The Dobermann is a medium-large dog of
pinscher type. Dogs stand some at the
withers, with a weight usually in the range ; bitches are considerably smaller, with height and weight ranges of and respectively. It is a
working dog, and registration is subject to completion of a
working trial. It was originally intended as a guard dog, so males typically have a muscular and intimidating appearance. The traditional and most common color occurs when both the color and dilution genes have at least one
dominant allele (i.e., BBDD, BBDd, BbDD or BbDd) and is commonly referred to as
black,
black and rust, or
black and tan. The
red,
red rust, or
brown coloration occurs when the black gene has two
recessive alleles but the dilution gene has at least one dominant allele (i.e., bbDD, bbDd). The
blue Dobermann has the color gene with at least one dominant allele and the dilution gene with both recessive alleles (i.e., BBdd or Bbdd). The
fawn coloration is the least common, occurring only when both the color and dilution genes have two recessive alleles (i.e., bbdd). Thus, the blue color is a diluted black, and the fawn color is a diluted red. Expression of the color dilution gene is a disorder called
color dilution alopecia, a kind of canine follicular dysplasia. Although not life-threatening, these dogs can develop skin problems. White Doberman are cream in color with blue eyes and pink noses, paw pads, and eye rims. The first white Doberman was born in 1976. White Doberman were identified as albino, and the condition is caused by a partial deletion in the
SLC45A2 gene. Although albino Doberman are prone to suffer long term issues including photosensitivity/photophobia, skin lesions/tumors, and solar skin damage, there is no evidence suggesting this mutation causes deafness.
Tail The Dobermann's natural tail is fairly long, but individual dogs often have a short tail as a result of docking, a procedure in which the majority of the tail is surgically removed shortly after birth. The practice of docking has been around for centuries and is older than the Dobermann as a breed. The historical reason for docking is to ensure that the tail does not get in the way of the dog's work. In the UK, dogs with docked tails have been banned from show for a number of years and the practice is now illegal for native born dogs. Docking is illegal in all European Union states, as well as Australia. The AKC standard for Doberman Pinschers includes a tail docked near the 2nd
vertebra. The Doberman Pinscher Club of America requires that ears be "normally cropped and carried erect" for conformation. Like tail docking, ear cropping is illegal in many countries and has never been legal in some Commonwealth countries. == Intelligence ==