[Snocioncilm]

What is your recommendation then?

As far as what? My recommendation for a guard dog? Or how to react towards one?

[freevideoandoicsI]

What is your recommendation then?

For those who have the time and energy to put into training, and intend to have an indoor dog (which doesn't shed out the wazoo) I suggest a high drive working Dobermann (when you can find one available).

[catarleriarly]

I read Doberman are not good with children, I am moving and looking for many things at once so my replies might seem shallow but if you knew me from the past I am very deep. I want a good all around animal be it a Doberman or elephant, just in scatter mode right now but it all has to come together within a couple weeks.

[seooptiman]

I read Doberman are not good with children, I am moving and looking for many things at once so my replies might seem shallow but if you knew me from the past I am very deep. I want a good all around animal be it a Doberman or elephant, just in scatter mode right now but it all has to come together within a couple weeks.

Dobermans are awesome with kids, but you can't just buy any doberman they need to come from a reputable breeder. Hey we just had 10 puppies born last night.

[Snocioncilm]

German shepherd would be my first choice. I grew up with one, so I am biased. Dobermans are great too, Rottweilers. All good with kids, mostly depends on breeding and upbringing. My German shepherd didn't like little kids but not all German shepherds are like that.

[freevideoandoicsI]

German shepherd would be my first choice. I grew up with one, so I am biased. Dobermans are great too, Rottweilers. All good with kids, mostly depends on breeding and upbringing. My German shepherd didn't like little kids but not all German shepherds are like that.

GSDs shed huge amounts of fur, much more in volume than Dobermanns. OTOH, GSDs are perfect for simply throwing in the backyard 100% of the time, they can adapt, whereas high drive working Dobermanns must be close to their owners/handlers as much as possible otherwise there's a real good chance of behavioral problems (as in you don't want to keep a high drive working Dobermann in the backyard 100% of the time, a high drive working Dobermann* needs to be interacting with his/her humans).

[freevideoandoicsI]

I read Doberman are not good with children,

A lot of people don't understand Dobermanns (and Dobermans, there's definitely a distinction). From the mid-70s thru '95 I had 'American show line' Dobermans, and for the past 17 years I've had no less than 10 high drive working adult Dobermanns. With only one single exception (due to mishandling as a puppy) out of all 10 Dobermanns NONE of them have shown aggression or nerviness around total strangers and I wouldn't hesitate to leave one of my dogs, either male or female 'babysitting' a baby or young child (who has been taught to be animal friendly of course).

On well bred* dogs (which nerviness has been carefully bred out of), it's totally about how a puppy has been handled, managed, and trained, as the end result breaks down to these circumstances: 35%-50% genetics (there's a variety of opinions here) and the balance due to management, training, and nutrition from 7 weeks on to adulthood.

FWIW, one male working Dobermann I had from 95-05 loved EVERYONE including ALL other male dogs despite their bad attitudes - and this particular male was the offspring of one of the hardest Schutzhnd dogs ever in N. America (to this day, happens to be Enzo's sire btw). While being very friendly and outgoing to everyone he didn't take any shit including from me.

[seooptiman]

A lot of people don't understand Dobermanns (and Dobermans, there's definitely a distinction). From the mid-70s thru '95 I had 'American show line' Dobermans, and for the past 17 years I've had no less than 10 high drive working adult Dobermanns. With only one single exception (due to mishandling as a puppy) out of all 10 Dobermanns NONE of them have shown aggression or nerviness around total strangers and I wouldn't hesitate to leave one of my dogs, either male or female 'babysitting' a baby or young child (who has been taught to be animal friendly of course).

On well bred* dogs (which nerviness has been carefully bred out of), it's totally about how a puppy has been handled, managed, and trained, as the end result breaks down to these circumstances: 35%-50% genetics (there's a variety of opinions here) and the balance due to management, training, and nutrition from 7 weeks on to adulthood.

FWIW, one male working Dobermann I had from 95-05 loved EVERYONE including ALL other male dogs despite their bad attitudes - and this particular male was the offspring of one of the hardest Schutzhnd dogs ever in N. America (to this day, happens to be Enzo's sire btw). While being very friendly and outgoing to everyone he didn't take any shit including from me.

MR I agree with everything you said other than the nervy part. Enzo and ALL of the working dogs in my club are a little nervy, but it's more of a sharpness. I think when you're saying nervy you mean fear bitters and bullshit like that which I agree with. Fear bitters are absolutely useless, no confidence, nothing. A little nerviness or what we call sharpness is a great thing to have.

Here's a pretty neat documentary on War Dog from the South Pacific. Also the reason why you don't see dobermans that often doing police work is their short hair. Long hair like German Shepards stay cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter and they are excellent dogs. But there are distinct difference.

And keep in mind this is from a working dog perspective doing schutzhund etc.

1 - Dobermans are thinkers and are highly intelligent and they understand fairness. So if they're being corrected unfairly, they'll tell you and I've been on the end of that, and it wasn't fun. Shepards on the other hand, are more robotic, that's why a lot of people in Schutzhund like them.

2 - The biggest difference between the two, is that dobermans are over the top loving dogs. I'm not saying the Shepards aren't loving, but dobermans are just over the top in that respect. As a dog owner I like it buy it can be annoying at times.

3 - Hair

Here's the video.

[freevideoandoicsI]

I think when you're saying nervy you mean fear bitters and bullshit like that which I agree with. Fear bitters are absolutely useless, no confidence, nothing. That's exactly what I'm referring to, being skittish toward strangers. All of mine have been VERY outgoing wanting to meet new people and say 'hi' to old friends with one exception, the one female which was very aloof - she would very calmly and confidently approach strangers and sniff them, then totally ignore them.