What are Dobermanns like?

[StupidFaces]

Anyone have one? Would you recommend the breed?

Firstly, you need to do a huge amount of due dilligence on any puppy in terms of health of parents and pup as there are a lot of health problems in the breed.
One of my dogs is half doberman, and as he's an unusual colour we meet a lot of dobie owners, and the general consensus is that they are very bright, very stubborn, full of angst, and live by a general motto of 'trust no one but your mum'.
Mine (who as I say isn't a pure bred) is fiercely protective of me, which is great but sometimes feels like having your own close protection officer as he is always on. He likes things to be a certain way and will plant his feet and just stop if he wants to go a certain way or if we don't go to see his friends - he doesn't pull on the lead, is a perfect gent but will almost be walking backwards if he wants to keep an eye on someone behind me.
Anyway, not a first timer dog, you need to put a lot of work in with them mentally, they are big and strong, and you really need to know the parents and their health and temperment. But lovely dogs with a bad rep.

If you have experience, know what you're doing and have the time and patience to train them, they can be excellent dogs - they're smart, energetic and affectionate.

However if you get it wrong, it can go very wrong. Dobermans are also highly strung and incredibly sensitive - they're also very loyal to their "person" and can be protective, which can turn into aggression if the dog isn't socialised and trained properly. They're also prone to separation anxiety.

I've met some absolutely lovely Dobermans but their owners are all incredibly experienced and put hours of work into their dogs to ensure that they're well-socialised and friendly. It's not like a Labrador where that's generally the default "setting" - you need to work at to with Dobies and if you get it wrong or don't know what you're doing, you have a big, strong problem on your hands.