Doberman Appreciation Thread!!!!!!!!!!

[SpotTheCat]

Ahh I see!

And just curious, you said something about wishing you could do PSA with Pepsi (at least I think right?) have you done any other bite sports with her like IGP? Or do you plan to?

I want to do bitework with her but I decided not to because she is an assistance dog. It would be legally complicated if anything happened, and there are a lot of risks with training her in it. I would be worried about her being too serious with it which could end up with her having to be washed completely from AD work (the wrong trainer could result in washing her too)

I also can't find any clubs or even events that are close enough for me to get to. I am more interested in PSA and similar then igp, I am not much of a precise obedience person

Plus I would want to train +R/ff which makes it even harder to find a club, etc

Same with me I feel like I really know so little about the more specifics of GSDs personally and traits, I just know the more broad overview so it’s hard for me to make a comparison. Chase is over the top affectionate, constantly wanting my attention, he’d be in heaven if I was touching/petting/playing with him 24/7. He always wants to be right on top of me. While, yes, it can get annoying, I do like it, and I find it greatly comforting. This is one of the reasons I’m drawn to dobies, I’ve heard they are like this. Very Velcro and affectionate. But I feel like, as a whole, working line dogs are always more independent and less affectionate than companion or conformation lines of the same breed. Do you see this high level of affection and attachment in GSDs? And specifically working line.

I think it depends a lot on your relationship with the dog. Pepsi does like sitting with/on me but I do like my personal space sometimes. I think if I encouraged or let her she would do it more but she isn't unhappy about it

That makes sense. I feel like that’s a good combo, Chase acts like he has been since sentenced to life imprisonment I even think about not taking him somewhere with me.

Pepsi does look abused sometimes but it's usually only if she hasn't done enough. She is also happy to be indoors in a crate or outside in the kennels when we leave. Fanta hates being in the kennels on her own

Yeah I feel like it’s hard to be specific on this too because it does vary so wildly. Pepsi sounds good, I appreciate the selectiveness without being overly cautious of course

There are a few exceptions 1. Being people she has met before, the other being people behind counters. Both are good opportunities to scream (mature Peps is not too hard to stop from screaming thankfully)

This is funny to me because Dobermans original purpose was strictly personal protection, whereas German shepherds was to herd sheep. So it makes sense to me that Dobermans would be more so, but I guess just as breeding has evolved it has changed

The GSD history is really interesting. They stopped being bred for herding quite soon in the breed development (I need to check the actual dates), it was kept as a just incase, since the creator of the breed was of the opinion that gsd had to have some useful work they could do

 

[Squawkers]

I want to do bitework with her but I decided not to because she is an assistance dog. It would be legally complicated if anything happened, and there are a lot of risks with training her in it. I would be worried about her being too serious with it which could end up with her having to be washed completely from AD work (the wrong trainer could result in washing her too)

I also can't find any clubs or even events that are close enough for me to get to. I am more interested in PSA and similar then igp, I am not much of a precise obedience person. Plus I would want to train +R/ff which makes it even harder to find a club, etc

Ahh yeah that makes sense. I my dobie was a service dog I’d still do the sports, personally I’d take the risk. But yeah that definitely makes sense. I totally see that!! PSA is so much looser than IGP. I personally like the precision, but I definitely think that PSA would be a more fun sport.

I think it depends a lot on your relationship with the dog. Pepsi does like sitting with/on me but I do like my personal space sometimes. I think if I encouraged or let her she would do it more but she isn't unhappy about it

Pepsi does look abused sometimes but it's usually only if she hasn't done enough. She is also happy to be indoors in a crate or outside in the kennels when we leave. Fanta hates being in the kennels on her own

There are a few exceptions 1. Being people she has met before, the other being people behind counters. Both are good opportunities to scream (mature Peps is not too hard to stop from screaming thankfully)

Yeah that all makes sense! I’ve come to the conclusion it’s pretty hard to make super picky breed comparisons as there is so much variation

The GSD history is really interesting. They stopped being bred for herding quite soon in the breed development (I need to check the actual dates), it was kept as a just incase, since the creator of the breed was of the opinion that gsd had to have some useful work they could do

So the GSD of today is extremely different than from how they started? As with a lot of breeds I would think though

 

[SpotTheCat]

Ahh yeah that makes sense. I my dobie was a service dog I’d still do the sports, personally I’d take the risk. But yeah that definitely makes sense. I totally see that!! PSA is so much looser than IGP. I personally like the precision, but I definitely think that PSA would be a more fun sport.

I would consider it again if there where any clubs nearby

Yeah that all makes sense! I’ve come to the conclusion it’s pretty hard to make super picky breed comparisons as there is so much variation


So the GSD of today is extremely different than from how they started? As with a lot of breeds I would think though

I don't really know how different, a lot of farm dogs were also protection dogs to some extent. I really need to look at the history again I know the original dogs used to start the breed where just the herding dogs people kept

What really bothers me are the people who keep going on about herding being the GSD original purpose and how they should be able to herd because that would be preserving the breed. Pepsi's pedigree goes all the way to the start of sv, it's bitework title after bitework title. She has some herding instinct but a lot more biting! It's not wrong to say the breed was originally a herding dog but it's not their original purpose

 

[Squawkers]

I would consider it again if there where any clubs nearby

I would love to hear from you about that!!

So do you know how exactly clubs work? I know imma have to do a lot more research on all that but I’ve got time. I assume there is a membership fee and they have a decoy and you can do bite work training with them? I do focused heeling, tracking, etc. with Chase so I feel like all I’ll need help with is the protection. Though I know I still have a lot to learn in the obedience/tracking side as well.

I don't really know how different, a lot of farm dogs were also protection dogs to some extent. I really need to look at the history again I know the original dogs used to start the breed where just the herding dogs people kept

What really bothers me are the people who keep going on about herding being the GSD original purpose and how they should be able to herd because that would be preserving the breed. Pepsi's pedigree goes all the way to the start of sv, it's bitework title after bitework title. She has some herding instinct but a lot more biting! It's not wrong to say the breed was originally a herding dog but it's not their original purpose

That makes sense! All I have ever herd GSDs used for is protection/police work/and service dog work, never once seen one in herding