I knew when she was a puppy that she would be bigger than the standard female Doberman. Her huge paws said it all. This is what she looked like at eight weeks old:
Now that she’s 18 months, she’s pretty much full grown. At last weigh-in, she was 77 pounds. She is beginning to scare people when they first look at her, just because of her size! She is also quite powerful and agile.
And look at that ribcage. And those muscled up thighs. She got that way by doing a lot of jumping. Outside, last summer, she took to the hose like a maniac, chasing that jet stream of water back and forth in the grass and biting at it when I moved it closer. She burned up a lot of excess energy that way. In the fall, I started bringing her to the dog park and she quickly made friends with other high-energy dogs who also loved running, wrestling and doing this polka-type thing shown above with her usual dance partner, Dino. Later, when she got really dirty at the park, the hose play proved to be helpful in getting her to come into the shower with me. Last winter, when it was too cold to go to the dog park, I played with her in the living room with her “spidey,” dangling it just above her head and waving it from side to side. She would jump and twirl in the air just like a ballerina.
And this year, all summer, she’s been going to the dog park regularly and getting really dirty. It’s less of a mess and so much easier to just hose her off in the yard, but I’m hoping to find an activity that is cleaner, at least for the winter. So I enrolled her in agility classes (indoor, of course). The first class was last week. Everything was new to her, so she was a little distracted by the other dogs and people and various loud noises, but she came out of it happy and exhausted. Me too. Plus, I was amazed to see that she jumped over the bar and through the tire, crawled through the tunnel, went up and down the A-frame, and went through the weave poles, all on the first night. (The poles might be the hardest for her because of her size.) All in all, we had a blast!
Hello, we are looking for a black and tan female who would join our family after the devastating loss of our “big girl’ who wasn’t really big only in comparison to our three year old!! We are a dog family, no children and basic obedience a requirement for all our family members even my husband!!!!! If you have a litter and some females (not for breeding) available PLEASE contact me at debzidoodle2003@yahoo.com or 780-893-6582
We are so missing our big girl
Deborah Gray
I’m so sorry for your loss. Hope you will soon find another “big girl” to fill that hole in your heart. If you are not able to locate her at http://www.petfinder.org, look on the AKC website (akc.org) for reputable breeders; some might have older puppies that aren’t perfect for breeding, but nevertheless, make wonderful fur kids, just like Candy.
i just met candy and linda at the veteran’s park dog park in hamilton, n.j. (i am visiting for a week with my red male dobie, “too”. i got him at a doberman rescue in red bluff, ca. i highly recommend the rescue choice because dobies are so special, and a dobie lover can truly save one of these marvelous dogs and have one of the best friends in the world. people doing rescue usually have an understanding of this breed and are good at match making. good luck.
hi i was just wondering if you could tell me do all dobermanns have the same attitudes?
No. They have a lot of the same characteristics typical of their breed, such as alertness and obedience, but they do have different personalities. Lea often acts aloof, and she isn’t interested in playing with other dogs, although she will watch. Candy is the opposite — she wants to meet everyone! And Dee-Mo, well he is just the most loving and affectionate dog (to me, anyway) but stubborn as hell, or maybe I should say persistent, when he wants something. And he has a funny, but annoying habit of walking away from his food dish and spitting out the kibble all over the kitchen floor while he’s chewing. If I try to correct him or point him back to the dish, he spits the whole mouthful out at once right on the spot, as if he’s giving it up. I wish he would give up that habit.