Thank you all for the information! You have given me a good deal of ammo to try and convince my wife to reconsider a Doberman. I trained my parents Jack Russell Terrier to do lots of tricks. I just adore that breed. It took less than three weeks to teach him how to speak (bark on command), shake, sit up on his hind legs, roll over, get his ball, and my favorite...get the kitty. He loves his cat and would never hurt him, he just runs around the house until he finds the cat and then stands over it in a dominating fashion.

We had friends who had two Dobermans and a young daughter. They were smart dogs, great with her and while protective, learned who were friends of the family.

When we came to visit, they would routinely come up and bark ferociously at our car, until I lowered the window and said, 'Come on, guys, it's me' at which point the whole-body wagging commenced.

Edited to add, there is no breed that is perfect. The worst dog in any neighborhood we have lived in was an untrained Golden Retriever that chased pedestrians up and down our street, snarling and snapping, and did not obey its owners. It is about the owner and the training, not just the breed.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: joel9507,

How old are the kids.

Dobies can be, and I know 3, that are WONDERFUL Dogs.

But they can be high strung and protective. If a group of kids are rough housing they can have the instinct kick in.

If the kids are little, I would be very selective in the pup.

I can say, that Goldens are wonderful dogs... and would have another in a heartbeat (I have had 2)

quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:
Thank you all for the information! You have given me a good deal of ammo to try and convince my wife to reconsider a Doberman. I trained my parents Jack Russell Terrier to do lots of tricks. I just adore that breed. It took less than three weeks to teach him how to speak (bark on command), shake, sit up on his hind legs, roll over, get his ball, and my favorite...get the kitty. He loves his cat and would never hurt him, he just runs around the house until he finds the cat and then stands over it in a dominating fashion.

Honestly, while I have a Doberman/Rottweiler and love him to death and he's a great dog. I think a Golden Retriever has the best personality for a family dog and easy to work with. Id pick some breeds you find acceptable. But I'd go to your local animal control with no expectations and just look around, see if a dog picks you. I'd rather adopt a 1-2 year old dog than pick up doggy pee and doodoo and go through the house training process.

IF you decide to go the Golden route (not saying you should discount the Dobie, but IF) consider a lab, also a black lab.

There is a significant stereotype against black fur'd dogs. Even black labs. People assume black labs are more aggressive with is total bullshit. Any color lab parents can have a litter of multiple colored pups... THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO TRUTH TO THE MYTH THAT BLACK FUR'D DOGS ARE AGGRESSIVE.

But among shelters, they will tell you that it is harder to adopt out dogs with black fur, even labs.

If you do consider a golden, please also consider labradors as well, or lab mixes... Labs being as popular there are lots of half labs that need homes, and they are GREAT dogs.

I have a Doberman female (5yo) and a Boston Terrier female (7yo), brought each home at exactly 8wks, paid about a grand each for them, each came from great parents, and so on, and I picked each from a litter of other gorgeous and healthy dogs. My Doberman was the runt, though, born with a nubby tail and just a touch smaller, needed some extra nutrition, and filled out in the first year to become a beautiful and healthy animal in every regard. I picked the runt on purpose, love her nubby tail, and I left her ears floppy and natural.

Both are fantastic dogs, nearly perfect really (each has ONE minor thing that grinds my nerves), but the Doberman is vastly more obedient, smarter, and chill (and the Boston isn't dumb, disobedient, or unchill, either). They both LOVE people, are inherently very sweet, and have been non aggressive to all manner of other dogs, big and small (from literal ankle biting Chihuahuas to the rest, and both were exposed to many others and breeds via Dog Park trips/friends), though they'll both chase deer and rabbits and squirrels, cats, too.

The Boston's one real fault is what I call being "aggressively friendly", all up in your shit when someone comes over (just other people, she's super chill to me), and it takes her ever bit of 10+ minutes (and meeting you 20 times) to chill the fuck out. When my mom comes over, holy shit, if you could bottle that energy you could power NYC or a small country. If you were here hanging out all-day, she'd be awesome from about 10-15min on... but those first few minutes, especially if you're not an understanding dog-lover, is a bit much...

The Doberman, conversely, wants to be near me/her people, but is less in your face, generally less underfoot (but nearby), and though she loves attention and being pet, it's usually not until the evening that she wants to cuddle and be scratched and all that. Her one problem in life is that sometimes, when excited, she whines, and that noise just drives me bananas, even though it's harmless and only lasts a few seconds to maybe a minute. It's sporadic, too. Sometimes she'll go days without whining, once it was months. (shrug)

When she was 1yo I watched the Doberman get herself unfucked from a long rope I had used to temporarily tie her up out on my property in the mountains. It was before I had fenced a portion for them, and I used a 50ft section of an old climbing rope to give her some space. She had gotten the rope and herself all twisted up, and I sat quietly inside and watched her look at and analyze the deal, and carefully back herself up and unfuck it, under this part, over that part, avoid stepping in the loop, and bam... no more loopy knots.

I have seen nothing from this Doberman of mine, or her parents - who belong to friends of mine - to lead me to believe they are anything but an exemplary breed in every regard. I'd get another in an instant if I were looking for a new dog, and I'm sure I'll get another one day when she finally passes. Had I known what I know now, I'd have gotten one many years earlier. Granted, I love my Boston to death, truly, no regrets, but it's a different sort of dog that requires much more from me and everyone else and was harder to train.

a neighbor claims that they stink

quote:

Originally posted by bendable:
a neighbor claims that they stink

Are you a troll ?