HISTORY OF DOBERMAN BREED
Not every breed is honored to be named after its creator. Friedrich Louis Dobermann was born on January 2, 1834 in Apold. It is known that by the nature of his activity, he was a collector of taxes and rents. Obviously, the features of his work and his passionate desire to have a “special” breed with certain qualities served as the reason for breeding dogs with smooth, short hair, hardy, intelligent, not afraid of shots, vigilant and loyal companions who were ready to accompany the owner everywhere and, without hesitation, fight for his interests.
It is believed that the Dobermann began to purposefully work on the development of “his” breed of dogs from about 1860. Unfortunately, there are no records on selection: its directions, results, breeds used. We can only assume that the initial breeds were a German pinscher, a Rottweiler (butcher dog), bosseron shepherd dogs, some hunting dogs such as short-haired cops, the Manchester Terrier, and Greyhound. In addition, mixed breeds of these breeds were used if they met the requirements for the exterior and character that the Doberman would like to see in his dogs.
Thinking to embody in a new breed the ideal of a service dog, to many specialists of that time F.L.Dobermann seemed to be just a presumptuous amateur. However, high-class dogs with cropped ears and a tail, bred by Doberman and called “Thuringian pinschers”, “army-police” or “gendarme dogs”, and in everyday life – “snoop” or “lard”, quickly gained popularity due to personal qualities, high security – watchful instinct and obedience.
Later, dog breeding Otto Haller did a lot of breeding and breeding. By the 70s in the city of Apolda in Thuringia, the same type of livestock had appeared. A huge role in the development of the breed was played by the followers of F.L. Doberman, such as Gosvin Tyshler and Otto Geller. They have achieved official recognition. The first club of dog lovers of this breed was created in Apolda. The breed standard says: “Doberman is faithful and fearless, has strong nerves, is vigilant and brave. Thanks to his developed mind, his innate malice, excellent instinct, amazing performance and obedience, he can be easily trained. He can be equally good domestic and service dog. ” Doberman is an elegant, noble dog with well-defined security and search qualities. Due to these characteristics, the Doberman quickly gained worldwide recognition and fame. He is valued for his quick wits, unlimited devotion to his master, reliability during protection and fearlessness.
For the first time, Dobermans, as an independent breed, were exhibited in Germany at the Hamburg Exhibition in 1863, and in 1876 a pedigree book was opened for them. They called the Doberman at that time the Thuringian Pinscher. In 1894, the breed was called the Doberman Pinscher. The world recognized the new name in 1900, and since 1949, the Doberman Pinscher was simply called the Doberman, because the word “pincher” means – terrier, and is not related to this breed. In 1960, under this name and N 143 in the International Cynological Federation (FCI), the Dobermann breed was registered, as the German Doberman Standard was provided from Germany.