Dog's Name & Age:
Sherry, 13 years
In a Word, My Doberman Is…
Probably going to be born as a human in her next life!!
Best Characteristics of the Breed
The sharpest, most agile guard dogs besides being great companions!
Most Challenging Characteristics of the Breed
To train them to keep away from food!! LOL!!
When, Where and How I Got My Doberman Pinscher
My darling Sherry was a 4 month old puppy when we bought her from a friend, an Army Officer who owned the Prize-Winning Stud, Brutus - Sherry's Dad, who was the best of breed winner for 3 years in a row! We got my baby home with us on a motorbike, between me and my husband. She behaved like a doe throughout the 44km drive, so quiet and timid! She was my first birthday present from my hubby after our marriage! I was initially apprehensive about the breed till I got to see her. And when I did see her with her rather overbearing dad in a cage, I felt like this was pre-destined! She was my first baby!!
I'd Describe My Dog As…
Sherry was a darling to train. She was very intelligent and obedient. It took me about a week to get her potty-trained and she was housebroken within a month. But, I soon realized why this breed is called A-One-Man-Dog when I saw that she won't take commands from others easily and would enjoy hood-winking them! She had an instinctive capacity of herding goats and sheep. I was surprised to see her herd some 10 odd goats into a huddle, completely on her own when she had never been trained as a sheepdog! Once I came home from a party to discover to my horror that she had happily devoured 40 raw eggs along with their shells!! She loved hogging and getting petted by guests!!! Her other fascination was to chase monkeys up the trees. But, one night when a herd of wild elephants visited our cantonement, ambling through silently, Sherry didn't even come near the window to see. She just cowered under the bed and didn't come out till the herd had passed. She was remarkably silent too! I had never seen her afraid before. All her life she never had any medical problem. We knew something was coming when she gave up eating for three days and then quietly died of a heart attack on 16th Feb'2009 at a ripe old age of 13 years. She taught me to be patient, love unconditionally and eat heartily! Her vocabulary of human language was so vast that we used to joke that she will be born as a human in her next life! I wonder, if I will get to know her then...
Advice
- This breed is one of the best companion breeds in my opinion and they can be very loving and caring towards small children too. Take care of the following:-
- Do not ever tie them up unattended for long periods with children around. Children can be mean to dogs and that would set a very wrong precedence between a dog and children right from the beginning.
- Check the kids from poking your pet in the eye or throwing water on them or blowing into its face - this is an offensive move in DOG VOCABULARY.
- Trust your Dobe, it knows to treat kids with care.
