The Origins of the Doberman Pinscher

The Doberman Pinscher was developed by a skilled dog breeder by the name of Herr Louis Dobermann in the late 1800's (circa 1890) in the town of Apolda Germany.

Having the dangerous jobs of tax collector and night watchman, Herr Dobermann set out to develope a medium to large sized working dog that he could train and would have the ability to protect him while he performed his duties throughout the day.

Experts agree that the Doberman Pinscher is a descendant of the following dog breeds:

The Rottweiler

A stalky strong breed of working dog that stands 22 to 27 inches at the shoulder. The Rottweiler has tan markings on their head, neck, chest and legs. Rottweilers were developed in Rottweil a town in Southern Germany.

During the Roman conquest of Southern Europe about 1900 years ago, Rottweilers were used by the Roman Armies to herd sheep and cattle.

German Pinscher

Used as a hunter of rats in Germany. This pinscher only grows to approximately 17 to 21 inches tall and weighs in the neighborhood of 30 to 40 pounds.

The Great Dane

A large breed of dog that is friendly, intelligent, courageous and strong.

This breed of dog can weigh between 120 and 175 pounds. Males stand 34 inches at the shoulder and females around 30 inches. The Great Dane has a short dense coat which may be brown, black, tan, blue or white with black patches.

The Great Dane was developed during the 1500's in Germany and was used as a guard dog and for hunting wild boars.

Manchester Terriers

A smaller breed of dog weighing in at 12 to 22 pounds. Manchester Terriers have a whiplike tail, and a smooth black coat. These terriers have tan markings on each cheek, over each eye, on the chest, on the inside of the hind legs and on front of the forelegs.

The Manchester Terrier was developed in Manchester England in the 1800's for the purpose of competing in rat killing matches.

Today the Manchester Terrier is a loyal, intelligent, extremely effective watchdog and make great pets.

German Short Haired Pointer

A breed of dog used primarily to hunt game birds. It weighs in at approximately 45 to 70 pounds and stands about 20 to 25 inches at the shoulder.

Although the exact dog breed combinations used to develope the Doberman Pinscher are unknown and Herr Dobermann did not keep any breeding records, historians claim it did not take very long before Dobermann was successful with his breeding attempts.

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