt another Aussie in the future, but I'm so open to possibilities right now, especially if the right dog just fell into my lap!

I'll be the first one to dive in...

They're wonderful dogs. I really can't put into words how intuitive, understanding, dedicated and true they are. Their #1 priority is me, which is a nice feeling. Mine are the perfect house dogs - they don't pester me when I'm working, they don't demand anything - they're content to just be in my presence. To a well-rounded doberman, doing anything - even nothing - with their owners is a billion times more important than doing what they want to do.

They're very smart, fairly easy to train - a Doberman is a thinking breed, they need to understand why they're being asked to do something... they won't obey just for the heck of it. They can be fairly sensitive, especially if you bruise their egos - you have to be firm and assertive with them, but not harsh or unreasonable.

Temperament varies... mine are extremely sweet with me, friendly and amiable about my friends, alert and watchful in public, and complete monsters when it comes to perceived threats. I've seen both of my dogs "fly off the handle" in situations when it has been appropriate... but at the same time do not fear for my own safety at all. Loyalty and steadfastness with their owners is paramount.

DO NOT fall into the mindset that Dobermans from non-working or sport lines are not protective. Many show breeders still strive to produce dogs that are ready to act in the face of danger - an aggressive (or at the very least, confident and intimidating) reaction to a "bad guy" is part of the breed's temperament evaluation.

I've actually not had bad luck renting, though it might be different in other parts of the country. It helps that I am a member of an obedience club, that I show my dogs and that I have CGCs/TDIs - when I was renting, I made sure the prospective landlord knew how "into" my dogs I was.


A female sounds like a good fit for you. I usually recommend a female to people new to Dobermans, just because I don't know many people who are prepared to deal with the level of dog aggression in a male dobe. It's controllable, but it's not something to mess around with - it's not a question of IF a male dobe will be same-sex DA... it's a question of WHEN, and how severe. The girls can be pretty bad too, but it's not as common in bitches. Kaylee is not exactly DA, but she... um... gets offended really easily. Let's just say that I'll have to be careful which bitches I bring into my home in the future.

Are you planning on staying in PDX? Speaking as someone who was looking for rentals in the PDX metro area for quite a while (though my moving plans are on hiatus, though not due to that) I found very very few places that would take a Dobe. Granted I was searching from the middle of Iowa and wasn't able to drive around the various neighborhoods and look for signs, but I had some friends that were helping me out in that respect and we came up with squat. For as dog friendly as Rose City is, it's conditional.

I definitely understand what you mean, Hillside. I am planning on staying for a little while, and I have an Aussie right now, and it is very difficult to just find a place for him at times. I likely wouldn't be renting from mass apartment managers, more-so from everyday folks who just want to rent out the house they grew up in, or move into an already rented space with a person or two who enjoy the company of dogs - those types of situations aren't too terribly uncommon, though I do find it a challenge, with any dog over thirty pounds.

Sizzle, thank you for jumping in!

They sound really wonderful I actually haven't read anything too in-depth just yet.. I'm so conflicted about a future dog, but something is just beginning to appeal to me about Dobes.. they have a few qualities I really admire that can be found in herding breeds, but I think I'm attracted to a dog that could possibly be a little sharper in temperament.

This is something I really value about my Aussie right now

This too!

And if I did decide upon a Dobe, my initial thought was it would likely be through rescue, and I would probably be sure that the dog was female and at least two or three, perhaps older. I would like another dog primarily to keep my current dog company. He's a funny guy; seems to be mostly off-standish with dogs in general, but occasionally he'll just meet a dog that he clicks with and it's such a dramatic change in his temperament around them. He seems to be more enamored with female dogs, and I haven't ever seen him take a lot of interest in a dog much smaller than he is, so, it could be a match. I found a few resources through searching Chaz that I'll probably end up checking out a little later, too.