We often get asked: “how often do you bathe your Dobermans?”, “should I worry about causing dry skin by giving baths too often?”, and many other really great questions! So, we’re talking the time to answer the big ones, as well as lay out our grooming schedule for all of our European Dobermans. It’s not a one size fits all program, but we’ll lay out the fundamentals and the time frame you want to make sure to do at least each task on your European Doberman.

    There is an ages long debate about animals and how much their behavior is determined by their genetics, and how much is determined by their environment. On one side there are hardliners that insist that no breed is inherently more aggressive or dangerous than other breeds, and that the only determining factor is the environment that they are raised in. On the other side are those who believe that each dogs behavior is determined by some parts their genetics, and some parts by how they were raised (I have not ever seen someone advocate that a dog’s behavior is determined only by their genetics). 

    In talking with dog professionals and reading online discussions and opinions, there is a marked disconnect between those thinking that a dogs behavior is determined only by how they were raised. I have had almost hundreds of conversations that go almost exactly as follows (usually the person i’m talking to states how breed X is misunderstood),

“Why do you think that X breed has such a high rate of biting people, including their owners?”
“Stereotypes and the way they were raised. X breed are actually very sweet and gentle, it [only] depends on how they were raised.”
“So you don’t think some breeds are naturally more aggressive than others?”
“No.”
“Do you think that some breeds are more athletic than others? Or more intelligent than others?”
“Well… yes.”