A Legendary History
Doberman Pinschers were first bred in the town of Apolda, in the German state of Thuringia around 1890, following the Franco-Prussian War by Karl Friedriech Louis Dobermann. Dobermann was born January 2, 1834 and died on June 9, 1894. He worked for the Chamber of accountants in Apolda in the dangerous role of tax collector. Other sources relate that he also worked as a night watchman, a dog actcher for the city and as a supervisor for the local slaughter houses. With access to dogs of many breeds, he aimed to create a breed that would be ideal for protecting him during his collections, which took him through many bandit infested areas. He set out to breed a new type of dog that, in his opinion, would be the perfect combination of strenght, speed, endurance, loyalty, intelligence and ferocity.
The Doberman beginnings were a product of many breeds. Little
is known about the ones used in this early creation because Dobermann did not
keep exact records of the dogs that he bred. The first reports that we have are
that Dobermann bred his favorite dog, a German Pinscher (now extinct) with
another dog who was part Rottweiler. However, there were more dogs involved and
accounts include in the early stages the Old German Shepherd, the Mastiff, the
Hound and the Manchester Terrier. The exact ratios of mixing, and even the
exact breeds that were used, remain uncertain to this day. There are many
claims and many theories; we have to keep in mind that in the late 1800’s, in
Europe, there were very few purebred dogs as we know them and even the ones
that we know like the Rottweiler looked very different from the Rottweiler of
today, being much more lighter and leggier.
In early 1900’s the breeders start experimenting with the
Gordon Setter, Grey Hound, Beauceron and the Weimeraner.
After Dobermann's death in 1894, the Germans named the breed Dobermann-pinscher in his honor, but a half century later dropped the 'pinscher' on the grounds that this German word for terrier was no longer appropriate. The British did the same a few years later.
Later, Otto Goeller (1852-1922) became very interested in the breed and is credited for further stabilizing and refining it. In 1889, he established the first "Doberman Pinscher Club". Goeller, along with a fellow townsman, Gorswin, produced several of the most important Dobermans in the breed's history beginings.
Philip Greunig's The Dobermann Pinscher (1939) is considered the foremost study of the development of the breed. Greunig's study describes the breed's early development by Otto Goeller, whose hand allowed the Doberman to become the dog we recognize today.
During World War II, the United States Marine Corps adopted the
Doberman Pinscher as its official War Dog, although the Corps did not exclusively use this breed
in the role.
