How can I identify a Doberman?

[DaringDoberman]

We have many dogs over here in India. I just wanted to ask, 'How to identify that this is a Doberman and this is not?' :confused:

[Rich S]

The eyes are almond shaped and deep set, their color ranging from medium to dark brown. Ears are normally cropped and carried erect.

The coat is short, hard and smooth, and ranges in color from black, blue, red or fawn with sharply defined rust-colored marking above each eye, on the throat, chest, muzzle, legs and feet, and below the tail.

[tomc]

We all know what a "head breed" is. It’s a breed that has let the head become the most defining element of breed type. Unfortunately, when a breed concentrates on heads to the exclusion of other qualities, those other qualities suffer. What results is a breed with a beautiful head, that often times have poor structure, proportions, and movement. As you observe other breeds, it will become obvious which ones are "head breeds".

Doberman fanciers are inclined to take a middle of the road approach. They expect the head to be considered equally with other type-defining characteristics. The head is not more important than profile, gait, angulation, or proportions, but is certainly equal to each of them.

The judge simply has to decide for himself the level of importance the head has in defining the overall breed.

There are three disqualifications in the mouth of the Doberman. They will not be discussed as one of the defining elements of the Doberman breed, simply because a dog with a disqualification is disallowed from any consideration. Further evaluation of the head or any other attribute is moot. A discussion of the mouth appears later.

The first things that you should notice about the head are the overall shape and size.

The standard describes the head as "Long and dry, resembling a blunt wedge in both frontal and profile views. When seen from the front, the head widens gradually toward the base of the ears in a practically unbroken line."

"Long" is not a quantifiable description, but for the Doberman it is generally considered to be about equal to the length of the neck, and about half the length of the topline as measured from the withers to the base of the tail. You can confirm these general guidelines by measuring the drawings in the Doberman Pinscher Club of America Illustrated Standard and by measuring photos of dogs considered as having correct heads.

Of course, "dry" simply means no loose skin, with tight lips and flews.






The "blunt wedge" is another non-measurable description. A blunt wedge may be fairly wide, somewhat narrow, or in between. There are no concrete measurements to give as guidelines, simply because different head shapes are correct for different body styles. A heavy boned, substantial dog will nearly always have a broader "blunt wedge" than a less substantial one. A refined dog may have a narrow "blunt wedge". Any of these may be suitable for that dog.

Note the standard also calls for "Jaws full and powerful well filled under the eyes. " If a dog does not have sufficient muzzle and underjaw, then the head won’t form the planes of the blunt wedge. The full muzzle and underjaw are also important to hold the 42 large teeth required by the standard.

[Beth E]

Thanks Tomc, very informative post. Really great!