Comparing the Rottweiler to the Doberman Pinscher?

Okay so, I like to research breeds anyways and compare them with other breeds by temperament, size, etc, just because it's fun!

So I am now comparing the Doberman Pinscher to the Rottweiler. I know there are some Dobe and Rottie people on here so, I hope you guys can be of some help.

I've done research on the Rottweiler and the Doberman. Both breeds seem pretty protective of their people, and they are both strong willed/strong tempered, whatever you want to call it. Which breed of these two has the softest temperament?? Or, better put, which breed is easier to own? Which breed has more protective instincts towards its family/owner? Which breed stays in adolescent stage longer? Which breed is more easily trained?

Their are some other things too I wanted to compare but their not coming to my head right now.

Have any of you guys owned both breeds? If so, I would LOVE to hear your experiences with each breed.
That actually would probably be better than me asking an individual question about each breed.

My experience is somewhat limited. I was raised around my aunt's Rottweiler as a child and I helped to raise a Rottie puppy as his dogsitter beginning from 8 weeks old through two years old (I saw him basically 5 days a week for 2 years). I have zero experience with Dobes and have only actually been around two in my life.

But the Rottie was very self confident, pretty calm nature about him - he was never really "hyper" per say, but of course as a young dog he had a lot of energy but was very easy to live with. He was definitely independent and could be stubborn. He was territorial of his people and wary of strangers. He loved me and I have no doubt he would have protected me if he had to. But I wouldn't say he was a super great "watchdog" per say. He didn't bark much. He didn't really like strangers at all and his owners did not trust him with them. As he got older, he got less tolerant of other dogs as well, but always did great with Jackson since he was essentially "raised" with him. He did display some resource guarding issues, even as a young puppy, but I'm not sure if that's common in the breed or just him. As serious as he could be, he could also be a total clown. I'd walk in the house and he'd just give me a giant bear hug, or hold a toy in his mouth with the cutest expression and want me to chase him. He was pretty easy to train and very interested in learning and training. Definitely not extremely agile though... I would think Dobermans would be a bit more athletic. He really was a great dog though but not necessarily one I'd want to live with.

I'm sure someone else will chime in with the dobermans.

I have a Doberman and was going to try to answer your questions but to accurately do so I'd have to have owned or spent A TON of time around both (and really, a bunch of both to make an accurate comparison).

That being said, I love my doberman. My boy, and the breed in general, is very velcro (you'll never go to the bathroom alone), super intelligent and also pretty high in energy. He's been pretty easy to train as he picks up on things quite quick and is pretty biddable in comparable to other dogs I've met. My boy's been well socialized so he's great around 99.9% of people and around all dogs that he's met - they are known for same sex aggression, especially the males.

I've spent very limited time with Rotties so I cannot really compare.

Just on my phone right now and headed to bed, but if I get a chance in the morning I would be happy to share my experiences with both breeds. I have owned multiples of both and known many more of both, and to be honest there are more differences than similarities.

All I know is I love Rottweilers but I don't care for Dobermans. The Dobies I met have been too...soft? Velcro-y? I don't really know what it is and I can't really put my finger on it, but Rotties appeal to me more so than Dobes.

I'm excited to read this so hurry up and post

Patience!

Please keep in mind that I have to go based off of mostly memory alone as I haven't lived with a Rottie in a number of years now, but I'll do the best I can based on what I remember of their temperaments and not just their individual personalities.

Training wise: I found my Rottweilers a lot easier to train than my Dobermans. The Rottweilers didn't seem to have to over analyze and think things through like the Dobes do. They just did stuff because there was food and they had to do whatever I was asking of them very quickly because they must eat! They were just so much more eager to learn somehow and less distracted I suppose. They could certainly be headstrong as well, but all in all, they just did as they were told in an effort to make us happy a lot of the time. Often praise was more than enough for them and they'd get as excited for it as a human who just won the lottery. Unlike my Dobermans, who as much as they enjoy seeing us happy, they're also like "ok, glad you're happy, now what?". Usually just praise isn't enough for them. It never is for Keira and with Ripley it depends on the day and where we are and what we're doing. With that said, I do find that my Dobermans, eventhough more difficult to teach something to initially sometimes, grasp things more quickly. I also find my Dobermans softer than most Rottweilers. We did have one rescue Rottie girl who would cower if you so much as looked at her a certain way, but they IME is not typical of the breed and that dog also had more than a few screws loose.

Daily life: Both breeds are very attached to their owners and what I would consider to be velcro dogs, but Rottweilers are more shadow like then your typical Doberman. Rottweilers like to be with you and near you, and they like to know where you are, but Dobermans, if they could, would like to find a way to permanently adhere themselves to you. Just knowing where you are is simply not enough. They think they should be touching you at all times. They both can get pushy and rude about attention, so setting boundaries is a good idea for both breeds, otherwise you'll likely wind up with a rather obnoxious dog.

Exercise needs differ slightly in my experience. My Rottweilers got a lot in the way of training and exercise, as do my Dobermans, but the Rottweilers just had a more laid back sense to them. Now that my Dobermans are mature adults they are pretty content to just go with the flow and do what I want, but if they go for a couple of days without much exercise or anything, they do get a little stir crazy. They just seem to crave more. My Rottweilers got a little restless too, but over all they were more content with not doing much of anything some days than the Dobes can be.

Neither breed does spectacularly in the heat, but I remember summer days where my Rottweilers would be just panting all day and too lethargic to really do anything. They'd lay on the cool kitchen floor in front of a fan and just pant the day away. The Dobermans aren't keen to do things when it's super hot either, but they cope better.

Rottweilers are better in the cold than Dobermans. Most Dobes are pretty sure they might melt in the rain, and going out in the cold of winter would be comparable to a human going out without a jacket. My Rottweilers loves to play outside with us in the snow for a long time without ever seeming to get cold. The Dobes can't stand to be out there for very long at all.

Same sex aggression can occur in both breeds. All of my Rottweilers were happy go lucky with everybody and everything, so I have no experience with it in that breed. But I've known a few SSA Dobermans. Thankfully mine are not what I'd consider SSA. This is a trait that is a strong deterrent to me ever getting another Rottweiler or another Doberman again, though. I feel very fortunate that my dogs have all been (so far) friendly around other dogs regardless of sex, but I know that more often than not that's not always the case.

With strangers I find Dobermans a lot more reserved and indifferent. All of the Dobermans I know are people friendly, but they simply do not care about strangers or a lot of the time, even friends or relatives that they know well. My Dobermans would choose to hang out with my over anybody else any day. They're not shy at all, and will ask for touching from anybody, but their own people are their preference. My Rottweilers, while not "Lab like" in that they'g go home with anybody, were more apt to visit excitedly with new people and friends and relatives.

I find my Dobermans to have a lot more guarding/protection instinct than my Rottweilers ever did. A friend's Rottweiler actually let some drunk walk right into their home one night and was thrilled to show the guy around, whereas I think you'd get quite the opposite reaction from any Doberman I know. My friend's Rottweiler's reaction is not what the breed should do, but I think one of my girls would have done the same. The other ones, absolutely not. But all in all I find that you see a lot more of that in Rottweilers than Dobermans.

Rottweilers shed a lot. Dobermans shed more than you'd expect also, but Rottweilers shed like crazy. They have a short double coat where as Dobermans have a smooth single coat (a lot of people don't realize there is a difference in coat).

I find Rottweilers to be a lot more excitable, clownish and in your face than Dobermans are. Dobes, while they can certainly be excitable and have a sense of humour, there is just a different energy to them somehow.

Both breeds stay adolescents for a long time. Especially the boys. I'd say you're not in the clear until a dog of either breed is at least 3 years old.

As to which breed is better for a first time owner, that depends on what you're looking for in a dog. Rottweilers I feel are slightly easier than Dobermans in some ways, but both breeds certainly provide their own set of training challenges and neither breed is for somebody who is not willing to put a lot of time, energy and effort into their dog. Neither breed is an easy breed. I'd recommend spending time with multiple dogs of both breeds and see which you prefer if you're interested in them. I know for me, after owning both, with as much as I did find training the Rottweilers slightly easier, I'd go for more Dobermans over more Rottweilers any day. Doberman energy and I just click better nowadays.

Both breeds are unfortunately plagued with awful breeders, and both breeds as a result have some very unstable, spooky, weird specimens. Ugly too. Both breeds also have their fair share of deadly health concerns as well. So if you're not one to adopt from rescue, be sure you go to a reputable breeder who cares about their dogs temperaments, conformation, and health.

I'm sure I've probably left something important out, and my experiences may differ from other owners of both breeds, but hopefully that was somewhat helpful.

I've never lived with either (though I came very close to getting a Dobe when I was looking for my first dog lol), but have interacted with quite a few examples of both breeds. I love them both overall, but given the choice between nice specimines from each breed I would probably choose the Doberman.

Thank you! Very helpful. So does this mean that Dobermans and Rottweilers are very similar when it comes to being headstrong and difficult to manage? Or does it depend on each dog? When I was researching Dobermans, a few people said that they noticed Dobes seemed sensitive and are more of a "softer" breed compared to a Rottweiler.

They can both be headstrong. I think they're pretty equal there, but a lot of it does depend on the individual dog. I just find Dobes to be a lot more seriously "what's in it for me?" sometimes. Most Rottweilers I know are just a little easier to get to engage with you and motivate somehow. My dogs are both motivated by different rewards, so it's not that they're untrainable. It's just a difference I've noticed in that it seems easier to get a Rottweiler to comply instantly than a Doberman. With that said, my friend's new Rottie girl can be more head strong than my Dobermans combined. She's just so bouncy and overwhelming and has a hard time thinking on occassion, haha. At least, that's how she was with me. I imagine she's different on a day to day basis with her owner. As for being difficult to manage, I guess that would depend on what you mean? Mine, as adults, are pretty easy to live with. They need clear and consistant guidelines (mine live with a lot of NILIF), and training is an on going process for the life of the dog (as it should be with most dogs), but they do as they're told and are very respectful over all. My biggest thing with my Dobermans is not letting them run through the house and doors like maniacs (they're always in a hurry for nothing) and also not letting them flip my arm, lean with all their weight, follow me obsessively, and plead for attention constantly. They're pushy in that respect. And sometimes if you tell them to do something they'll look at me like they totally didn't hear me and blow me off, but they generally think better of it. I can trust my Dobermans to respect rules and do as they're told more than I can Dance (my Toller). And I could say the same for our Rottweilers. Both breeds definitely need a firm owner who isn't going to be a pushover and will stick to rules and boundaries, but that doesn't mean they're all constantly trying to over rule you at any moment either.

Dobermans can be pretty soft. None of my Rottweilers were at all soft compared to most of the Dobermans I know, but I am sure there are soft Rotties out there too. Dobermans need a firm, consistent handler but one that will not get angry or yell often when frustrated. My dogs can take pressure in training, but if you yell at them (or near them - doesn't even have to be about them), they think the world is ending. Not that I make a point of yelling in life, but it's happened. They totally shut down. Dobermans are an odd mix of sensitive and headstrong. But, that doesn't necessarily mean that makes them more difficult than a Rottweiler. Unless you're prone to being angry a lot or something. I feel that many Dobermans, mine included, are softer than the breed should be and are softer than I prefer, but not detrimentally so in most cases.

I hope that all made sense... it's really something that's easier to experience than explain unfortunately in a lot of ways. I'd read a fair amount about Dobes and got to know a lot of Dobermans and their owners before raising Keira and Ripley, and I still learned different things with them than could ever be known simply by reading. That's why it's good to spend time with both breeds to talk to people, interact with the dogs and see what you would find more enjoyable.

Yes, I see what you mean. Thank you so much for helping! You've explained both Rotties and Dobes to me in a very understandable way.