THE HISTORY OF THE DOBERMAN BREED

The history of the Dobermann breed is sometimes disputed by experts; however, it's generally thought that Dobermanns were first bred in the 1880s by Karl Friedrich Louis Dobermann in the town of Apolda, in the German state of Thuringia. It is generally disagreed upon what Dobermann's main job was, but it is known for certain that he ran the Apolda dog pound. With access to dogs of many breeds, he got the idea to create a breed that would be ideal for protecting him, as whatever job he was believed to have taken next; a tax collector, a night watchman, a rent collector, and other such things- surely were dangerous. He set out to breed a new type of dog that, in his opinion, would exhibit impressive stamina, strength, and intelligence. Five years after his death, Otto Goeller, one of the earliest breeders, created the National Doberman Pinscher Club and is considered to have perfected the breed, taking on the work of breeding and refining them in the 1890s.

The breed is believed to have been created from several different breeds of dogs that had the characteristics that Dobermann was looking for. The exact ratios of mixing, and even the exact breeds that were used, remain uncertain, although many experts believe that the Dobermann Pinscher is a combination of several breeds including the Beauceron, German Pinscher, Rottweiler and Weimaraner.^[48] The single exception is the documented crossing with the Greyhound and Manchester Terrier. It is also widely believed that the old German Shepherd was the single largest contributor to the Dobermann breed. Philip Greunig's The Dobermann Pinscher(1939) describes the breed's early development by Otto Goeller, who helped to establish the breed. The American Kennel Clubbelieves the breeds utilized to develop the Dobermann Pinscher may have included the old shorthaired shepherd, Rottweiler, Black and Tan Terrier and the German Pinscher.^[2]

After Dobermann's death in 1894, the Germans named the breed Dobermann-pinscher in his honor, but a half century later dropped the word 'pinscher' on the grounds that this German word for 'terrier' was no longer appropriate. The British did the same a few years later; now the US and Canada are the only countries who continue to use Pinscher and have dropped an "n" from Dobermann's surname.^[48]

During World War II, the United States Marine Corps adopted the Doberman Pinscher as its official war dog, although the Corps did not exclusively use this breed in the role.

In the United States, the American Kennel Clubranked the Doberman Pinscher as the 12th most popular dog breed in 2012 and 2013.^[49]

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