Doberdane (Doberman Pinscher & Great Dane Mix): Info, Pics, Traits & Facts

Few designer breeds are more loyal, noble, and courageous than the Doberdane. A quick look at the parent breeds will tell you everything you need to know. Doberdanes are a cross between the gentle giant Great Dane and the brilliant Doberman Pinscher.

Great Danes are one of the oldest breeds of dog on the planet. They’re also giants of unprecedented size. The tallest dog ever was a Great Dane named Zeus who stood an incredible 44 inches tall at the shoulder. These dogs were originally bred to hunt large wild boars, though they haven’t been used for that purpose in generations.

Doberman Pinschers were created by a single man: Karl Friedrich Louis Doberman. Doberman was a tax collector that needed protection, but he had access to many kennels, allowing him to pick and choose the most perfect specimens to create his new breed. The breed he created is incredibly smart, calm, and undyingly loyal.

The best part about all of this is that Doberdanes get the best traits from both parents. This means that your Doberdane is likely to be a gigantic, gentle, friendly, protective, noble companion who will protect you at all cost and love you like no other.

Doberdane Puppies

Doberdanes are a pretty new breed. They were likely created within the last 20 years, though pinpointing a time or place is near-impossible. Because they’re so new, the breed hasn’t had time to develop standard prices and there aren’t many breeders dedicated to creating these dogs. As such, it can be a bit difficult to find one. But they’re out there if you look hard enough. And luckily, they’re not as expensive as you might think.

Since there aren’t any standard prices for the breed, we have to look at the parents to understand the prices that Doberdanes are going for. Both parents are pure breeds that can command pretty hefty prices.

Great Danes aren’t that pricey on the low end of the price spectrum. This is partially because they’re susceptible to a myriad of health concerns and they’re known for very short lifespans. But with responsible breeding, a lot of these issues can be mitigated. Dobermans aren’t susceptible to anywhere near as many health problems as Great Danes.

Any breeder who is making Doberdane puppies is sacrificing the ability to sell expensive Doberman or Great Dane pups. So, you should expect Doberdane prices to be pretty similar, though generally a little cheaper. If they seem to affordable, you may be dealing with a breeder of questionable reputation.

3 Little-Known Facts About the Doberdane

1. They’re effective therapy dogs.

Great Danes and Doberman Pinschers are both known as incredibly smart dogs that are easy to train. That’s part of why they’re used for a multitude of different jobs, including therapy. Doberdanes didn’t fall far from the family tree either. They’re highly-intelligent animals who can be trained to perform complex tasks. Like the parent breeds, Doberdanes make excellent, empathic therapy dogs.

2. Both parent breeds are German.

The Great Dane is named after Denmark, but it’s a bit of a misnomer. In truth, this breed was created in Germany. But they were named after Denmark to avoid any negative connotations that would be attached to a German breed following the world wars.

Doberman Pinschers have a much clearer name that’s not shrouded in any mystery or misnomers. They’re named after Karl Doberman who’s responsible for creating the breed in Germany in 1890. Ironically, in WWII, these dogs were used in the United States Marine Corps to help end the conflict and defeat the country where they were created.

3. Both parents have long been used as guard dogs.

Doberman Pinschers were bred specifically to be guard dogs. That was the intention when the breed was first conceptualized. But Great Danes were bred for a different purpose; to hunt. However, royalty in centuries past realized how loving, loyal, and ferocious these dogs could be. Naturally, these traits make them excellent guard dogs, which is how the royals employed them.

Temperament & Intelligence of Doberdanes 🧠

Doberdanes are some of the smartest dogs you’ll come across. Both parents are incredibly sharp, so it’s to be expected with Doberdanes as well. They’re also rather even-tempered dogs that aren’t prone to large spikes in emotion or energy. That said, they can look pretty scary. Expect people to be intimidated when they see your dog, even though you know they’re a loving teddy bear at heart!

Are Doberdane Dogs Good for Families? 🏡

Doberdanes can make great family pets, but there are some stipulations. While they do get along well with kids, just by virtue of their massive stature, Doberdanes aren’t a great fit for families with young kids. The dog won’t attack the child or anything, but with such a large dog, accidents are likely to happen.

But aside from this, Doberdanes are excellent for families. They’re naturally reserved with strangers, which makes them great guard dogs. Plus, guarding is just in their blood. Both parents excel at it and Doberdanes do as well.

Does This Breed Get Along With Other Pets? 🐶 😽

For the most part, Doberdanes are great with other pets. They don’t have a strong prey drive, so they’re safe to keep around most pets. However, as with small children, these dogs can be a danger to very small pets simply because of their large size.

Things to Know When Owning a Doberdane:

Food & Diet Requirements 🦴

Weighing as much as 140 pounds, Doberdanes are pretty sizable canines. As you might expect of a dog this size, they eat quite a substantial amount of food. Making matters worse, these dogs are also very active. Expect to feed your Doberdane 4 cups of food or more each day.

Exercise 🐕

This is where Doberdanes can get a bit difficult. Great Danes aren’t particularly active dogs, so they’re some of the easiest big dogs to own, simply because they don’t require as much maintenance. But Doberman Pinschers are the opposite. Because of this, Doberdanes have substantial exercise requirements.

You’ll need to block off more than an hour each day to spend exercising your Doberdane. It’s best to split this into three shorter sessions, rather than a single session of 75 minutes. But 75 minutes of exercise is about what you’ll need to provide your Doberdane with daily.

Training 🦮

Doberdanes are incredibly smart dogs that come from two lines of working canines. As such, they can easily learn advanced training concepts. They excel in obedience training and can even be trained to perform complex tasks and jobs. But don’t expect training a Doberdane to be easy. In fact, if you don’t have much experience training large dogs, then a Doberdane probably isn’t the best place to start. Just because they’re so huge, they can be quite a handful to train.

Grooming ✂️

Doberdanes might have massive exercise requirements, but their grooming needs are minimal. These dogs have incredibly short coats that don’t really require maintenance. You’ll want to lightly brush your dog once a week or so. Not to remove hair like with other breeds, but just to spread their natural oils across their coat.

These dogs also don’t require bathing. You can simply wipe your Doberdane down with a damp cloth when it seems like it’s getting a bit dirty. Like with all breeds, you will need to regularly trim your Doberdane’s nails, brush their teeth, and clean out their ears.

Health and Conditions ❤️

The most unfortunate thing about Great Danes is the wide range of health concerns that commonly affects the breeds. It’s part of the reason for their abnormally short lifespans. But by mixing them with the robust and healthy Doberman Pinscher, the Doberdanes that result are much hardier and far less vulnerable to the health conditions that often plague Great Danes. Even so, there are a few health concerns that you’ll want to keep an eye out for.

Some more information on these disorders:

• Entropion: This is when the eyelids roll inward, which often causes the hairs on the eyelid to rub on the cornea. With time, this can cause pain and perforations and interfere with vision.
• Cherry Eye: Cherry eye is when inflammation affects a tear gland in your dog’s third eyelid, causing it to swell and turn red like a small cherry in the corner of your dog’s eye.
• Bloat: Bloat is an incredibly dangerous condition that can occur seemingly out of nowhere. It’s when your dog’s stomach quickly fills with air, blocking blood flow from the rear of the body. This can even cause the stomach to flip on itself, which can result in death very quickly if your dog doesn’t get immediate attention.
• Hip Dysplasia: This is one of the most common health problems that dogs face, and it disproportionately affects large dogs like Great Danes and Doberman Pinschers. It’s when the hip doesn’t form correctly, and as a result, the femur won’t fit properly into the hip socket. This causes the bones to rub together, resulting in pain, loss of movement, and eventually, lameness.

Conclusion:

Noble, courageous, even-tempered, and utterly loyal, the Doberdane is a versatile and incredibly smart dog. They’re great as family pets, provided you don’t have any toddlers running around. The Doberdane can be trained to perform jobs and even excel at therapy work thanks to their friendly dispositions and calm, empathic nature. But if you’re going to add one of these wonderful Doberman Pinscher and Great Dane mixes to your family, make sure you have plenty of space and time to provide the excessive levels of exercise that this breed requires.

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Featured Image Credit: Kamisovec, Shutterstock