Doberman stories....

[asaratis]

...are interesting to me. I've had three...Dobermans, that is. Many stories about each have crossed my mind since I started conjuring up this thread OP.

Fritz was a minature. (...in the 50's when I was a young lad)

Red was a rescued friend. (...in the late 70's when I was a wild man)

Skeeter was a registered, six week old gift from the shop crew...after Red died. (...again in the late 70's when I owned the world)


I would ask which bitch you'd like to hear about first, but then I'd be presumptuous. I'll start with Fritz. He wasn't actually a bitch. He was the cute, little, 'trimmed', male, miniature Doberman that we got after 'Bootsie' died. I must have been 10 or so.

I didn't have as much of an attachment to him as I did Skeeter some 20 years later, but I do remember Fritz scarin' the shit out of several people. He wasn't more than nine inches tall, but fast as a rabbit and could scoot around on the carpet between people's feet like he knew they weren't gonna step on him. The delivery man for the cleaners was most particularly afraid of the dog. (This was back in the days when the cleaners would deliver to your front door...and sometimes bring the clothes inside and hang them in a closet for you.) Mr. M hated Fritz....cuz Fritz would bark and act protective when Mr. M rang the bell. Sometimes if Fritz was in the back of the house when Mr. M rang, Mr. M would crack the door open and ask, "Is the dog in?"

Then there was the time when the cabinet maker came to finish the kitchen cabinets. He was a tall, lanky guy in blue/white striped coveralls and lace up boots...with a rule in one, long pocket and a hammer hangin' on tother side. Fritz commenced to barkin' at him on arrival one day and he jumped back like a snake was chasin' him. I said, "Fritz won't bite ya. He just likes to make noise." The man said, "No. you don't understand. If he nips my leg, I'll die right here." He pulled up his trouser leg and showed me his bare leg. The vein runnin' up the side of his calf was just as big around as his calf was. I don't know what you call that condition, but I know it exists. My gawd! That man had huge veins!

I think the only time I saw my daddy cry was when Fritz died.

I'll tell ya 'bout the other dogs later.

Meanwhile, why don't you all tell me some good Doberman stories. I don't want to hear shit about bad dogs and people gettin' kilt. Just tell me some good Doberman stuff.


(Pssssst! You will not believe the stories 'bout Skeeter!

 

[HUGGY]

Brutus was a good friend .. 138 lbs Blue calm.. fearless .. I miss him.

 

[Madeline]

My sophmore year in high school, I was sent to new foster parents...again. A young couple, in their 20's with a small child of their own and a Dobbie he had brought back from the service. Really wretched conditions; I spent my first week there cleaning up dog shit and washing that baby's hair to get the tangles out.

If I didn't feed that dog, he didn't eat. For that matter, neither did the baby. I don't know what happens to make people like this -- the couple did not seem disturbed or anything, just really, really really out of touch with the needs of their dependents.

Anyway this dog, a gorgeous creature, was never once impatient. Never aggressive. I don't even remember him pushing me around when I made up his food. Truly a wonderful animal...I hope things improved for him after I left.

 

[strollingbones]

zack was my first doberman....my son was about 4 years old...we had had zack since before the kidlet was born.....it was a rainy day.....da man was in the basement...i was upstairs watching tv....da man comes out of the basement and goes...wheres the kid....i reply....with you? we realize neither of us...has the child....panic ensues....we start the parent search...the first 20 yards...the next 20 yards....when da man looks at the swollen creek and says..."i am going downstream"...at this point i begin to scream...the utter terror set in...my child was missing..the creek was swollen...my child was missing....

when suddenly a truck appears from the road.....two men get out....one says..."yall missing a boy"? da man suddenly jumps in the truck with them and off the go....i jump in car and follow...my son and zack...were up the road.....my son was walking along side the road....zack would push him out of the road when a car passed....the men stopped.....and tryed to get my son...they said that idea was not a good one..zack put them back in the truck...they knew where the dog belonged...i dont know if the boy followed the dog or the dog followed the boy....didnt care...it didnt matter....my son was safe and zack had protected him

 

[HUGGY]

Pompano Beach has intercostals. I had a condo in one of the dead ends. Brutus liked to sleep up on the upper deck when he was doing his alone time. One night my girlfriend and I were watching the tube downstairs and Brutus came down the stairs from above and nuzzled me on the leg. I could immediately tell from his insistence that he meant business. This was all done silently. I followed him back up to the spare bedroom and quietly out onto the deck. He looked across the water in one particular direction and started that "spawned from hell" low almost imperceptible growl. I saw a figure in the darkness trying the sliding glass door on the condo opposite from mine across the water..maybe 150 ft away. So I quietly walk with Brutus to the condo entrance at the parking lot and pointed to the drive that would circle around the culdesac and put my fingers to my lips which meant "silent mode". Brutus took off at a high rate of gallop in the direction I pointed and I cut back through the front entrance and quietly slid through to the lower deck door with a pistol in hand. I stood in the shadows and watched as Brutus had circled completely around and behind the burglar and was doing this real cool stalking thing like a lion hunting a gazelle. The guy would try a door and move on around the U shaped group of condos traveling maybe 300 feet total until he approached my place. Of course I had my pistol right in his nose as he realized he was through.... he tried to back up but Brutus's big head was an inch or two from his back. Again with the growl from hell the guy's back was pinned up against the huge blue gray muzzle. It was the coolest search, stalk and capture I ever had a part of. All in total silence. Except for the very end when the dude started screaming at the top of his lungs. I told him to shut his fuckin mouth and with a finger to the lips again pointed to him and back to Brutus and I and the the dog escorted him down o the dock...Dude went for an early AM swim..no neighbors even knew. I couldn't call the cops because at the time there were an excessive amount of party favors and precious powders on the coffee table.

 

[asaratis]

It wasn't my dog, but it's a good Doberman story. There's a place around here called Piedmont Park...big open spaces, rolling hills, some old trees, a small lake, some sidewalks...a perfect place to have large gatherings of strangers for festivities such as arts and crafts shows and stuff where booths are set up and hundreds of people mill around lookin' and buyin' and goin' to the porta-potties and havin' refreshments from the various vendors of drinks and snacks. I was sittin' under one of the big trees one day, near the top of the hill. You could see the drink stand way down yonder on the other side of the valley, just beyond the wooden walk bridge the led to the meandering walkways amongst the rented booths. I'm guessin' the bridge was a quarter mile away.

There was a young family spread out on a blanket nearby that had a beautiful Doberman sorta layin' down in the back while sorta sittin' up in the front.(you know the pose). Daddy looked like a hold over from the 60s hippies, Mommy looked like a peaceful, cheerful sort, the daughter looked to be about 3 years old and was wearin' yellow sun dress and sandals. Well, the girl wanted a Coke...daddy reached and gave her a dollar bill, she started walkin' toward the bridge, daddy looked at the dog, the dog looked at daddy, daddy looked at the girl, the dog got up and ambled along behind the toddler. Not a word was spoken to the dog.

I watched as the little girl slowly made her way down the hill and across the bridge. I watched as she stood in line at the little drink stand. I watched as she returned with the dog following right behind. As I recall, nobody in the crowd got within ten feet of the little girl. Good dog.

Dobermans are very protective of children. Just wait 'til I tell you about Skeeter.

 

[strollingbones]

we talk about the breeding 'down' of dobies...i dont think of it that way....they are now family dogs and protectors....my thor is just a big baby..he adopts little things....like when tiff first came and was 10 oz..he became her champion....

let me get upset....his attitude is.....we will just start killing till the food goddess is happy....i have seen him jump at the door...about 2 ft off the ground with the saddle of his back...all up...ever hair standing....his teeth bared and he is barking.....no one is opening that door.....from the outside...

now one thing mine all have in common ..they are union dogs.....they punch that clock from 7 am...till 8 pm..then they are off duty...

 

[Mr Natural]

Friends of ours had a Dobie. A big guy named Spike. The sweetest dog I've ever known and smart as a whip.

 

[PixieStix]

I had a Dobie once in my teen years. I loved that dog. His name was Wilker, he ate anything plastic. We also had a little mutt named Myron and Wilker would beat up another neighborhood dog for picking on Myron. It was quite charming. I miss Wilker. Dobies are great dogs.

I had a neighbor that had a red Doberman, and she would not let anyone come close to me.Her name was Cherri. But she was not dangerous as long as you kept your distance from me. I have no clue why she wanted to protect me. She was not like that, even with her owners

 

[asaratis]

I had a Dobie once in my teen years. I loved that dog. His name was Wilker, he ate anything plastic. We also had a little mutt named Myron and Wilker would beat up another neighborhood dog for picking on Myron. It was quite charming. I miss Wilker. Dobies are great dogs.

I had a neighbor that had a red Doberman, and she would not let anyone come close to me.Her name was Cherri. But she was not dangerous as long as you kept your distance from me. I have no clue why she wanted to protect me. She was not like that, even with her owners

My second was red. She came to me by way of conversation in the break room at work. I had several times talked about getting a Doberman as a shop dog. One of the helpers said his neighbor had some to get rid of. He brought me a malnourished female with a swollen belly and a meek disposition. I got the vet to make her healthy and she began her life as our lop-eared, long tail, hound dog lookin', red Doberman guard dog. She'd stay in the shop at night...ride with me wherever I went in the day...loved when I'd say, 'let's go!' She'd bound over to the truck and wag her tail 'til I'd open the door. She got in a habit of layin' around in or near my F-250.

One afternoon, I cranked up, backed up and felt that I'd run over somethin'. Then I heard the gawd awfullest howlin' and yelpin' I'd heard in years. I had backed over the dog's pelvis and broken it. I held the dog in my arms and tried to comfort her while being driven to the vet. I was distraught that I had caused it by backing so fast after cranking.

The vet took good care of her and I got her back some days later. She lived happily at the shop until she ran off one night and never came back.