Crossing the Doberman and Rottweiler for color: Right on

» biogardener - Right on

I am a cat lover and was waiting for a dog lover to answer this question. Since it isn't happening, I will tell you what I know.

Dobermans are my favorite dogs, not because I chose them but because they chose me. I seem to be every doberman's prime target of protection. Maybe I need more protection than other people. Don't ask me. Anyway, I grew up in the dog's country of origin and learned things about the breed early in life by asking a lot of questions. This is what I learned:

Ludwig Dobermann was looking for two main traits in a dog, gentleness and fierceness, and those two traits are still the dog's most recognizable. The gentleness comes from the weimaraner, the gentlest dog breed known at that time, one which will easily adopt orphaned puppies and even kittens. Dobermann crossed the Weimaraner with the fierce pinscher which is a terrier, i.e. a hunting dog, bred to hung rodents. Dobermann was, among other things, the town's dog catcher, so he certainly knew what to expect from dogs.

The typical doberman coloring appears to come from the pinscher. The weimaraner is of one solid color of brown or beige. All the ones I have ever seen were quite light in color. Darker colors in normally predominate in breeding.

The original doberman has been crossed with several other breeds by people who continued the work of Ludwig Dobermann. The coloring rottweiler has the same coloring as the pinscher, all right, so I can understand why your friend believes it to originate with the rottweiler. Why don't you call it a draw. Let's say, the color came from the pinscher originally but was reinforced by the rottweiler.

Here are the breeds whose blood flows in the doberman's veins: weimaraner, pinscher, rottweiler, black greyhound, schnauzer, alsacian (German shepherd).

I read on one website that the dog's original dangerous fierceness has been toned down through breeding. That does not agree with what I learned in my childhood. I was always told that the gentleness comes from the weimaraner, not from later breeding. In my experience, dobermans are the most loyal protective dogs to whomever they decide to adopt. They will also attack anyone who even thinks a bad thought about their adopted owner. My miniature doberman was the gentlest dog I have ever known, but he would go berserk if certain people came within 100 feet of our house. There is no way any burglar could ever have gotten near the house without first shooting that dog.

Here is what a weimaraner looks like, and here is what the pinscher looks like. Have a look and judge for yourself.

-- posted by biogardener