Doberman Pinscher

The Doberman is one of the few breeds about which we know exactly who created them, when, and why. At the end of the 19th century a German tax collector, Karl Friedrich Louis Dobermann, decided to breed himself the ideal bodyguard for his dangerous rounds — an elegantly built dog, sharp-witted, brave, and boundlessly devoted to one person. It has to be admitted that he succeeded spectacularly. To this day the Doberman is exactly that: a sleek, athletic, astonishingly intelligent dog with a noble silhouette and a protector's instinct written into its very heart. Except that it is also something Mr. Dobermann probably did not entirely plan — the most tender, most human-attached shadow one can imagine.

Because that is the secret of this breed, the one that surprises everyone who knows the Doberman only from its fearsome reputation: inside lives a shadow extremely attached to its human. The Doberman chooses its person and from then on never leaves their side — it accompanies you on every trek across the apartment, materializes at your leg whenever you pause, and truly takes separations badly, even for a few minutes. It also loves touch: it will lean against your leg, press its side into your knee, anything to keep from losing contact. The same dog that can turn in a second into a vigilant, unyielding guardian, ten minutes later sighs with bliss nestled against your side. The fearsome look is, in the Doberman, largely a pretense — beneath it beats the heart of an extremely affectionate companion.

And this is precisely why the Doberman is a dog that loves with an intensity hard to describe. It does not guard the yard — it guards you, because the only thing it truly fears is being far from you. All its vigilance, all that protector's instinct, is essentially one great gesture of love: for the Doberman, protection and closeness are exactly the same word. Such a level of devotion is an enormous gift, but also a responsibility — this dog is not suited to life on a chain or in a kennel, away from the family. It needs to be at the very center of your life, to have an occupation for its nimble head and the certainty that it belongs to you. When it gets that, it becomes a companion so faithful that its quiet “being beside you” is one of the better things in your day.

When it comes to nutrition, the Doberman requires both fuel worthy of an athlete and particular awareness of one matter — the heart. This is a breed extremely burdened by dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM): according to the data, more than half of Dobermans develop it, often for a long time without clear symptoms.

Because the Doberman, contrary to its statuesque, fearsome appearance, does not dream at all of being the terror of the neighborhood — it dreams of being your shadow, your bodyguard, and your best friend all in one, ideally glued to your leg.

Give it the closeness it so craves, an occupation for that brilliant head, and truly vigilant care for its heart, and it will repay you with a devotion rarely met in the world of dogs. Mr. Dobermann wanted to create the ideal bodyguard. He created something far more precious — a dog for which there is no more important post in the world than your own shadow.