Dobermann

The Dobermann is a German breed of medium-large working dog of pinscher type. In Canada and the United States it is known as the Doberman Pinscher. It was originally bred in Thuringia in about 1890 by Louis Dobermann, a tax collector. It has a long muzzle and – ideally – an even and graceful gait. The ears were traditionally cropped and the tail docked, practices which are now illegal in many countries. The Dobermann is intelligent, alert and tenaciously loyal; it is kept as a guard dog or as a companion animal.

The Dobermann is a German breed of medium-large working dog of pinscher type. In Canada and the United States it is known as the Doberman Pinscher. It was originally bred in Thuringia in about 1890 by Louis Dobermann, a tax collector. It has a long muzzle and – ideally – an even and graceful gait. The ears were traditionally cropped and the tail docked, practices which are now illegal in many countries. The Dobermann is intelligent, alert and tenaciously loyal; it is kept as a guard dog or as a companion animal.

Life expectancy

A 2024 UK study found a life expectancy of 11.2 years for the breed compared to an average of 12.7 for purebreeds and 12 for crossbreeds. A 2024 Italian study found a life expectancy of 8 years for the breed compared to 10 years overall. A 2005 Swedish study of insurance data found 68% of Dobermann died by the age of 10, higher than the overall rate of 35% of dogs dying by the age of 10.

Cardiac health

Cardiomyopathies are a common problem for the breed. and cardiac issues are a common cause of death in the breed with 15% of deaths being cardiac related according to a UK survey. Data from the University of Purdue Medical Veterinary Database found the breed to be predisposed to dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) with 5.8% of Dobermanns having the condition. Another study in America found a prevalence of 7.32% for the condition. An English study of 369 cases found the Dobermann make up 16% of those. This disease impacts Dobermanns more severely than other breeds with an average survival time of 52 days compared to 240 days for other breeds. This is possibly due to the type of DCM that affects the Dobermann differing. Research has shown that the breed is affected by an attenuated wavy fiber type of DCM that affects many other breeds, as well as an additional fatty infiltration-degenerative type that appears to be specific to Dobermann Pinscher and Boxer breeds. This serious disease is likely to be fatal in most Dobermanns affected. Roughly a quarter of Dobermann Pinschers who develop cardiomyopathy die suddenly from seemingly unknown causes, and an additional fifty percent die of congestive heart failure. Among female Dobermanns, the sudden death manifestation of the disease is more common, whereas males tend to develop congestive heart failure. In addition to being more prevalent in Dobermanns, this disease is also more serious in the breed. Following a diagnosis, the average non-Dobermann has an expected survival time of 8 months; for Dobermann Pinschers, however, the expected survival time is less than two months. Although the causes for the disease are largely unknown, there is evidence that it is a familial disease inherited as an autosomal dominant trait.

Dermatology

The Dobermann is predisposed to the following dermatological conditions: acral lick dermatitis; chin pyoderma, acne, or folliculitis; cutaneous drug eruptions; colour dilution alopecia; demodicosis; follicular dysplasia; , pedal furunculosis or cyst; pemphigus foliaceus; and vitiligo.

Other conditions

Other conditions that the breed is predisposed to include: von Willebrand's disease, and prostatic disease. Canine compulsive disorder was found to be prevalent in 28% of Dobermanns in one study. The breed is predisposed to hypothyroidism with one US study finding 6.3% of Dobermanns to have the condition compared to 1.54% for mixed-breeds. The Dobermann is also predisposed to gastric dilatation volvulus. A study of 295 cases in America found 6.1% of cases to belong to the Dobermann. Another American study of 1,934 cases found an odds ratio of 5.5 for the Dobermann.

Skeletal conditions

A North American study reviewing over a million dogs examined at veterinary teaching hospitals found the Dobermann to have a noticeably lower prevalence of hip dysplasia, with 1.34% of Dobermanns having hip dysplasia compared to 3.52% overall. Another North American study of over 1,000,000 and 250,000 hip and elbow scans found the Dobermann to be among the 15 breeds least likely to have both hip and elbow dysplasia. 5.7% of Dobermanns over the age of 2 years had hip dysplasia and 0.8% had elbow dysplasia. A US study of the records of over 90,000 dogs found the Dobermann to be predisposed to (IVDD), with 12.7% of Dobermanns having the condition compared to 4.43% for mixed-breeds.

Notes

Further reading

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1373595751 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.