Thursday, April 26, 2012

The Doberman: Size Matters

A lot of advertisements for Dobermans list their puppies and dogs as "oversized", "king Dobermans", "superior size" and even "warlock". These things are meant as selling points, suggesting that bigger is better, suggesting a certain quality comes along with such things. A lot of people buy into the notion of having a "big scary Doberman" as more intimidating, stronger, etc.

There is a breed standard for a reason, though. The making of the breed took years, and size was certainly a consideration when it came to the Doberman's athletic and working ability.






The Doberman, however, is supposed to be a medium sized breed. The AKC standard lists the "appearance is that of a medium size, with a body that is square. Compactly built, muscular and powerful, for great endurance and speed." More specifically, the standard says "Height at the withers: Dogs 26 to 28 inches, ideal about 27 1/2 inches. Bitches 24 to 26 inches, ideal about 25 1/2 inches. The height, measured vertically from the ground to the highest point of the withers, equalling the length of measured horizontally from the forechest to the rear projection of the upper thigh." Bigger than that, and there may be undue stress on the joints, resulting in an unsound dog. A working dog that can't work.


"Warlock" does have historic precedent, as it were, but did not originally mean a BIG dog. Borong the Warlock was shown in the 50's and 60's, and according to the linked site, was an American, Canadian, and Cuban (!) champion, in addition to having his first Obedience title CD (Companion Dog). My understanding is that his disposition was fantastic as well. Champions aren't oversized dogs; they fit the standard. An oversized working dog cannot adequately perform the work for which she is bred; her endurance suffers for it, and her maneuverability.


Elka is oversized for a female Doberman. She's 28 inches at the withers, but she's also square. She weighs 71 pounds. I don't know what her sire's measurements are, but to my unschooled eye, when I met him, he was a pretty big boy. Elka isn't a show girl, and I didn't buy her to be such, and even though she's young and strong and just fine, I worry about how her joints will be as she gets older. I might be worrying for nothing; she isn't huge, and were she male, it wouldn't be an issue in my mind. When we got her, we didn't pick the biggest puppy, but rather the one who reacted the best when we interacted with her (in our eyes). Temperament is very very important in my eyes, and really, show girl or not, Elka is my pretty girl and that's good enough for me!








9 comments:

  1. What a special dog you have there!
    Love your blog btw.

    Stop by for a visit :)

    Flynnah & Roxy xx

    destructivepuppy.blogspot.com.au

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! I certainly will stop by and look around ^^

      Delete
  2. You make a good point about large dogs. In Chessies, the breed standard calls for a specific size, but over sized is not a DQ. The makers of the breed standard did not want cookie cutter dogs and sometimes there is a reason for a larger dog (say ocean swimming or breaking through a dense marsh). Thunder is a bit larger than the standard, but still a bench champion. We do worry a bit about his joints as he ages, but we keep him in good shape and at a good weight and he is put together nicely so hopefully all of that will work in his favor. We are hoping Freighter turns out a bit smaller than his grandfather.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't think oversized is a Doberman DQ either, might just cause a points loss? I didn't cover that, but I really had no idea, so thought it was best to leave it out.

      Thunder is an impressive dog, and I'm sure the shape that he's in will make up for his size. I really do think fitness can be a factor when it comes to those things, amateur that I am.

      Delete
  3. Kyuss is large too. He's 29" at his withers. Quite tall and square. He's actually gained quite a bit of weight over the winter (as have I) due to lack of enough exercise. My fault entirely as I was only walking him perhaps 30 min. a day on nice days only =[
    Bad mum!
    I honestly didn't expect how busy I would be once baby #2 came along lol.
    So I have been a bit worried about his joints if he keeps the weight on. He and myself are acutally on a diet right now. He needs to lose about 5 - 7 lbs and I need to lose about 20 lol.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lucky for Elka, when it comes to controlling the food of others, I do great. It's when it's MY food that's the issue, the control isn't there. We won't talk about what I need to lose ;)


      Babies take a whole lot of time! I'm sure Kyuss doesn't mind. If he's like Elka, he loves babies! That, and you're keeping him. You see a lot of dogs on Craigslist (and sometimes on the forums) where people have had babies and are giving their dogs away.

      Delete
  4. There are some Poodle breeders who specialize in oversized Poodles. I suspect these are marketed to men who want to brag that their Poodle is a Royal Standard and not just a wimpy Poodle. I hope health is a consideration for the breeder, but I suspect not.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've been schooled to think that anybody deviating from the standard isn't considering health; I realize that this isn't necessarily true, but it's always my first thought, anyway.

      Wimpy poodle? Don't some people train their poodles in Schutzhund, or did I make that up? ;)

      Delete
    2. We have a Poodle in our Schutzhund club. He's doing rather well, too.

      Delete