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American vs. European
Dobermans
It is time I weigh in on the debate since
it is the question I get asked nearly every day in phone calls
and emails. Everyone wants to know which is better American bred
Dobermans or
European Dobermans. By American bred I don't necessarily
,mean dogs just born in America, I mean dogs bred to the
AKC standard, or dogs in America not bred to any standard.
Nice of me to lump them into that category huh? European
Dobermans to me are dogs bred to the
FCI or international standard or their direct descendents as
long as they continue to be bred to the FCI standard. It seems
funny to me that we call them European since the FCI standard is
used even in central and Southern America. But the first thing
is to understand that there is a difference between the two
standards.
The second thing to understand is that it
doesn't make one better than another, it creates preference. It
does mean that one group will be suited more to what you are
after than another group. Contrary to what most people think
about me, it does not mean that I don't like American Bred dogs.
In fact two of the people that dislike me the most have the most
amazing American bred Dobermans I have ever seen. I can
appreciate their beauty and their closeness to their standard,
the same way I can appreciate the beauty and grace of Arabian
horses while still preferring Quarter horses. I like to train
Quarter horses, I like to ride them, rope off them, cut with
them, I like to be with them. It is the same with Doberman
Pinschers. The Arabian horse wins most every endurance event,
that is what they were created for. They are graceful, efficient
and correct in their movement, but a quarter horse is like the
American muscle car, it is just raw power waiting to explode. So
is this about Cars, or horses or
Doberman Pinschers? It is about Doberman Pinschers of
course!
The point I am trying to make is that the
American Doberman was bred by fanciers and breeders to evolve
into a different type of dog in type, structure and temperament
than the original Doberman from Apolda Germany was. What most
people fail to understand is that the "European
Doberman" or those bred to the FCI standard also evolved to
a different form than the original Herr Doberman dog. Today's
European type
Doberman Pinscher is larger and more heavily boned than it's
ancestors. It's temperament is still adequate for "Work" (by
this we mean
dog sports,
personal protection,
Police work,
Search and rescue,
etc.) but it is considerably less "sharp" than its
predecessor. I don't think I would have liked the original
Doberman Pinscher very much, they were small compact muscle
bound dogs with very sharp temperaments, fiercely loyal to their
owners but wary of anyone else. Many judges and handlers were
bit at shows and otherwise by these "Devil dogs" as they came to
be known by the US military when they were pressed into service
with the Marine corps. They provided a more than valuable
service to our country and our soldiers, and they were perfectly
suited for their job. They saved lives, they protected lives,
but they were loyal to their handlers alone for the most part.
The
European Doberman Pinscher of today is still very protective
and loyal, but much less suspicious. The American bred Doberman
on the other hand as a generalization (naturally there are
exceptions) has had the working temperament bred out of them, as
a "job" was not part of their standard. In Germany the dogs were
not allowed to be bred unless the dog met the breed standard of
conformation, passed hip examinations, passed a temperament
test, and at least one parent had to have a working title such
as a schutzhund title.
This is why the working traits have been
preserved. Now there is also indiscriminant breeding going on
over in Europe and elsewhere but the dog remains fundamentally
different. In America I see two basic groups of Dobermans
evolving in the last 100 years. The first group is the result of
the Dobermans incredible popularity in the early 70's when they
were literally mass produced. The AKC did not have any breeding
regulations, nor does it today with regards to health,
temperament or structure. They have a standard that constantly
gets revised but it is voluntary to adhere to. This first group
of people are the group I call backyard breeders. Not because
the dogs are actually bred in the back yard as I like to joust
with so many people that pass out that label, but because they
don't have a clear goal and standard in mind in their breeding
program. Their motive is only to produce puppies. These are
different than the group I label as
puppy millers. Puppy mills to me are people who on a large
scale produce puppies with only a profit motive, no standard to
breed to or clear program goals, and most importantly the
condition the dogs and puppies are kept in. This one point gets
me in more arguments than any other. But between the Back yard
Breeders (often abbreviated byb's) and the puppy millers often
abbreviated (pm's) they ruined what the Doberman was as well as
what it became. They produced dogs that now range from 45 pounds
on up to over 120 I hear people boast from time to time, and
there is not a set of traits that really identifies them as a
group other than their coloring and the fact that they are
registered as
Doberman Pinschers. There is too much variability in the
group and fails the fundamental definition of a breed which is
that "parents produce like offspring." There is now so much
variability in structure, temperament, marking and even color
that I would not call the offspring "Like" meaning the same as
the parents. There was another group in America that was
breeding dogs with a goal in mind, they are the show people.
They were breeding dogs for the conformation ring. Now I will
say something here that likely will offend many people, but it
doesn't make it any less true. The goal was the structure alone
of the dog, temperament was not fussed about, nor were health
traits. I know there have been some big changes in the last few
years with very good health testing, but one of the most talked
about and bred to studs not long ago also had a history of very
bad temperament, but he was gorgeous so they kept breeding him.
One of my favorite kennels despite their lack of appreciation
for me :) had wobblers in their lines and now the whole line has
been retired in favor of healthier lines now that health testing
and genealogy has become more important.
The American
Doberman Pinscher is a beautiful dog and I can appreciate
their elegance and grace. In my opinion they lack the structure
and power to do their original job. The
Doberman Pinscher was the only breed of dog ever bred
specifically for personal protection. There are many breeds that
do this job well, but they were bred as multi-purpose dogs. The
Doberman was created by Herr Doberman specifically to be a
companion and guard to it's owner. I have not met any American
Champion Dobermans that could adequately perform this job and if
someone has one please bring it over and shut me up as I put on
the bite suit. This to me is why I prefer the European Bred
Doberman Pinscher. They still can do the original job they
were bred for. I love the story of how the Doberman came to our
nations aid in time of war not many years ago, but if the same
call came out today for Doberman Pinschers to be war dogs, the
ones America could send would be predominantly European dogs.
The AKC champions would fail us, the Back yard Bred dogs would
fail us, and the puppy mill dogs would fail us. I now understand
very clearly what it takes for a dog to actually do this kind of
work, and so much of it is bred in to them.
Let's be specific about some
generalizations in the breed standard. American bred Doberman
Pinschers are typically smaller over all, they are shorter at
the withers and lighter than the European Doberman. They are
also finer boned. Those physical traits make them less suited
for working dog sports that I enjoy. If they were slightly
smaller and still had adequate bone they may make better
ring-sport dogs than the standard European Doberman. Very few
Dobermans do well in French ring primarily because of the
palisade wall they must scale and jump off. The typical Doberman
is too heavy to jump 7 to 9 feet with all his weight on his
front end and not sustain injury. The American bred Doberman
lacks the drive and temperament and is too fine boned also for
this task.
Although health testing occurs with most
reputable American Doberman Breeders now, it wasn't always the
case and in my opinion we see higher frequency of many maladies,
and some others that typically do not show up in the European
dog.
So which dog is better American or
European? You can see now it comes down to what you want the dog
for. They both can make great family pets, which is what the
majority of people getting Doberman puppies are interested in.
Generally the European Type Doberman Pinscher is going to be
better suited for working dog sports, but an American bred dog
can still do great with obedience, agility, flyball etc. Some
even track well despite their lack of selection for it. I did
Search and Rescue with American bred Doberman Pinschers, one was
a grandson of my favorite show kennel. But doing SAR with my
European Dobermans has been much more rewarding and easier to
train. I used to pheasant hunt with my American bred Doberman
Pinschers back in 1998 but I have no doubt whatsoever that Ruby
and Athena today would hunt faster with more desire, drive and
stamina. But I never did have a good protection dog from
American lines. I had some that learned the job, but none were
as powerful or as driven for the work, and if I found dogs that
were, they were not as stable in my house with children.
Both the American bred Doberman and the
European Doberman are good dogs for their intended purposes, it
really does come down to preference. You even have some people
crossing the two which although not my goal, since the gene pool
is very shallow anyway, it may save the genetic health of the
breed in the long run.
Naturally my preference is and remains the
European Doberman Pinscher because of the jobs I do with them. I
prefer the health, temperament, size, structure and working
ability of a European Doberman that is why I have them, and that
is why I breed them to share with other people. |
Uragan Best of Island
Farah del Rio Bianco
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