*1 of only 5 breeders nationwide who have dogs certified by the AKC / DPCA, and as such are listed on the BFL-2 

RECIPIENT OF ETHICAL BREEDER AWARD

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 showed him and was able to get points on him, but never finished him as graduate school, getting married and having a family became my focus.  Still, with the experience I had 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 grandsons!) 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

There has also been a lot in the news and on line 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 planning on doing breed ring 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, loyal and loving.  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 family member.  I ask all of my "puppy people" to, as a very minimum, take their dogs through to complete at least two obedience courses.  Almost everyone who has one of my dogs is working on some sort of title for their dog (therapy, obedience, rally, agility, tracking, Schutzhund).  Without exception everyone has come back to me to tell me how exceptionally intelligent their dog is and how he/she outshines all the othe dogs in their respective classes!  Here is a link to information on classes, requirements, etc for your dog.  http://www.akc.org/events/obedience/getting_started.cfm. 

My dogs are predominantly out of the top German and International lines.  All dogs in the pedigree have been tested for any possible genetic problems and only the best and most worthy dogs have been 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 been getting my dogs certified by the DPCA for longevity.  I am now one of 5 breeders nationwide who have dogs listed on the BFL-2 which means not only did the parents live to 10 and older but also ALL grandparents, too!  Here's the link to the DPCA Longevity site.
http://www.dpca.org/Longevty/longevity/ 

All of my dogs are guaranteed against being affected with VwD, wobblers, hip dysplasia, thyroid, cardiomyopathy.  Here I would like to say a ward about cardiomyopathy.  A dog can test normal and 6 months later come up with cardio.  The only real way to eliminate a cardio problem is to look at the line and see if any dogs in the pedigree have had cardio.  If you want to see if a human is predisposed to a heart condition, you look at the history, especially parents, grandparents, etc.  Do the same with dogs.  Someone can advertize that their dogs are clear for cardiomyopathy, but really, there are no tests, accept history and longevity, which can provide any kind of a guarantee for that. 

As for the conformation of my dogs, I always endeavor to breed to the standard.  Not everyone does that and especially some of the European countries have gotten much too far away from this standard with excessive bone, oversized chest, large heads and heavily slanting top lines. ( In some countries it has even become popular to give steriods to the dogs to "bulk" them up! We all know what a steady diet of steroids can do!) I do, however, prefer a substantial male.  My males are more heavy boned , usually range from 90-105 lbs. and 27 1/2"-29" at the withers.  My females are more elegant.  My dogs do not have slanted, exaggerated top lines like a German Shepherd; rather their backs are basically straight and flat and only slightly raised at the withers, just as they should be.   My females 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 try to make sure the pair I breed is "balanced" to produce dogs which will conform to the standard. 

Also, just because two dogs have great pedigrees does not mean that their offspring will be great!  I have seen very poor examples of the breed , both in conformation and in temperament, come out of some of the best European lines.  Sometimes it is because someone has purchased and imported these dogs knowing nothing of the lines nor how to determine which two dogs should actually be bred.  Sometimes they just don't care that out of a litter of 10 they will get one or two nice pups and the rest are substandard, and then they pawn these dogs off on unsuspecting buyers who are just getting into the breed and don't really have enough knowledge or experience to know better!  They trust they are getting a really nice dog but in reality they will be lucky to get a dog that has no health problems and makes a good family pet, never mind a dog that can be worked and/or shown.  Oh, please don't get me started about those "breeders!"  This is a real sore point with me.

On ocassion I do have males and females who are over standard but I do not advocate breeding "oversize" Dobermans.  Those breeders who intentionally breed oversize dogs are doing a huge disservice to the breed.  I do not simply mean dogs which are simply a bit taller than standard, but those dogs which are bred with such exaggerated bulk, both in body and head, that they look more like Rottweillers than Dobermans!  These dogs cannot have the agility the Dobe was bred to have and eventually these dogs will have serious health issues, producing offspring who are prone to hip dysplasia, wobblers, etc., and whose organs cannot support their size and weight.   It's almost like they have produced another breed.  The overwhelming odds are that these Dobes will have serious physical problems and the reduced life expectancy of Great Danes and other giant breeds.  My philosophy is, if you want a giant breed, get a giant breed!   Don't get a Doberman!

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 AM NOT A PUPPY MILL and I AM NOT A PUPPY BROKER!  I do not advocate any breeder who raises dogs solely for profit or a puppy broker who has no time to really take a personal interest in the welfare of the dogs and never even has seen the pups, nor people who do not truly care about preserving the health and the breed as it was intended.  You will not find kennels when you visit me to see my dogs.  I do not have numerous pairs of dogs that I breed on a continuous basis!  My puppies are born and hand raised in my house and socialized from birth. I breed maybe one litter a year.  It took me a while to get the perfect pair, in fact, five years.  I have heard some puppy brokers criticize anyone who breeds a pair more than once.  If you know you have a formula which works, why would you not repeat it?  if you know you have a pair which produces amazing offspring, why would you not breed them more than once?! That would be plain crazy.  I think people who criticize that practice are brokers who import dogs from many breeders and so rarely would ever get puppies out of the same sire and dam and this is their way of justifying that. 


My puppies range in price form $2,000-$2,500 depending if it is a pick of litter, number of pups in litter, working or show, full or limited registration;  this includes docking, cropping, worming, the first two sets of puppy shots, and microchip for permanent identification.  If the puppy is to be shipped, the shipping and health certificate is additional.  If you are interested in purchasing a puppy, I do carefully screen applicants.  Be sure to check out all the puppy pics while you are viewing the questionnaire!    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.  New puppy owners who live close enough get to visit their pup weekly beginning at 4 weeks until the pup is ready to go home.

I hope you enjoy the site!  PLEASE BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THE GREAT PICTURES ON THE CONTRACT and PUPPY QUESTIONNAIRE PAGES.  PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO SIGN THE GUEST BOOK! 
(That page has some great pics and a good story, too!)

Regards,
 Devenshire Dobermans