Medium-large, sleek, athletic and powerful dog known for exceptional loyalty and intelligence. This elegant working breed combines strength with agility and has a confident, alert demeanor.
Created in late 19th century by Karl Friedrich Louis Dobermann using breeds such as the Rottweiler, German Pinscher, and others for protection and companionship
“The disposition of the Dobermann is friendly and calm; very devoted to the family. Medium temperament and medium sharpness (alertness) is desired. A medium threshold of irritation is required with a good contact to the owner. Easy to train, the Dobermann enjoys working, and shall have good working ability, courage, and hardness. The particular values of self-confidence and intrepidness are required, and also adaptability and attention to fit the social environment”
Quoted from FCI standard n°143. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
Breed reference from The Dog API.
Drawn from sources, not opinion: FCI breed standard; European Society of Veterinary Cardiology screening guidelines for DCM in Doberman Pinschers (PubMed). An empty column means we hold nothing for that side, not that there is nothing to say.
What a judge marks the Dobermann down for, and what puts one out of the ring, in the registry’s own words. This describes the breed standard — it is not a checklist for the animal in front of you, and a pet with a disqualifying fault is an unshowable dog rather than an unhealthy one.
Puts an animal out of the ring altogether.
The Dobermann standard is published by the FCI (Fédération Cynologique Internationale), the international federation of pedigree-dog clubs, and it is what show judges apply. This section sums up what it says about coat and colour and size. It does not assess any one animal: use it to know what to ask the breeder.
The hair is short, hard and dense.
It lies tight and smooth and is equally distributed over the whole surface.
Undercoat is not allowed
Shortened from FCI standard n°143 — each label is the standard’s own wording with the verdict lifted into the tag beside it. Read the full clause at source.
The colours and patterns the standard admits, and what it prefers, discourages or disqualifies in each. An accepted colour says nothing about health.
Height at the withers (cm)
The same scale for every breed: no source defines size categories by height.
Weight (kg)
Size categories by adult weight, from Montoya et al. 2023.
The standard's words
“Height at the withers: Males: 68 – 72 cm. Females: 63 – 68 cm. Medium size desirable. Weight: Males: about 40 – 45 kg. Females: about 32 – 35 kg”
Quoted from FCI standard n°143.
FCI divides the Dobermann into these varieties, listed in the registry's own words. Depending on the breed they separate colour, coat, size or line — they are not a full list of colours, which no registry we hold publishes. Ask a breeder which variety their line is.
An adult's measurements, per the standard. It does not say how big this puppy will be. Quotations from the FCI are in English, as the standard publishes them; the headings are ours.
Breed-level information from The Dog API. It describes the Dobermann in general; any individual animal can differ.
Known hereditary risks for the Dobermann breed, and the specific documentation to request from any breeder before paying a deposit. A responsible breeder will have these readily available; deflection is a red flag.
6 conditions documentedThis is breed-level literature, not veterinary advice about an individual animal — your vet knows the animal.
Health checklist (PDF)Found in more than about one in twenty of the breed's dogs screened, or described as common in the sources.
Malformation of the hip joint that can progress to arthritis, pain and lameness. The parent club lists it among the breed's inherited orthopaedic conditions and requires it to be screened before breeding. In Sweden's national screening of young adult dogs (2007–2016), 205 of 945 Dobermanns (about one in five) had hip dysplasia graded C or worse.
What to ask for
A hip evaluation via OFA or the BVA/KC hip scheme, on both parents.
An inherited bleeding disorder caused by low von Willebrand factor, which can turn routine surgery, whelping or an injury into a serious or fatal haemorrhage. Carrier status is unusually common in this breed.
What to ask for
A DNA test for von Willebrand disease Type I (vWD1), on both parents, from a laboratory such as UC Davis VGL, Laboklin or Embark. This has replaced the older ELISA antigen blood test, which the parent club notes is unreliable around illness, vaccination, heat or stress.
Malformation of the hip joint that can progress to arthritis, pain and lameness. The parent club lists it among the breed's inherited orthopaedic conditions and requires it to be screened before breeding. In Sweden's national screening of young adult dogs (2007–2016), 205 of 945 Dobermanns (about one in five) had hip dysplasia graded C or worse.
What to ask for
A hip evaluation via OFA or the BVA/KC hip scheme, on both parents.
An inherited bleeding disorder caused by low von Willebrand factor, which can turn routine surgery, whelping or an injury into a serious or fatal haemorrhage. Carrier status is unusually common in this breed.
What to ask for
A DNA test for von Willebrand disease Type I (vWD1), on both parents, from a laboratory such as UC Davis VGL, Laboklin or Embark. This has replaced the older ELISA antigen blood test, which the parent club notes is unreliable around illness, vaccination, heat or stress.
Documented in this breed, but no source says how many of its dogs carry or have them. That is a gap in the evidence, not a sign they are rare.
The leading cause of death in the breed: the heart muscle weakens and enlarges, eventually causing heart failure or a sudden fatal arrhythmia. Onset is typically in mid-to-late adulthood, and the early, symptomless phase can only be caught by active screening — not by looking at the dog.
What to ask for
An echocardiogram (Simpson's method of discs) plus a 24-hour Holter ECG, repeated annually from age 3, read by a veterinary cardiologist, on both parents — the European Society of Veterinary Cardiology's published Dobermann protocol. Two commercial DNA markers (DCM1/PDK4, DCM2/TTN) are sold as risk tests, but their predictive value is disputed: US research found dogs carrying both variants develop DCM at a higher rate but with incomplete penetrance, while a 2024 UK study found no association between these markers and DCM in European-bred Dobermanns. A DNA panel is not a substitute for the echocardiogram and Holter.
Compression of the spinal cord in the neck, causing an unsteady, wobbling gait that can progress to weakness or paralysis in middle-aged dogs. The parent club describes it as suspected to be inherited, but no mode of inheritance is established.
What to ask for
No genetic test or breeding screen exists. A diagnosis in a symptomatic dog is made by MRI or myelography of the cervical spine, read by a veterinary specialist — ask the breeder whether the condition has occurred in the dog's close relatives.
The leading cause of death in the breed: the heart muscle weakens and enlarges, eventually causing heart failure or a sudden fatal arrhythmia. Onset is typically in mid-to-late adulthood, and the early, symptomless phase can only be caught by active screening — not by looking at the dog.
What to ask for
An echocardiogram (Simpson's method of discs) plus a 24-hour Holter ECG, repeated annually from age 3, read by a veterinary cardiologist, on both parents — the European Society of Veterinary Cardiology's published Dobermann protocol. Two commercial DNA markers (DCM1/PDK4, DCM2/TTN) are sold as risk tests, but their predictive value is disputed: US research found dogs carrying both variants develop DCM at a higher rate but with incomplete penetrance, while a 2024 UK study found no association between these markers and DCM in European-bred Dobermanns. A DNA panel is not a substitute for the echocardiogram and Holter.
Found in roughly one in a hundred to one in twenty of the breed's dogs screened.
The immune system attacks the thyroid gland, gradually leaving the dog unable to produce enough thyroid hormone. It is progressive and will not resolve on its own, but is usually well managed for life with a daily tablet once diagnosed. In UK primary veterinary care in 2016, 62 of 2,461 Dobermanns (about one in forty) had a recorded hypothyroidism diagnosis, about 17 times the odds of a crossbred dog.
What to ask for
An OFA thyroid panel (T4, TSH and thyroglobulin autoantibodies) from an approved laboratory, repeated annually, on both parents.
An inherited form of deafness from birth with a faulty balance system, described in Dobermann puppies: affected puppies are deaf and tilt their heads, circle and stagger. Two different variants cause it, one in MYO7A and one in PTPRQ, so a test needs to cover both. Both are recessive and uncommon — in a screen of more than 2,200 Dobermanns, roughly one in thirty-six carried the MYO7A variant and one in 170 the PTPRQ variant.
What to ask for
Deafness and vestibular dysfunction (MYO7A and PTPRQ, Dobermann types) DNA test result, on both parents
The immune system attacks the thyroid gland, gradually leaving the dog unable to produce enough thyroid hormone. It is progressive and will not resolve on its own, but is usually well managed for life with a daily tablet once diagnosed. In UK primary veterinary care in 2016, 62 of 2,461 Dobermanns (about one in forty) had a recorded hypothyroidism diagnosis, about 17 times the odds of a crossbred dog.
What to ask for
An OFA thyroid panel (T4, TSH and thyroglobulin autoantibodies) from an approved laboratory, repeated annually, on both parents.
Median survival 11.2 years
95% confidence interval 11.0–11.5 years, from 1,623 recorded deaths among 3,531 dogs
Mortality hazard 1.14 (1.08, 1.2) relative to crossbred dogs, whose median is 12.0 years.
Measured in the United Kingdom from 584,734 dogs. Median survival is not a prediction for an individual dog.
McMillan, K.M., Bielby, J., Williams, C.L., Upjohn, M.M., Casey, R.A. & Christley, R.M. (2024) Longevity of companion dog breeds: those at risk from early death. Scientific Reports 14, 531.
Compression of the spinal cord in the neck, causing an unsteady, wobbling gait that can progress to weakness or paralysis in middle-aged dogs. The parent club describes it as suspected to be inherited, but no mode of inheritance is established.
What to ask for
No genetic test or breeding screen exists. A diagnosis in a symptomatic dog is made by MRI or myelography of the cervical spine, read by a veterinary specialist — ask the breeder whether the condition has occurred in the dog's close relatives.
An inherited form of deafness from birth with a faulty balance system, described in Dobermann puppies: affected puppies are deaf and tilt their heads, circle and stagger. Two different variants cause it, one in MYO7A and one in PTPRQ, so a test needs to cover both. Both are recessive and uncommon — in a screen of more than 2,200 Dobermanns, roughly one in thirty-six carried the MYO7A variant and one in 170 the PTPRQ variant.
What to ask for
Deafness and vestibular dysfunction (MYO7A and PTPRQ, Dobermann types) DNA test result, on both parents
