why do people think of dobermans as viscious?

Question

mine is sitting by me right now & hes one of the sweetest dogs ever. & most of the dobermans i know are not mean.
i wantt opinions!

Answer 1

Like Pit Bulls today, Dobermans got a bad reputation from way back in the 70's. I too have mine here beside me & they are great. I have had 9 over the past 26 years.

Answer 2

Remnants from the past. Some people cannot understand that breeds can change over the years, and that aggression can be bred into a breed or out of it.

Haven't seen an aggressive Dobie for more than 40 year, but some 120 years ago a certain Mr. Dobermann deliberately bred a ferouscious dog for good reasons.

Here is a excerpt from Wikipedia:

Dobermann Pinschers were first bred in Germany around 1890 by Friedrich Louis Dobermann.

After his 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 thing a few years later.

F. L. Dobermann was a tax collector who frequently traveled through many bandit-infested areas, and needed a protection dog to guard him in any situation that might arise. He set out to breed a new type of dog that, in his opinion, would be the perfect combination of strength, loyalty, intelligence, and ferocity.

He also worked with dogs as a second job, giving him access to dogs for breeding. Later, Otto Goeller and Philip Gruening continued to develop the breed.

The breed is believed to have been created from several different breeds of dogs that had the characteristics that F.L. Dobermann was looking for, including the Pinscher, the Beauceron, the Rottweiler, the Thuringian Shepherd Dog, the black Greyhound, the Great Dane, the Weimaraner, the German Shorthaired Pointer, the Manchester Terrier and the German Shepherd Dog.

The exact ratios of mixing, and even the exact breeds that were used, remains uncertain to this day, although many experts believe that the Dobermann Pinscher is a combination of at least four of these breeds. The single exception is the documented cross with the Greyhound. It is also widely believed that the German Shepherd gene pool was the single largest contributor to the Dobermann breed.

Answer 3

It's just what people think they are like without even really knowing anyone who even owns one or anything about the breed.

I get the similar thing with my breed. Chihuahua's are nasty little yappy things that bite everyone and are nasty with kids right..... totally wrong. My 4 are well very behaved. When the door bell rings yes they bark. I did not get a dog to bark myself. As soon as I say enough they are quite and go back to doing what they were doing before. They love everyone including kids, but I do know like most dogs they would give their lives for their owner.

My near neighbour has one of those nasty, evil, child killing Pit Bulls. Only thing is someone forgot to tell him he's supposed to be this way. I would trust him more with my Chi's than the nasty little JRT that runs the streets not far from me.

Dobies are like all dogs. They are as good or as bad as the people who own them. Train them the right way and they are awesome. Let then run wild, chained up or in a pen all day and they will be bad. Not their fault at all. It's the people who own them.

People hear the bad stuff and think it applies to all. They don;t see the good stuff that applies to most because nice dogs are rarely newsworthy.

Answer 4

Same reason they think Rotties are, poor owners giving them a bad name.

My rottie mix is the sweetest dog in the world, he'd let me ride him if it were possible.


I had a friend with a doberman, two experiences always stand out:

1. He thought he was a lap dog and would 'sneak' into your lap. He'd start with a paw while being petted, then his head, then the other paw, etc. Eventually the entire 80+ lb dog would be sitting in your lap looking very cute, he was convinced that if it was done slowly you wouldnt notice.

2. Went up to hug the same friend after having not been around for over 18 months. Dog didnt immediately recognize me and did get protective. He charged with his jaws snapping. Luckily he realized who I was about 2 feet away it turned into a licking lunge.
The doberman had gotten about a foot a half, and the command to cease was coming--the dog would have obeyed, Id seen this same dog follow commands to stop chasing cats and even allow us to do mock combat for a film class.

Any dog that has a desire to protect its master can be dangerous, but only if he is imporperly handled. Blame the owner, not the dog.

Answer 5

As with many breed they have gotten a bad rap, and many have had bad owners. Hollywood played a big roll with that as well as with Rotties. Pit Bulls got theirs thru the news media and so on. Many of these breeds have an image associated with them, that tough guy bad a** image. The people haev no business having a dog and these dogs go astray. But there are NO bad dogs or bad breeds. My grandparents raised Dobbies for years, my familes has Rotties and we have Pit Bulls they are all the sweetest dogs you will ever meet. I have a Lab who is more aggressive and protective than the so called bully breeds. People are just ignorant and buy into what they see on TV.

Answer 6

I don't think most people think they are mean. I think some people are just scared of big dogs in general. Don't ask me why...I've got an 85 lb pit mix...he is awesome. We got him as a rescue. Someone saw that he was a pit (looks just like one but black) and tied him to a pole in an empty lot. No one knew he was there for about 2-3 weeks. Some people are ignorant. They caught the kids that did and prosecuted them.

Answer 7

Because people use them for guard dogs, or did back in the 70's. I find them quite timid. They are easy to work with. the breeds at work that I have the most problems with are Rotts, Chows and Shar Peis. They are quite vicious and when you have had a 120 pound rottie going for your throat because you want to trim its nails, that is a pretty scary thing. Sorry- rotts are not or ever will be a "good" dog in my book. they could turn on you in a second and really do some damage.

Answer 8

Bad breeding in the 70's and Hollywood have a huge part in why the Doberman is thought of as vicious.

Answer 9

Well, Dobermans are only mean if they are raised wrong. I got bitten by a doberman who was just playing. You just have to be careful in how you raise them. My neighbor has a pitt bull, and he is the sweetest dogs you will ever meet. You must have raised him well. Good job!!!!

Answer 10

I think people are intimidated by their appearance. Plus, I've seen movies with junk yard guard dogs and they were dobies. My aunt bred Dobermans and hers were so sweet. She only had one bad one that they had to put down b/c he was aggresive, but they think it was genetics. His father was mean and nasty. But, overall, they're a nice breed of dog. People just stereotype them. Just like how there are very friendly loveable pitbulls. People are scared of them too, but some are the sweetest dogs ever.