Doberman as a first dog.

[JamieCannister]

I've always been someone who is no fan of dogs (probably dating back to young childhood, being scared by dobermans at a distance (a few doors down had three of them, who looked very intimidating when standing off lead 30 yards away when you're 5 years old!), an old english sheepdog on his hind legs towering over my pram, and a little yapper next door that would bark aggressively at me from two foot away behing a chain link fence multiple times a day for the best part of a decade!)

Saying that I am reasonably comfortable with them, especially well trained larger dogs (I especially dislike small dogs). When I have a bit of confidence it's well trained I am happy enough petting a rottweiler I've just met.

Anyway, I have stumbled upon a couple of youtube channels and I am falling in love with Dobermans. Or at least I am falling in love with very well trained dobermans - I do not like out of control dogs at all!

Aside from the obvious (all dogs need to be very well trained, not least big ones that can cause real harm, it'll need plenty of exercise and attention) what advice would you give someone considering a doberman as a first dog?

There are many valid reasons to castrate though, including medical and behavioural ones. It’s one of the basic tenants of dog ownership - to understand castration is often necessary and in the dogs best interests.

There are very few truly valid reasons to dock - even most working retrievers and spaniels I know aren’t docked.

It’s very flawed logic to compare the two.

If a dog or cat is not suitable to be a pet unless it has been mutilated can you not see the argument that it is quite simply not suitable to be a pet?

Why is your right to have an easier dog or cat more important than a dog or cat's right to retain it's testicles?

If you're going to allow mutilation (which alters the dog's personality and ability to reproduce) to make the owner's life easier then why not allowe mutilation (which does not alter the dog's personality and ability to reproduce) to make the dog look better in the eyes of the owner?

To be clear. I do not support docking, and I can see why we castrate male pets... but I am not willing to take a lecture about docking (which I never even said I supported) from someone who supports mutilating pets to make the owner's life easier.

That’s not what @LandSharksAnonymous said. The fact you can’t understand what, or do not want to, is just further evidence you’re not fit to own any sort of dog let alone a Doberman.

Only a man could think like this. Testies above all else, even the dogs own safety (from other dogs and from significant health issues).

It makes the dogs life easier. Any novice, or would be, dog owner should know that.

I pity the dog you undoubtedly get - it’s going to have a miserable bloody life with you as an owner.

Does it make adult human males lives easier if they are castrated and no longer have a significant desire to procreate? Presumably so.

Do not pretend that pets are castrated for the benefit of the pet - it is done for the benefit of the owner, just like docking (which I do not support) is done for the benefit of the owner.

https://www.pdsa.org.uk/pet-help-and-advice/pet-health-hub/other-veterinary-advice/dog-neutering-a-guide-to-castration-and-spaying

Perhaps you should educate yourself before you spout off utter twaddle?

As I said, neutering and castration, particularly for male dogs can help prevent serious health issues (including cancers) and also dog on dog aggression. Castration is 99.9% of the time done for the dogs benefit.

You cannot compare adult humans and dogs. The fact you even want to make that comparison is evidence of why you shouldn't get a dog.

It protects against many forms of cancer. Having just lost a dog to that at only 7yrs, I’d say that was a pretty big advantage
But you are coming across as just spoiling for a fight now 🤷‍♀️

@EdithStourton out of curiosity (and genuinely meaning no offence) given the absolute nonsense spouted above, do you really think that someone who compares docking to castration is fit to be a dog owner? Because I certainly don't.

If someone like OP came to me asking for a puppy, i'd be saying hell no and warning other breeders nearby to avoid them tbh.

I didn't cut OP slack, as it was plain as day what sort of owner OP would be based off the limited information they (likely a he, as PP said) provided. And, sadly, as is so often the case...I was proved right.

Surely no one is this thick?!?!!

Castration reduces testicular and prostate cancer in men, and reduces aggression in men. But we do not castrate baby boys because we regard their right (other than foreskin) to bodily integrity to be pretty much absolute, even though we can reduce their likelihood of getting into fights or getting cancer by castrating them.

Do not pretend that we castrate dogs and cats for their benefit - they are animals whose sole purpose on earth, ultimately, like humans, is to reproduce. We castrate them for our own selfish ends, just like we dock them for our own seflish ends.

Do not pretend you aare some sort of animal lover because you oppose docking whilst taking away a male dog's entire evolutionary purpose, primarily because you want him to be an easier pet to

Honest answers only. If castrating a dog made them much more loving and non-violent pets, less humping and fewer smells, whilst reducing their lifespan by 5%, would you castrate them?

What if castrating a dog made them a touch LESS loving and non-violent pets, a touch MORE HUMPING and smelliness whilst ADDING to their lifespan by 50% - would you castrate them?

whilst taking away a male dog's entire evolutionary purpose, primarily because you want him to be an easier pet to

😂

I see your 😂 and raise you a 🙄🙄🙄🙄

I think between us we have now answered for the majority

A male castrated because of male on male aggression will eventually enjoy a life of off-lead walks and playtime with other dogs. Not something that the OP would care about because all they (he?) want is a status dog that makes good videos on youtube.

I've never heard of anyone castrating their male because of smells, or that it makes a dog more loving.

Oh, and don't get a Patterdale. Don't say you weren't warned

🤣🤣🤣🤣🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛

There is "answering" and there is answering properly.

You are lying if you say we castrate dogs solely so they have longer healthier lives (and if that were true all breeders would be evil because they don't castrate all their dogs). Those health issues which are reduced are a side effect of creating a more chilled dog for our own selfish benefit.

The idea that docking is pure evil because it is unnecessary, whilst castration (a much more significant procedure that, unlike docking, changes what a dog can do) is good because it creates a dog that is easier to manage is just insane.

People who support castration and docking are at least morally consistent - dogs are our possessions that we can do all sorts of things to simply because it suits us.

People - like me - who do not support docking and would NOT make castration of dogs illegal, are somewhere between hyprocritical ("some mutilation is fine, some is evil!") and virtue signalling ("I am a good person because I would never cut off my dog's tail at the same time as havign him castrated so that he's easier to manage")

They have answered properly though, you are just unwilling to step back from your very Neanderthal point of view.

But, as my grandmother said, you can’t polish a turd.

Honestly OP, if you’re concerned about dogs’ rights, bodily integrity, evolutionary purpose, and are entertaining moral questions about allowing them to fulfil their desires, I don’t think pet ownership is for you. Being a dog owner is about making better choices for the weird bag of hair you have on the end of the leash who would happily choke themselves on chicken bones from the garbage and follow the neighbour’s cat into moving traffic if you allowed it to have rights, and which doesn’t realise that a quick fuck in the park will lead to litters of unwanted puppies and a medical risk to the tiny female pug mated by a Doberman.

I was about to reply, but I see that @LeonardosYoungerModel has managed to sum it up quite well and with far more tact and diplomacy than I am capable of.

They are well known for their intellect and considered to be amongst the cleverest.

No, people are lying and claiming that docking is pure evil (because it is unnecessary and solely done for the benefit of the owner) whilst castration is wonderful (despite being unnecessary and solely done for the benefit of the owner).

Op has to be a troll. Comparing neutering and docking is comparing apples with motorbikes! Of course spaying and neutering are often done for medical reasons. Ever heard of pyometra?

You spectacularly miss the point.

They are f-ing dogs not humans. People who treat their pets like humans are insane.

My point is the utter hypocrisy and virtue signalling from people who think one type of pet mutilation is wonderful for the pet (when in reality they are doing it mainly becauuse they want a much easier dog), whilst claim that another type is pure evil.

Chopping off a dogs tail or ears for that matter, purely for aesthetic reasons, is mutilation. Castration or spaying is not for aesthetic reasons. Surely even you understand that op? It is to prevent unwanted pregnancies or preventable health conditions.

No one has lied, OP.

We've spoken medical facts to you about the benefits of castration. You, however, have compared castration of human males to dogs. Which is just creepy and faintly alarming...

But these medical facts apply to humans - why do you think dogs should have more rights to long and healthy, aggression-free lives than male humans? How can you claim to be moral whilst denying baby boys what you give male puppies?