The Doberman: Dentition

There are only a few things that will disqualify a Doberman in the show ring. A shy or vicious Doberman will be dismissed from the ring. A Doberman of incorrect color (meaning an albino). And third, a Doberman missing 4 or more teeth, with an overshot bite of 3/16 of an inch or an undershot bite of 1/8 of an inch.

While the AKC breed standard does not include a toothy picture, there was one I found attributed to the Doberman Pinscher Club of America.

"Just a dog"

There are times new members come on to Doberman Talk, and I truly hope these individuals are trolls. I'm not sure why people troll Doberman boards of all places, but it happens. But, why do I hope they're trolls? Because they disregard things that members, members who are more experienced and learned and all of that than I, who have had the infinite heartbreak of their dogs being sick and dying too early, and only want the best for the breed, and the best for individual puppies. And those new people? They say "You guys are too serious." They say "It's just a dog."

I mean, yes. It is "just a dog". But don't you want the best dog? Don't you want the dog who will last you the longest, have a great temperament, have the fewest health problems?

A Bargain Doberman is Not a Good Deal

Because I like looking at pictures of puppies, I frequently poke around on Craigslist, or Want Ad Digest, sites like that. While there are many many adorable puppies on there, I would never purchase a puppy from such a venue. In fact, more than once, I sent somebody on Craigslist an email that their "Free to a Good Home" Doberman might be better served at Doberman Rescue Unlimited, or that the Doberman Assistance Network might give them some good advice.

A $650 puppy is a tempting prospect, I know. Dobermans are expensive. You can buy a computer for what you'd pay for a Doberman, cropped and docked and hopefully with health testing done. And sometimes you luck out with that $650 dog. And other times, you get what you pay for.

Example: Do you want your Doberman's ears to look like this? Though a painting, this was included in a puppy advertisement, and not representative of a "correct" crop.

In the News: Return to Sender?

I read this article first on October 12, and put off blogging about it. I really hoped that I would see a followup article somewhere, but so far, that has not been the case.

The basics: a German Shepherd, imported to Washington state by a broker was bought by a man in Long Island (flown to LaGuardia). The buyer had the dog, Emmi, for only a couple of days before he realized he could not control her. So he sent her back. The seller said the buyer broke contract, and left the dog overnight in kennel before going to retrieve her.

(picture that accompanied NY Times article. Not sure if it's Emmi.)