Today's Development
of the Breed

In the early 1970's, the Dobermann began to see incredible popularity in this country. Larger and larger numbers of Dobermanns were bred, but unfortunately, many of them were bred for the wrong reasons. While a breeder's goal should only be the improvement of the breed using superior specimens, many litters were now whelped solely for the purpose of making money. A balanced temperament, correct structure and excellent health were often not important to the profit oriented breeder, and soon we began hearing stories of the breed's viciousness and decline.

This problem escalated until finally the serious American breeders and DPCA (Doberman Pinscher Club of America) members decided to invoke a strict code of ethics and aggressively educate the public on how to choose a breeder and how to properly raise and train their Dobermanns.

Today, we have fewer litters whelped annually, but the puppies are of much higher quality. Public perception of the breed has turned much more positive, and stories of vicious Dobermanns have become rare.

The only negative side effect has been the loss of some of the true working abilities in the American bred Dobermann. Because of this, we see only few "AKC Dobies" in the sport of Schutzhund, and many more German and European imports and their descendants instead.

The shape and style of the AKC conformation-ring Dobermann is also somewhat different from the European imports, often with longer necks and less substance, the American bred Dobies have a harder time performing the work they were originally intended for. In this writer's opinion, form and function are equally important and she hopes that someday the gap between the Dobermann showring community and the Schutzhund/working community will once again be bridged.