Seven Generations of Breeder-Owner
Handled Champion Dobermans
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The following article was
written for Doberman judges, breeders, and exhibitors AKC
defines "Breed type" as the sum of the qualities that
distinguish dogs of one breed from another." Richard
Beauchamp in his book Solving the Mysteries of Breed Type states
"There is no characteristic among dog breeds that is more variable
than the head, and it therefore imparts individuality to each of the
breeds." This
statement makes the case that the head is one of the most Important
elements that identify "breed type." It applies equally to all
breeds, including the Doberman. Given
the importance of the head to identify the Doberman as a Doberman,
judges must put head conformation in proper perspective. What does that
mean? It means to the Doberman fancy, that the head is important …
even essential to breed type … but the Doberman is not a "head
breed". We
all know what a "head breed" is. It’s a breed that has let
the head become the most defining element of breed type. Unfortunately,
when a breed concentrates on heads to the exclusion of other qualities,
those other qualities suffer. What results is a breed with a beautiful
head, that often times have poor structure, proportions, and movement.
As you observe other breeds, it will become obvious which ones are
"head breeds". Doberman
fanciers are inclined to take a middle of the road approach. They expect
the head to be considered equally with other type-defining
characteristics. The head is not more important than profile, gait,
angulation, or proportions, but is certainly equal to each of them. The
judge simply has to decide for himself the level of importance the head
has in defining the overall breed. There
are three disqualifications in the mouth of the Doberman. They will not
be discussed as one of the defining elements of the Doberman breed,
simply because a dog with a disqualification is disallowed from any
consideration. Further evaluation of the head or any other attribute is
moot. A discussion of the mouth appears later. The
first things that you should notice about the head are the overall shape
and size. The
standard describes the head as "Long and dry, resembling a blunt
wedge in both frontal and profile views. When seen from the front, the
head widens gradually toward the base of the ears in a practically
unbroken line." "Long"
is not a quantifiable description, but for the Doberman it is generally
considered to be about equal to the length of the neck, and about half
the length of the topline as measured from the withers to the base of
the tail. You can confirm these general guidelines by measuring the
drawings in the Doberman Pinscher Club of America Illustrated Standard
and by measuring photos of dogs considered as having correct heads. Of
course, "dry" simply means no loose skin, with tight lips and
flews.
Figure
1 will help to visualize the look of the blunt wedge. These two graphics
show the head as a blunt wedge when viewed from the front or in profile.
When facing the Doberman, you should be able to place your flat hands
against sides of the muzzle and cheeks and feel the smooth flat planes
of the dog’s head. On a correct head, your hands will form the flat
planes of the blunt wedge. The
"blunt wedge" is another non-measurable description. A blunt
wedge may be fairly wide, somewhat narrow, or in between. There are no
concrete measurements to give as guidelines, simply because different
head shapes are correct for different body styles. A heavy boned,
substantial dog will nearly always have a broader "blunt
wedge" than a less substantial one. A refined dog may have a narrow
"blunt wedge". Any of these may be suitable for that dog.
Note
the standard also calls for "Jaws full and powerful well filled
under the eyes. " If a dog does not have sufficient muzzle and
underjaw, then the head won’t form the planes of the blunt wedge. The
full muzzle and underjaw are also important to hold the 42 large teeth
required by the standard. It
is the judge’s responsibility to see enough Dobermans and to be
mentored by enough different people to determine the normal acceptable
limits of the "blunt wedge". The judge can then evaluate
within those limits, and reward dogs that fall within the acceptable
norm. The
standard continues "Eyes- almond shaped, moderately deep set,
with vigorous, energetic expression. Iris, of uniform color, ranging
from medium to darkest brown in black dogs; in reds, blues, and fawns
the color of the iris blends with that of the markings, the darkest
shade being preferable in every case" This
paragraph is self-explanatory. The key words to remember are
"almond shaped", "dark", and "expression."
The first two are easily understood. The
term "expression" is not easily described. In the Doberman we
expect a look of intensity. The dog’s expression should convey the
image that is described in the General Appearance section of the
standard "Energetic, watchful, determined, alert, fearless".
A
good way to describe expression is the overall image formed by the head
position, facial mood, lips, eyes, ear carriage, muscle intensity, and
so forth. Doberman fanciers often call the typical expression the
"look of eagles". Describing
correct expression is a lot like defining quality. It has been said of
quality "I don’t know how to describe it, but I know it when I
see it." Your mentors will help you understand correct expression
by showing you examples. With enough study, you’ll know it when you
see it. In
describing the ears the standard says "Ears- normally cropped
and carried erect. The upper attachment of the ear, when held erect, is
on a level with the top of the skull."
The
standard is clear on the placement of the ear, i.e. level with the top
of the skull. The
discussion of ear cropping however is not quite as clear. The statement
that the ear is "normally cropped" is sometimes interpreted to
mean that it is typically cropped, but not required. The phrase
"and carried erect" clarifies that our breed is a cropped
breed and the ears are carried erectly. Uncropped
ears are allowed, and some Dobermans have finished their championships
with uncropped ears. Nonetheless, uncropped ears should be thought as a
deviation from the standard. You must make your own decision as to the
magnitude of the deviation. Bear in mind that you must also think about
the impact that uncropped ears have on expression and the overall look
of the dog. Consider
the planes of the head (Figure 3). The standard states: "Top of
skull flat, turning with slight stop to bridge of muzzle, with muzzle
line extending parallel to top line of skull. Cheeks flat and muscular.
Nose -solid black on black dogs, dark brown on red ones, dark gray on
blue ones, dark tan on fawns. Lips lying close to jaws."
The
description of most characteristics of the head as set forth in this
part of the standard are clear and need little amplification. One
characteristic of the head that is not in the standard is the
relationship of the muzzle length to the back skull length. Though it is
not addressed in the standard, the Doberman Pinscher Club of America
insists that the correct Doberman head have a muzzle length that is
equal to the back skull length. This
is an issue that has never been contested by members of the Doberman
Pinscher Club of America. All knowledgeable members of the fancy
(breeders, judges, and handlers) agree that the muzzle and back skull
should be of equal length. The
impression one gets upon viewing the Doberman head should be one of
angles and planes. The skull and muzzle are straight and flat. The
underjaw is straight. The cheeks are flat. The ears are erect with
straight edges on the front and back. There is no description in the
standard that calls for a curvy, soft-looking head. Although
some breeds have standards for the head that are very similar,
representatives of that breed are often found to have curves and a soft
look about them. This is not typical of the Doberman, even though the
written word is similar for both breeds. Remember that the Doberman head
is one of angles and planes. Now
let’s discuss the teeth and the disqualifications. The standard says
"Teeth- strongly developed and white. Lower incisors upright and
touching inside of upper incisors a true scissors bite. 42 correctly
placed teeth,- 22 in the lower, 20 in the upper jaw. Distemper teeth
shall not be penalized. Disqualifying Faults:- Overshot more than 3/16
of an inch. Undershot more than 1/8 of an inch. Four or more missing
teeth." The
teeth are important because they are integral to just about everything a
dog does. They are not there in the Doberman just to grind food to
digest. They are at the core of his very existence. They are his defense
mechanism, his means to acquire food, and his offensive weapons for his
originally intended work. As importantly, the mouth and teeth are the
dog’s arms and hands. He must use them for picking up items,
transporting them, and placing them where needed. Indeed, so vital are
the teeth that they play a critical role in the birthing process of
cutting the umbilical cord. Our
standard calls for 42 correctly placed teeth. Let’s first
discuss the bite. The correct bite occurs with the outside top edge of
the lower incisors meeting the inside inner edge of the upper incisors
as shown in Figure 4. Further, the upper and lower premolars intermesh
evenly. .
Figure 4
Correct bite
Figure 5
Incorrect bites
Figure 6
Correct teeth placement The
teeth and the muzzle and the underjaw are all interrelated. Each has an
important affect on the other. Missing teeth are considered to be a
structural fault because they have the potential to affect these other
elements of the head and because of their importance to the functioning
of the dog. The
Doberman judge must take examination of the mouth seriously. With each
additional missing tooth the dog more closely approaches
disqualification. This is not to say that a dog with a missing tooth or
two should not be rewarded for his virtues. Dobermans with missing teeth
do become champions. It is the judge’s responsibility to weigh the
deviation along with the merits and other deviations of this dog. If a
dog with a missing tooth more closely meets the standard than the
competing dogs, by all means reward him. Many judges do not consider a
missing tooth as a serious fault. Two missing teeth are generally
considered serious, and three are very serious. Missing
teeth can appear in a number of places. Sometimes there will be five
incisors that are evenly spaced, and a missing tooth can be difficult to
detect. Missing premolars are the most common. Occasionally the rearmost
molar is missing, especially on the lower jaw. When
examining Dobermans, you will sometimes find extra teeth, usually in the
forward premolar area. Although there is no disqualification for extra
teeth, the standard does call for 42 correctly placed teeth.
Extra teeth deviate from this in two ways 1) the extra number of teeth
is a deviation and 2) the extra teeth affect the correct placement of
the other teeth. One
or two extra teeth are not uncommon. Three and four extras are seen
occasionally. When
extra teeth are found, the premolars are smaller to allow space for the
extras. It is easy to visualize judges forgiving extra teeth, until it
becomes common to have too many small teeth … piranha-like in
appearance. This is not the mouth that the standard requires. Earlier
we mentioned the importance of occlusion as it relates to the standard
phrase "42 correctly placed teeth,- 22 in the lower, 20 in the
upper jaw" It is important to note the intermeshing of the
premolars to determine correct occlusion. Figure 7 and Figure 8 below
will show you the correct and incorrect occlusion that you may
encounter.
Figure 7
Correct Occlusion
Figure 8
Incorrect Occlusion Examining
the mouth is not a difficult task, once it has been practiced. The
Doberman exhibitors are usually excellent trainers and presenters of
their dogs. Dobermans are trained as pups to have their mouths examined,
and there is seldom a problem in the ring.
We
have covered the head in detail, but it is important to summarize the
essential elements. A correct Doberman head will have these six
characteristics:
Find
these six characteristics and you have found a head that conforms to the
standard. You
will find dogs that meet these characteristics, but are dissimilar in
appearance. That is perfectly normal and acceptable, because much of the
evaluation of the head is subjective. Expression, angle of the blunt
wedge, balance with the body and other aspects of the head are subject
to the preferences of the judge. As long as the head has the general
appearance of planes and angles and as long as it meets the six criteria
listed above, then the judge is free to select the "best" head
based on his own desires. The
photos that follow are considered to be examples of pleasing Doberman
heads. Acknowledgements
About
the Author
Bob
Vandiver is General Chairman of the Judge’s Education, Breeder’s
Education, and Exhibitor’s Education for DPCA. He has exhibited
Dobermans since 1969. He and his wife, Nancy, have done limited but
successfully breeding under the Mistel prefix. Bob was approved to judge
Dobermans in 1995 and is now approved to judge all working breeds and
all sporting breeds.
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Mistel Dobermans |
