
I fell in love with the breed at the age of seven when my brother brought home our first Dobe. It had been left at a veterinarian's office by its owner and never picked up. I have been breeding Dobermans since 1974. My foundation dog, Red Hawk's Man of Peace, was out of old German lines. He was a great dog and I managed to get 7 points on him, but never finished him as graduate school, getting married and having a family became my focus. Still, with the experience I did have in showing, I knew that there were people breeding dogs with health problems (Hawk lived a good long life and died playing with one of his grand puppies!) and I made it a point to research any genetic problem the breed was prone to and do everything possible to make sure that the dogs I bred were free from these genetic disorders. http://www.dpca.org/gendisease.html
Recently there has also been a lot in the news about pet foods which have adverse affects on our pets, causing everything from cancer to kindney failure. It is believed that many pets are dying prematurely because of preservatives and such in our pet food. Here is a link which you may find helpful in sorting out which foods are best for your pet. http://www.thedogfoodconspiracy.com/tips/reports/dog-food-ingredients.htm
I have moved away from the show ring (though I am considering doing some showing again) and toward the working arena. I think it is good to be involved with the breed and work toward making sure that these dogs are correctly bred. I was a long time member of the DPCA and also a founding member of the Hundesport Club, an all breed DVG Schutzhund Club in Virginia where I was also the secretary. It was there that I ran the gamit as far as participation went. I learned how to be a helper (wearing the bite suit and all!) and assisted in training and trained and titled my first dogs. I believe that the Doberman should be held to the true qualities of what the breed was intended. The dogs should be fearless, family guardians and loyal and loving family members. These dogs should be the "all around" dogs, with the proper drive and tenaciousness as well as the love to work and still be a great house pet.
My dogs are predominantly out of the top German and International lines. My puppies range in price from $1,500-$2,000, which includes docking, cropping, dewclaws, first shot and micro-chip. All dogs in the pedigree have been tested for any possible genetic problems and only the best and most worthy dogs are bred. Though no one can guarantee 100% I give a health guarantee against any genetic health defect with a total replacement policy for six years. I have never had to use that replacement policy. My dogs typically live 10+ years. In fact, I have begun getting my dogs certified by the DPCA for longevity. All of my dogs are guaranteed against being affected with VwD, wobblers, hip dysplasia, thyroid, cardiomyopathy. I do like a substantial size male. My males are more heavy boned , usually range from 85-105 lbs. and 27 1/2"-30" at the withers. My females are more elegant and usually are anywhere from 65-75 lbs, 25"-26 1/2" at the withers. I like my males to look like males and my females to look like females!
I have all four DPCA accepted colors in my pedigrees, black, red, blue and fawn. What determines these colors are linked here. http://www.dpca.org/color.chart.5.html I have never had nor will I ever breed any dogs with the X-white factor! Those dogs are genetically inferior, a real problem and should not be bred. They are subject to all kinds of health disasters. whether you purchase a pup from me or not, you should never purchase a dog which has this X white factor in its pedigree. http://www.dpca.org/albinoinfo1.html
I breed usually one litter a year, though this will be my first litter I have not co-bred in over four years. It took me a while to get the perfect pair. My next litter will be due either in December of 2008, at the earliest, or late spring-early summer 2009. Champions and working titles start first generation. This is a very strong line breeding and will produce very predictable and uniform puppies. If you are interested in purchasing a puppy, I do screen applicants. Be sure to check out all the puppy pics while you are viewing the questionnaire! Here is a downloadable puppy questionnaire to fill out. In addition I have provided a downloadable copy of my contract. I do have copies of both the puppy questionnaire and the contract on the site in case you have any trouble downloading them. There are many great pictures on those pages, so be sure to check out those pages anyway even if you download from the link! Please read the contract carefully, as well, before filling out the puppy questionnaire / application. I want to make sure that anyone interested in one of my pups knows what I expect and what the requirements and responsibilities will be for owning one of my dogs.