Looking For Another Doberman---LONG

[asb_own_me]

[QUOTE=StGermain;8123628]
I’m sort of tempted to call about this boy, just listed on Craigslist. He looks like he could use an upgrade.

StG[/QUOTE]

This guy looks like a fawn, not a blue. I’ve had both - just lost our blue boy in early November and thankfully still have my fawn boy.

In any case, CDA is not uncommon but is manageable. Both of my boys had/have more sparse coats but no major issues. Flynn was more prone to the occasional zit; Bogey has thicker hair along his shoulders/back and thinner, downier hair on his chest, sides and flanks. Neither one ever experienced anything worse.

Storm (a red) was actually the one prone to staph infections; Ava (a black) never had anything wrong with her coat/skin…the little supermodel

OP, I’m sympathizing with your indecision, but on a different level. With one Dobe left, and one that some might refer to as “special needs”, I’ve been very torn over the last six months or so since we lost Storm and Flynn. I miss having my “pack” of Dobermans…to me there was nothing better…but Bogey is aging (he’s somewhere around 8 1/2) and doesn’t get around very well. Part of me wants another Doberman, and part of me wants to shower all of my attention, love and support on Bogey. I’m also terrified of the day I DON’T have a Doberman, if I don’t get another before the time comes for Bogey. I honestly don’t know how I’d manage to get through it. I’m not managing very well right now as it is.

Hugs to you.

[StGermain]

[QUOTE=asb_own_me;8125732]
This guy looks like a fawn, not a blue. I’ve had both - just lost our blue boy in early November and thankfully still have my fawn boy.

In any case, CDA is not uncommon but is manageable. Both of my boys had/have more sparse coats but no major issues. Flynn was more prone to the occasional zit; Bogey has thicker hair along his shoulders/back and thinner, downier hair on his chest, sides and flanks. Neither one ever experienced anything worse.

Storm (a red) was actually the one prone to staph infections; Ava (a black) never had anything wrong with her coat/skin…the little supermodel

OP, I’m sympathizing with your indecision, but on a different level. With one Dobe left, and one that some might refer to as “special needs”, I’ve been very torn over the last six months or so since we lost Storm and Flynn. I miss having my “pack” of Dobermans…to me there was nothing better…but Bogey is aging (he’s somewhere around 8 1/2) and doesn’t get around very well. Part of me wants another Doberman, and part of me wants to shower all of my attention, love and support on Bogey. I’m also terrified of the day I DON’T have a Doberman, if I don’t get another before the time comes for Bogey. I honestly don’t know how I’d manage to get through it. I’m not managing very well right now as it is.

Hugs to you.[/QUOTE]

It’s always been for me that a dobe comes to me before I lose my present one. I’ve had at least one dobe for the last 25 years. When my dobe McGuyver went missing I looked regularly at the pound for him. There I saw starving Simon, who they were about to put down because no one showed any interest and his time was up. He came home with me. When Simon was getting older, someone dumped Grace near my farm. I picked her up and a few weeks later, Simon died in his sleep. I saw a pic of Jake on Craigslist. He came home and a couple years later Grace was in congestive heart failure. I went looking on Craigslist again when Jake was diagnoses (oh, too soon!) with bone cancer. That’s where I got Drago.

I’ll never just have one dog again. It’s too hard to come home to a house without a dog. A house without a dog isn’t a home.

StG

[TrotTrotPumpkn]

Contact the Doberman rescues and let them know what you are looking for so they think of you first. You could at least see if they will reject you or not.

[Houndhill]

[QUOTE=asb_own_me;8125732]
This guy looks like a fawn, not a blue. I’ve had both - just lost our blue boy in early November and thankfully still have my fawn boy.

In any case, CDA is not uncommon but is manageable. Both of my boys had/have more sparse coats but no major issues. Flynn was more prone to the occasional zit; Bogey has thicker hair along his shoulders/back and thinner, downier hair on his chest, sides and flanks. Neither one ever experienced anything worse.[/QUOTE]

It is possible he is fawn rather than blue, though the ad says he is blue, and his name is Blue. I agree some owners don’t know whether their dilute Dobe is blue or fawn. I found it difficult to tell from the photos, plus with the hair loss, dogs certainly look different because you can see the skin. I couldn’t really tell what color his nose is. Not that it really matters, fawn Dobes are only a little less likely to suffer from CDA than blues, and this dog looks like he has alopecia.

You were fortunate not to have to deal with more in the way of CDA; not every affected dog is that fortunate. Just wanted to give a “heads up” on the probability of having to deal with this on the spectrum of difficulty of managing this disorder.

[RHdobes563]

Thanks for all the good wishes and suggestions.

My barn owner thinks I should just get ‘any old dog; there are enough that need homes.’ True, but I kinda know what I’m getting into with a Doberman. And even the personality variations within the breed. But it’s strange–I will forgive a Doberman ANYTHING where I won’t put up with it from another breed.

My Darcy has gotten a bit more barky/growly in the house/yard/car and more shy away from home (at the vet/barn/etc.) since we’ve lost Jack.

I think I may contact one or two Doberman rescues. All they can say is “No”, and when I fill out the next form that asks, “Have you ever been turned down by another adoption group?”, I can say, “Yes.”

Sorry. I’m feeling incrediably blue.

I’ve got two Doberman forum websites, but they seem to be particularly inactive. Does anyone have suggestions of active groups/websites?

Again, thanks SO MUCH for the support and suggestions. It’s nice that people know how I feel about the breed of ‘our’ choice.

[jetsmom]

[QUOTE=RHdobes563;8121460]
I lost my Doberman, Jack, to old age a month ago. That left me with only my female, Darcy, who is slightly over 2 years old.

It just doesn’t feel right, not having that second dog. Some people need to wait, to get another dog, but not me. My female is “mugging” me whenever I come home; I didn’t realize how much having that second dog took the “edge” off of her energy. Or maybe, she’s just incredibly lonely. Like I am.

In the past, it hasn’t mattered how old/young the dog was. Now, however, I’ve been looking for an older Doberman. Six months ago, I started competitive obedience training with a woman 90 miles away. Her methods are effective (she has gotten perfect 200 scores and OTCHs) but are VERY different from all the previous dog training I have done.

Because this training is “new” to me, I can’t see me able to train two dogs. (At one time, I had FOUR Dobermans in training at the same time.) What I would like right now is an older Doberman, with good ‘home’ manners, but nothing I would consider serious training with.

I even considered other breeds and dogs, too, as long as they ‘fit’ the requirements. I did look at a 10 year old Pointer, who was displaced due to his elderly owner’s relocation to assisted living.

But here’s the rub. Although THAT dog fit most of my requirements, he didn’t show any real active interest in me. I wanted a “Take me home, PLEASE!” from him. Now, that is strange, because I’ve never required that from ANY of my Dobermans. Except for my FIRST Doberman, my Dobermans (from both shelters and private homes) had to learn to love me. My current girl, Darcy, came from a shelter a year ago and was neutrally friendly, and that was fine with me.

Now, The local shelter has a Pembroke Welsh Corgi, a Cocker Spaniel, and a (too small, probably), Shi Tzu/PekeX that MIGHT work for me. They are anywhere from friendly to SUPER friendly but I feel that I am holding back because they are NOT the breed or A breed that I normally consider.

So, why is it that I will cut MY breed a break but not others?

But I digress.

There was an Aussie (love the breed) in the local shelter last week that was SO loving and WANTED to go home with me. However, she was female, and my female (I’m pretty sure) won’t tolerate another female. Plus, a normal Aussie is busier that I tend to be.

I’ve been searching Doberman Pinscher rescues, and I’ve found several dogs that could work. But it entails giving out the story of my life, investigation, in some cases the history of ALL the pets I have EVER owned, checking out my house, yard, etc. I am a “casual” housekeeper, and my fence is adequate but ugly. I have too many cats due to the fact that I’ve taken in cats who were abandoned by others. (The local cat rescues are overloaded and wouldn’t even consider taking the last stray I got. Second to last “rescue” was a mother cat with five kittens left in a vacant lot in a crate. I got all spayed/neutered, kitten shots, placed all but mother and one kitten.)

I feel sure that I would not be approved by any Doberman rescue group.

So, I’ve been looking at animal shelters with easier adoption. The shelter I got my Darcy from had an application form, called my vet, and I was approved within a half an hour. The shelter that had the Pointer had a similar application, but I didn’t find the right dog, I thought.

You know, if it were anyone but me, I would say, Yeah! Investigate that potential adopter! Whatever is best for the dog! But I hate when it’s ME they’re checking out.

• sigh *[/QUOTE]

We have 4 Dobes at our Kill shelter. We put down over 25000 (yes, that’s Twenty Five thousand) pets a year. There are 2 females and 2 males.
Link to website here- http://apps.elpasotexas.gov/animalservices/listofpets.aspx
Put in “dog” for search criteria. page numbers are at bottom of page. One came in on 4/26 and one on 4/27. They can euth or adopt out after 3 days. The website is in order by date brought in. Oldest date is page 1. Newest is last page.
I’d help get the dog to you if you want one… Adoption fee is 110. and includes neuter, vaccination and microchip. Only requirement is that your credit card is approved, or you have cash. They have no other requirements on who can get one.

[StGermain]

jetsmom - That site breaks my heart. That’s almost 100 pets per work day killed. I would seriously take a dobe or two if I could get them to Tennessee, or even close.

I see so many non-pit dogs. Don’t they have rescues that pull and ship North?

StG

[2horseygirls]

Fill out the forms for all the rescues in your state, and nearby states as well. You never know when or where the right dog will pop up. Have letters of reference from your veterinarian, your barn owner (if your dogs have visited the barn and been well-behaved/don’t chase the horses/interact well with two-legged and four-legged visitors, etc.), and any trainers you’ve worked with.

If you’re friendly with your neighbors and they can attest that you are a good dog owner (since you were concerned you might be rejected for not having a showcase home), letters from them stating your dogs aren’t overly barky, don’t escape (to assuage fears about your fencing), are well socialized and good canine citizens should help as well.

I used to do prospective adoptive home visits for an equine humane organization. Yes, there was one property where I would have been grateful to live in the end stall :yes: but there were also homes that were not magazine-spread worthy, but were clean, kept-up and knowledgeable, and I approved them as well, and they were our repeat adopters.

I’m not a breed person. In fact, I would never own another of any breed I’ve had, because I know I would expect Dog B to be like Dog A, and that’s unfair to both. However, I’ve also only ever had dogs fall into my lap (personally and within immediate and extended family), so I’ve never had the experience of going to “look for” a dog. But I totally understand why people stick with a particular breed.

As in the case of the Dobe at the weimaraner rescue, many times, other breeds end up at a breed specific rescue. Have you checked out rescue groups on Facebook?

PS - I’ve always loved Dobermans. SO graceful and elegant Too bad you’re in Michigan; my friend is an ACO in CA, and picks up at least a Dobe a week.

[StGermain]

jetsmom - I looked up the statistics for the Metro Nashville Animal Control. Nashville’s the same size as El Paso, more or less, population-wise, but Nashville Animal Control processed about 9400 animals in 2012. They euthanized about 75%, which is bad enough. But 7,000 versus 25,000? That’s tragic.

StG

[TheHotSensitiveType]

I wouldn’t feel bad about wanting a specific breed of dog. The right one is out there… Have you checked your local craigslist? 2 of our 3 dogs have come from craigslist.

Our latest one we called on the craigslist ad in the morning, saw him an hour later, and came back to get him a few hours after that. He really just picked us. We had brought our two dogs to make sure everyone got along, and when we went to pick him up, he just hopped in the car and never looked back. I felt bad for his previous owners!

One of our current dogs came from an animal shelter near work. We had actually gone to look at a different dog, but this one came bounding to the front when my husband went to look at the other dog. This one also came bounding to the front when I went to look at the other dog. The dog we came to look at did not work with our two dogs at the time (we have a dominant male, that dog was a dominant male), and the employee went back and came out with “this one.” We both were very happy when the employee came out with that dog, and we ended up adopting him. I don’t know; things just work out that way sometimes.

Personally, I am always drawn to short haired, bully type dogs: APBT, Staffordshire Terrier, American Bulldog, Boxer, Great Danes, and any mix of the afore mentioned. Fortunately I am higher energy so it works out :D.

Try not to get discouraged. You will find the right dog for you family, whether it is a doberman or not! Good luck!

[asb_own_me]

I wouldn’t worry about being rejected - I had concerns about that too, and I applied to a neighboring state Doberman rescue (there’s not one in Iowa) and was approved. I just haven’t acted on it. Our home isn’t a showplace either, but we are experience Doberman owners and that shines through to anyone.

One thing I do have an issue with at some of the rescues are their training requirements, and I will have to speak to the specific rescues if I choose to go down that road. Two other neighboring states specifically say in their adoption requirements that the adopter must attend formal training classes - here’s the actual wording from one:
We will not accept “training them on my own” as a form of formal obedience training! You will need to take them to a formal class within 2-6 months after adoption, with other dogs, people and a trainer!

I have an issue with that, because I live a good distance from where I used to train (45 minutes, one-way) and that was the main reason I stopped training with my girls. By training, I mean that I used to show them in obedience (and then rally when that became popular). I trained both my girls through Utility. Sorry to sound like a snob, but I don’t really feel like taking my theoretical new dog for an hour-and-a-half round trip car ride for a 50-minute group training session (which we all know is glorified socialization at that level) is the best use of my time, or my time with my new dog. Maybe that’s just me.

Sorry to go off the rails, RHdobes - but that’s my big concern/gripe with many of the rescues.

[jetsmom]

[QUOTE=StGermain;8126469]
jetsmom - That site breaks my heart. That’s almost 100 pets per work day killed. I would seriously take a dobe or two if I could get them to Tennessee, or even close.

I see so many non-pit dogs. Don’t they have rescues that pull and ship North?

StG[/QUOTE]

No rescues pull and ship north. A few local rescues will take a few, but they are also full. There is a 3-4 mo waiting list to turn your pet over to the Humane Society that is no kill here. Because of the “Machisimo” culture here, people don’t neuter/spay. They also look at animals as “just animals” and will let them run loose or tie them to a tree, so they can still breed, since they aren’t fenced in.

[vtdobes]

Very sorry for the loss of your Dobe I don’t really have any leads for you but like you there is never another breed of dog I could have than a Doberman

[TrotTrotPumpkn]

[QUOTE=asb_own_me;8127142]

I have an issue with that, because I live a good distance from where I used to train (45 minutes, one-way) and that was the main reason I stopped training with my girls. By training, I mean that I used to show them in obedience (and then rally when that became popular). I trained both my girls through Utility. Sorry to sound like a snob, but I don’t really feel like taking my theoretical new dog for an hour-and-a-half round trip car ride for a 50-minute group training session (which we all know is glorified socialization at that level) is the best use of my time, or my time with my new dog. Maybe that’s just me.

.[/QUOTE]

I’m guessing a lot of the people teaching classes or working in the rescue haven’t trained a dog through Utility. Just a hunch. I would hope they made exceptions for you.

I wouldn’t likely get approved because I don’t have a fenced in yard (I do have a fenced in double-size run for pee breaks). My dogs live on long-lines until they are good off lead (I live on a farm). I understand they have to have rules though.
The other one that would have gotten me (if I hadn’t had to neuter for medical reasons) was having an intact male. Didn’t mean I EVER planned to breed him, but he was intact and that’s pretty frowned upon by rescues.

I think about these things now that our older dog is on the decline. We got him from the Doberman Rescue of Nebraska. I wonder if I would still be approved… mmmm.

That El Paso kennel broke my heart. That is horrible. I can’t imagine that volume.

[asb_own_me]

@TrotTrotPumpkn;8127349

I’m guessing a lot of the people teaching classes or working in the rescue haven’t trained a dog through Utility. Just a hunch. I would hope they made exceptions for you.

I hope so too - I would have to call and talk to them. I’m just so on the fence about having another dog now. Would it help Bogey or hurt him? I don’t know. Even if it would make me happy, if it would upset him, I just can’t do it…so I’m guessing maybe I do already know, and that’s why I haven’t pursued anything.

[RHdobes563]

Can any of you with fantastic computer skills do a ‘reverse search’ on this image?

http://grandrapids.craigslist.org/pet/5083920633.html

I’ve tried to do one with my newer laptop (which I am currently on), but I’m not sure I’ve done it right.

I’ve been searching non-stop for a male Doberman, and generally, what I’ve encountered were male Dobermans that were TOO young, cat aggressive, or just plain ‘suspicious’, meaning that the “owners” seemed to tell me what I want to hear. These two are close enough for me to check out, with me taking a male cousin-in-law or my brother for safety.

What particularly makes me suspicious is the “text or call” in the ad and there is only an e-mail address.

UPDATE: A telephone number has now been inserted in the ad.

[NorCalDressage]

[QUOTE=RHdobes563;8199426]
Can any of you with fantastic computer skills do a ‘reverse search’ on this image?

http://grandrapids.craigslist.org/pet/5083920633.html

I’ve tried to do one with my newer laptop (which I am currently on), but I’m not sure I’ve done it right.

I’ve been searching non-stop for a male Doberman, and generally, what I’ve encountered were male Dobermans that were TOO young, cat aggressive, or just plain ‘suspicious’, meaning that the “owners” seemed to tell me what I want to hear. These two are close enough for me to check out, with me taking a male cousin-in-law or my brother for safety.

What particularly makes me suspicious is the “text or call” in the ad and there is only an e-mail address.

UPDATE: A telephone number has now been inserted in the ad.[/QUOTE]

the link says: This posting has been deleted by its author.

[StGermain]

And now it’s deleted. Did you get him?

StG

[NorCalDressage]

Are you still not wanting to apply to Doberman specific rescues?

I take it you’re in Michigan?

This guy seems pretty perfect - older, house trained. You don’t have children right?

https://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/32308249/

[RHdobes563]

Oh, crap. My whole message, rather long and nearly finished, just disappeared. Some freaking “Auto Save” message just appeared—does anyone know how I can find it?

No, I didn’t get the TWO Dobermans. And yes, I’ve seen the ad for Keno. My “lost” message would explain why I haven’t (yet) pursued him…

(Now going to look for her saved message…)