Give a dog a bad name

Dobermans, aren't they vicious? I wish I had a pound for every time I'm asked that question - actually scratch that, I wish I had a Euro for every time I'm asked that question (it would probably be worth more).

Due to their high intelligence and obedience, Dobermans are widely used in film and television, and are often portrayed negatively. Examples - zombie dogs in 'Resident Evil' films, 'Zoltan hound of Dracula', the boys 'Magnum PI', Mr Burns' dogs in 'The Simpsons' ("Smithers - release the hounds!"). Okay the last one is tenuous, but it highlights how stereotyped the image of Dobermans has become. I have learned to smile politely as people tell me what a vicious dog I own; often if I enquire whether the person has had a negative experience with a Doberman, it turns out that Fudge is the first that they have ever met. Dobermans in the UK are not common dogs. It can't be denied that Dobermans are good protection dogs, they are used in both Army and Police forces around the world. But they are good protection dogs because they are brave and intelligent, not because they are vicious - a vicious working dog is a liability. A recent American study showed that based on per capita figures, you are statistically more likely to be bitten by a Golden Retriever or a Cocker Spaniel than a Doberman. I can't comment on the Golden Retriever, but I've had 4 Cockers, and 3 out of those 4 have had little nips at people they didn't like the look of. Fudge has never tried to bite anyone!

The Magic Word

The magic word started with my father, he used to feed our lovely Cocker Spaniel, Honey, on mixer biscuits and 'Butcher's Tripe' dog food. Before dishing up he used to call Honey for her meal by shouting "Butcherooney". Honey learned to associate "Butcherooney" with being fed, and so did Pudding. Now all the dogs in the family respond to "Butcherooney" in the same way, including Fudge and Peach who never knew my Dad. It's a tradition that I like to keep up, partly from habit and partly to remember my Dad and Honey, who sadly are no longer with us.

Doberman + Cocker = True Love

This is Peach, Fudge's best friend, whenever they are together they are inseparable. Cute, but believe me, hard work.

Dobermans are good with other animals, but they need to be socialised and introduced properly. Fudge is brilliant with dogs that she knows, but can be aggressive toward strange dogs. This isn't an unusual trait in Dobermans and if you are planning on getting a Doberman it is worth considering whether this is something you want to deal with in a prospective pet.

If it's not a Doberman then it's just a dog!

"If it's not a Doberman then it's just a dog!" You can buy bumper stickers from America with this printed on them, and I have to say there's an element of truth in what they say. Throughout my life I've had 11 dogs - 1 Labrador, 4 Cocker Spaniels, 2 Jack Russell's, 1 Staffordshire Bull-Terrier, 1 cross breed, 1 Dachshund and 1 Doberman, all of them wonderful creatures. But of all these dogs the most individual of the lot has been the Doberman (closely followed by the cross breed). If you want a dog that can make you laugh even when you feel like wringing its neck, or a dog that wouldn't think twice about putting itself between you and danger, or a dog that will proudly parade around the garden with several pairs of your dirty underwear in its mouth, then the Doberman is the dog for you. And the dog for me.

Le Chat Noir

At last photographic proof of the legendary 'Beast of Shottisham'.

This is Sable the undisputed pound-for-pound champion of the Briggs household. She might be small but she more than holds her own against both Pudding and Fudge. She still looks like a kitten, but believe it or not she is nine years old.

Learning new tricks

Fudge was bought as a companion for our lab-collie cross Pudding. The hope was that Fudge would copy all Pudding's good habits and train herself, however Pudding is the one who has learned a thing or two. At the grand old age of eight she's decided that she's going to become a lap dog, whether we like it or not. She gets this stubborn glint in her eyes and just launches herself onto your knee, then she hangs on for dear life. I'm convinced that she finds sitting on our knees almost as uncomfortable as we find having her there, but she is convinced that because Fudge does it, then it must be rewarding in some kind of way.

We are often asked where the name Pudding comes from, and there are two answers to that. Firstly we saw a Mastiff called Pudding and liked the name, secondly Pudding is black with white patches, a bit like a black-pudding (blood sausage).

There is a beautiful little Jack Russell dog that we know in Ilkley, also called Pudding. However this dog got his unusual name because, and I quote his owner here "He's got a spotted dick" - think about it!

You had me at woof

Fudge came to us via a rather eccentric Russian doctor, whose Doberman had had a litter of 8 pups. It took a while for Fudge to warm to us as her new family, I've spoken to other Doberman owners who have also found that unlike most puppies, Dobermans need a little time to build up a bond with you. I think that Fudge missed her first family for quite a while; she always used to react to a particular television advert when it came on, we assumed that she did this because the voice over was done in a Russian accent. This might seem far fetched, but Fudge did come from a home where everyone spoke Russian. I've always felt that while I was struggling to learn fluent Doberman, Fudge was trying equally hard to learn English. John Steinbeck in his wonderful book 'Travels with Charley', gives a beautiful description of his standard Poodle Charley. The middle-aged Charley had been acquired while Steinbeck was on holiday in France, and although he learned to obey commands in English it always took him a little time to 'translate' what was being asked of him. This resulted in Steinbeck normally speaking to his dog in French, something which caused raised eyebrows as he traveled around his native America.

Introducing Fudge

This is Fudge, my Red Doberman bitch. As you can see from the photo, Dobermans really do earn the nickname 'velcro dog'. Fudge is never happier than when she is 'helping' you to do something.

This picture was taken after Fudge had seen our cat sitting on my wife's shoulder, and it was very much a case of 'if the cat's allowed to sit on shoulders then so am I'.

Never underestimate the stubbornness of a Doberman, if they get an idee fixe they will go to ridiculous lengths to get what they want.

A tale of two dogs or two dogs no tails.

I'm not going to go into the whole tail docking and ear cropping debate, just now. Rather I am going to look at the two dogs that made me want to own a Doberman. The first, Stefan, belonged to my parents long before I was born. My childhood memories are packed with the stories that my mother and father used to tell, of this gentle but cunning hound. Among my favourites was the story of how Stefan used to stalk the Milkman as he did his rounds. Every time the Milkman left cream or yogurt on someones doorstep, Stefan crept up and stole it. This carried on for several weeks, and so skilled was Stefan in his larceny that the Milkman never caught him in the act. Now if you've never owned a Doberman then you'll find it hard to credit any dog with the intelligence to hide in bushes or crawl undetected behind dustbins. However if you have owned a Doberman then you will already be well aware of their Zen like dedication to deception. Needless to say, my parents had no idea what Stefan was doing. That was until one day when Stefan had been particularly gluttonous, and the Milkman was able to follow the trail of cream all the way back to my parents door. The Milkman took great delight in presenting my father with an extremely large bill.

I never knew Stefan, I think that in the end my parents gave him away; my father particularly was fed up of owning a dog that regularly out smarted him, and considering that at the time of owning Stefan my father had just completed a degree from the London School of Economics, you get an idea of how clever that dog really was. Anyway as a child of the seventies I grew up with my parents stories of Stefan, and also indulged in my pleasure for corny horror films, which I am unashamed to admit I devoured with relish. It was while watching one of these horrors that I came across the second significant Doberman in my life - Zoltan hound of Dracula. I remember not being scared, just struck by the elegant agility of this wonderful creature.

Why these two dogs, which I never met, had such an effect on me, I don't really know. But they planted a seed of desire in me, to own a Doberman of my own, something which I fulfilled 3 years ago - But more of that later.

Why a Doberman?

When I'm out walking my dogs I regularly get asked two questions.

Q- What kind of dog is that?
A- A red doberman.

After I've furnished this answer, the person's air of friendly enquiry generally tends to turn slightly chilly. I am then invariably asked the following :-

Q- Why a Doberman?

This is asked in a tone normally reserved for asking someone why they decided to join the Nazi party, rather than why they happened to choose a particular dog breed. I've never known anything to turn a person as cold as a doctor's receptionist, quite like telling them that the dog they've just been admiring is a Doberman. So why do I own a Doberman? - In fairness it isn't a question that I can answer so easily. There are lots of reasons, some strange, some highly personal to me and some that only someone who has had a Doberman would understand. Hence the idea of a blog on, but not exclusively on, Dobermans.