jacqui835

lol

Well I've only had experience with toy breeds, terriers and working dogs. I had a fox terrier cross who was loyal, loving but without fear and driven to prove himself. If another dog wanted to fight, my dog was desperate to take them on, even if it was more than double his size. Ball obsessed - would chase and retrieve all day and all night. Very high stamina - never saw him as a small dog even though he was only 10-15kg. Clever, exceptional watch dog. Excellent hunter, caught birds, rabbits, mice and rats. Exceptional escape artist - escaped many times from our house by climbing trees or digging under fences and would take himself for walks - good natural road sense - we once saw him waiting at the side of the road until the cars stopped, then crossing. Intelligent. Great grip, he could grab towels on the clothes line and swing around suspended... Doberman cross: very loyal, will come to me even if someone else is waving a ball/food etc if I so much as look like I want him with me. Partner dog, always looking to me to see what "we're" going to do. Protective but not a great watch dog, loves to chase all animals, fast but doesn't have the reflexes of the terrier. Ok with other dogs, but will stand his ground if he has to, doesn't go looking for fights. Very important to him to be close to me, doesn't work for others, doesn't go walking off by himself so an easy dog to have off-lead. If you give him to someone who is not assertive, he takes advantage of the situation and steps up into lead position (or just pulls them on the lead back to me). Not fearless, concerned with self-preservation (unlike the terrier), but won't be separated from you or let you get attacked without doing what he can. That said, the stupid thing managed to flush a kangaroo bigger than me the other day and was chasing it through the bush... Difference is I can call him off, never could have done that with the terrier. Least independent of the dogs I've had anything to do with - the party is where you're at. Sammy learns new tricks faster than any other dog I've ever worked with because he is soo sensitive and intune with me. But unless you know exactly what you want and you're committed, you won't get it from him - only get what you put in. Limited road sense. Papillons: loving, very loyal, don't seem to take themselves too seriously, one is ball obsessed, intelligent, easy to walk on the lead (2 corrections and they were walking perfectly and they've never gone back to pulling even now back with my sister, who does no training whatsoever). Excellent watch dogs (the best set-up we ever had was when I was living with my sister and the papillons would first hear the threat and then call the doberman - when alone they just bark and hid behind their owners, but when they had Sammy they raced out leading him to the threat, was very funny to watch). Cunning little things, they knew where the weak spots in the fence were but they weren't strong enough to destroy it themselves. So as soon as Sammy comes over, they grab him and race to the weak spots and show him what to do. He quickly starts copying (because that's what he does best) and soon has the fence in pieces. They escape and then sit in the drive way- the papillons I think just wanted to prove they could, and Sammy just wants to be part of the action. I imagine with the papillons I could win obedience tournaments, when you're working with them they're so desperate to please and nothing is too low for them. They do more than what you ask for. No road sense.

I bought a cat to be a friend for my dog, and to give him some extra motivation to eat (he has very low interest in food, even raw foods). The tonkinese is very friendly, and I enjoy watching him - he's a very handsome cat, talk him to the vet the other day and the vet told us he thought he was a "magnificent specimen", but dogs are where it's at for me. The cat is smart and understands a lot of what we say, but the dog wants to partner with me and would follow me to the ends of the earth. I know it's weird, but I also find the cat a bit unhygenic which makes it hard for me to be as close. Cat saliva is full of bacteria and he plays in his litter tray :s Whereas dog saliva is antibacterial - if your dog licks a wound it heals faster.

yes i have spoken with her ....i jsut was seeing what other peoples experiences are ..its been 10 years since ive bred a litter of puppies and its all very blurry and ive never in my whole life of breeding dogs had a bitch go so late for her first heat ..and i dont recall either have a bitch that would mount males all the time and even seek out a bitch on heat as tho she was male :p I've never bred dogs but when I bred rats the females did this to each other lol. If one was on heat, every rat wanted to mount her...

Omg lol I didn't realise it at the time but this thread was actually exactly what I needed!

Very interested - particularly the responses from anyone who trains dobermans (and preferably has had experience with other breeds too).

I find it interesting personally because when comparing my dog (a doberman cross) to the others at our sporting club (Malinois and Shepherds), we are having a much harder time getting my dog to not 'kill' the prey. None of them have ever really trained a doberman before, and remarked a couple of times that the way he bites would be good for P.P. because he's looking to do a lot of damage, but it's not the controlled, hold bite desired in Schutzhund. I never thought of it from this perspective before - ie considered the fact that dobermans (unlike the Malinois and GSD) have no herding ancestors.

Why the Doberman is Different By John Soares An important consideration in training the Doberman for IPO/Schutzhund is understanding their aggression/defense. In my opinion, our limited success in the sport has a lot to do with methods of training which do not take these qualities into consideration. References to the herding group (German Shepherds, Malinois) will be made throughout this article. It is with the utmost respect for these breeds and their trainers that they will be mentioned. Due to the success of these trainers in IPO/Schutzhund, their principles and philosophies of training have been accepted as the standard for all to follow. As a consequence, training methods used in our sport are dependent on the instinctive qualities of the herding dog. Our breed does not possess these same qualities. The way a dog chooses to work, socialize and relate to its environment is due to the qualities and attributes specific to a breed’s purpose. Unless a trainer has had the opportunity to own and train herding dogs as well as Dobermans, there is a limited ability in understanding the differences. We need to thoroughly research what provided the Doberman with its legacy as a working dog and cultivate those strengths. This article’s purpose is to explain why the Doberman is different. The findings are based on personal research and practical experience. The way a dog perceives life is determined, to a great degree, by levels of prey, aggression and defense. Although all dogs need to possess each of these innate qualities in order to sustain good mental health, it is in the varying levels of combinations of these drives that sets one group of dogs apart from another. Before talking about breed differences, we need to first understand aggression/defense. Why is it needed? What purpose does it serve? And where is it derived from? Instinctively, in nature, it is the amount of resources within an area which determines the amount of space an animal will need for survival. Aggression is a survival instinct which establishes the boundaries to this area. Marking, spraying, scenting, etc., designate the boundaries of territory. This is deeply rooted in the natural order of wild animals. It is important that these annunciations are respected. Nature has provided animals with these forms of communication to limit contact. This order in nature provides a respect to resources of another animal. This common ritualistic language all stems from the aggression/defense qualities of an animal. When these boundaries are disrespected, it is often due to a lack of available resources. In such cases, the decision of entering another’s territory is based on survival (lack of food, etc.) and injury or fight are seen as risks worth taking. Though our domesticated dogs do not rely on a need for nature’s resources for survival, they often possess the same instinctive needs or reactions to space/distance. We have to always keep in mind that our dogs are caught up living in two different worlds. The first being that of man due to domestication; the second being that of their wild ancestors, which is where dogs have stemmed from. The basis of understanding the Doberman lies in studying those groups of dogs responsible for its creation. Our breed is largely attributed to the selective breeding of the mastiff, hunting and terrier groups. By understanding the genetic qualities and attributes of each, we begin to see why the Doberman’s perception of stimulus is different. What makes our breed aggression/defense based? What concerns should be addressed in training? And why are traditional training methods not conducive to an aggression/defense-based breed? Before analyzing these groups we need to acknowledge the Thuringian Shepherd and the Old German Shepherd, which are unlike the German Shepherds seen today. These old breeds may have also been sued to produce our Doberman. However, the information available does not clearly support if or what they contributed to our breed. An important quality of the mastiff and hunting groups is they do not possess the need to “pounce”. By not possessing this need there is a refraining from making contact or of closing in space to a rival or stimulus. Instinctively, these two groups were provided with ways of communicating ritualistically to influence a rival to go away or to stay away from prey. “Pounce” is the third step in patterned behavior of hunting referred to as “predatory sequence”. This is the sequence by which a carnivore hunts. Predatory sequence consists of stalk, chase, pounce, bite, kill and dissect. Dogs’ working capabilities are greatly based on the manipulation of this pattern. Most of our contemporary breeders do not utilize this sequence as a reference for breeding true to a breed. However, historical breeding was based on these natural qualities which provided man with consistency in the dog’s performance. By not having the ability to “pounce” there is a break in the predatory sequence. This break is substituted by aggression/defense. The substitution creates an opportunity to ritualistically communicate. By not having “pounce” in its genetic makeup, the mastiff was provided with the ability to often influence a potential intruder (to go away) without contact. This ability is made possible by substituting “pounce” with aggressive/defensive qualities. Likewise, the hunting groups were able to provide man with the needed behaviors of pointing or indicating prey. This group also did not possess “pounce” and instinctively resorted ways of pointing or indicating prey (staying away). The similarity in both groups is that “pounce” is not part of their predatory sequence. Again, we see how the substitution provided these groups with their functional purposes. Let us look at these two groups. For a mastiff to be efficient in its purpose, it needed to have a genetic predisposition to guard, work independently of man, be highly territorial, have limited socializing capability and not to have the tendency to wander from its source of reference; be it a home, farm, livestock, etc. Genetically, a mastiff needed to be able to influence another by ritualistic behavior stemming from aggression/defense with limited prey needs. When intrusion of space happens to a mastiff, it is a serious violation. An aggressive reaction is warranted and the encounter is stressful. Due to the mastiff’s strong aggressive tendencies, “bite” is short-lived, explosive and meant to injure. The sole purpose of engagement is to induce flight, subdue or, at times, injure or kill. The mastiff’s predatory sequence was to “stalk” and give limited “chase”. If the rival did not respond to this ritualistic behavior and advanced, then the “bite” would follow. The mastiff’s response of “bite” is no longer a response of predatory sequence but one of aggression. This instinctive refrain from making contact or closing in space is also seen in most of the hunting breeds. The hunting group was to “stalk”, “chase” and to “stalk” again to maintain distance from the prey. This group purposely did not possess “pounce”. Unlike the mastiff breeds, they were to work with man; not independently, and have a greater “chase” ability in order to pursue prey and work in different locations. Some enthusiasts of hunting breeds believe that their retrieving tendency is due to “pounce”. This unique ability to retrieve and handle prey in a soft mouth is not characteristic of a strong “pounce” tendency. But the general expression of this tendency in the hunting group seems to be much more pack and play oriented with limited prey drive. The terrier is a complete contradiction to the mastiff and hunting group’s response to stimuli. Instinctively, the terrier possesses strong “pounce” responses. Terriers do not refrain from closing in of space to make contact with prey. Their strong prey drive is very aggression based. This unique combination provides them with its innate fighting ability. The terriers’ response to a stimulus is to chase, pounce, bite, kill and dissect. Remember, the terrier was purposely bred to have killing-dissecting needs because of their specialization to rid areas of vermin. They needed to possess a fearlessness required to fight for long periods without great regard for self preservation. The terriers’ unique quality is that it does not honor nature’s reason for providing animals with aggression. Remember, aggression is a survival instinct for self preservation. Duration in fighting is not a way to sustain life. When two rivals fight, a purely defensive state will shortly develop in one, which will bring about a flight response and the fight quickly ends. However, in the terrier, their unnatural response of longevity to fight is due to an exaggeration in levels of prey and aggression/defense. The terrier has historically been praised for its disregard for self preservation. No other group possesses this ability. The tenacity of this group is legendary. Like the mastiff, they were to work without the influence of man. The herding dog, in order to be efficient in its work, needed to have a high degree of social tendencies; to its herd as well as to its handler. It needed to induce movement with great care not to panic a herd and, when required, to stalk, chase, pounce and bite to control a member of the herd. Genetically, a herding dog needed to be able to influence another by ritualistic means stemming primarily from prey. Their biting response came from a strong independent prey drive used to control a herd member; not to kill. Therefore, the herding dog’s aggression needed to be controlled. This unique quality provided a high degree of social responsiveness to the handler while working. The herding dog was purposely bred to possess obedient traits to facilitate strong social tendencies toward man. We know that our sport is based on this instinctive ability to socialize through prey. Helmut Raiser’s book bases itself on this quality of the herding dog. Raiser, and other great trainers, believed that pronounced prey is the extension to pronounced fight drive. The herding dog’s resilience to the intrusion of its space, as well as to space of another, is due to its instinctive socialization capabilities stemming from prey. Although the terrier also possesses these same qualities, it does not do so with the intention of gathering or maintaining order in a herd. The terrier’s goal is to eliminate! It does not possess the same consideration to prey as is seen in the herding dog. The herding dog was to bite, contain or control with no impulses of killing/dissecting. Full mouth biting in the herding dog was desired. Full mouth biting comes from strong independent prey! The difference regarding the terrier and herding groups, when it comes to prey, is that the terrier was to finish the stalk, chase, pounce, bite responses with aggressive tendencies to kill and, at times, dissect. The herding breeds were to stalk, chase, pounce and bite without the killing/dissecting responses. When we think of our Doberman, full mouth biting was never a consideration when originally bred. Our earlier Dobermans had strong terrier tendencies. Remember, terriers were needed to rid areas of vermin. Killing was an important aspect of this purpose. In order to accomplish this, the terrier was to possess strong prey drive that was aggression based. Our earlier Dobermans possessed these qualities. Ironically, the terriers’ tenacity to prey is what provides pit bull terriers with the reputation they have today. Dobermans had that same quality not so long ago. Strong terrier-type drives are what made the Doberman, at that time, in wrong or incapable hands, a liability. With changes due to breeding, we have gone from terrier to more mastiff- and hunting-type mentalities in our Dobermans. This change has brought about advantages as well as disadvantages. One advantage of going away from the terrier-based bloodlines has been a nervous system better adapted to human interaction. The reactivity level to stimuli was decreased providing an increased social ability toward human influence. The main disadvantages of increasing mastiff and hunting responses in the breed has been an increase in sensitivity to space/distance of another and a diminished ability to “pounce” and socialize through prey. Fortunately, we are still able to find enough terrier-type responses that, when properly channeled, can make Dobermans successful in our sport. Anyone who has had the benefit of watching or working with great Doberman trainers would notice the importance of promoting and increasing focus on prey. These great trainers were successful because of their consideration for our breed. Our greatest misfortune is that, for one reason or another, we have lost these references. Doberman trainers and handlers of the past had the dedication needed to learn about the strengths and weaknesses of the breed and trained accordingly. It was clear to them that the Doberman’s strong aggression/defense-based impulses warranted a different method of training. They understood that when these drives are inappropriately cultivated, very hectic mannerisms result. Defensive mannerisms were countered by promoting strong prey in training. Even with our breeding changes today, this type of training still holds true. As Doberman trainers, we need to be aware that neutralization training techniques are required because of the aggression/defense qualities of the terrier, mastiff and hunting breeds. Classical training methods used to train dogs in the sport do not address these concerns. None of the groups which were used to breed the Doberman possessed the strong, independent prey drive that is found in the herding dog. All of the groups that contributed to producing the Doberman were strongly influenced by aggression/defense. It is an aspect of the Doberman that needs to be addressed in training tracking, obedience and protection. The protection phase requires helper work that is able to induce strong social behaviors stemming from prey. Prey presentation must be provided in such a way to induce “pounce”. This balance is a concern very specific to the Doberman. In training tracking and obedience, prey is important to neutralize the Doberman’s willingness to accept a decrease of space relative to the handler and then maintaining reliability while increasing that distance. Unfortunately, in training circles today, the training required to provide our breed with success is not always appreciated. The breed continues to be misunderstood through lack of consideration or knowledge. Changes in training are needed to make our breed successful. The differences in our breed are not a handicap. The handicap comes from a refusal to acknowledge that there is a difference between breeds. It should be made clear that this article is not meant to excuse dogs which do not possess the qualities for our sport. If a dog is weak, insecure, etc., it has no place in the sport or in a breeding program. There are also non-herding dogs which, perhaps, are able to comprehend and are successful using the same training methods used for herding dogs. But that is not the norm. A successful training method gains acceptance when it works for the average good dog; not the exceptional dog. It becomes heart-breaking to continually see a Doberman fail or be limited in the working arena due to training methods. It is not a lack of quality. We need to realize the differences of our breed and make changes accordingly. (Comments from the original poster - USA) Interesting article. What he says about the lineage of the Dobermann jives completely with my thoughts on the breed, as I am sure some of you have heard from me. I have said numerous times that what made the Dobermann successful was its unique blend of mastiff strength, terrier, and tractability. Now, the dog is accurately "more mastiff" in regards to it being more sedate and certainly larger and more robust. I would also say that the inclusion of the "black greyhound" late in the breeds development is a departure from the original intent. This took some of the terrier edge off, while creating a different type of prey drive. Although I do not know a whole lot about Schutzhund, it is important to realize that this sport was created FOR German Shepherds. I look forward to learning more about this trainer.

Lol I'm laughing too. Told my manager I had to look up a potentially serious problem for my dog and the laughing is not helping my credibility... My favourite post so far is the autopsy one.

He only swims in the same water that we do - but then again I don't think I have any fleas which could help me monitor the healthiness of my blood and skin :s

Lol I feel like people are laughing at me and I agree on the surface it seems kind of funny but I just worried that maybe something about him killed the flea. I remember once I had a dying rat (she had respiratory problems) and all the fleas abandoned her before she died. He gets washed once a week (because we go to the beach at least once a week and the salt water gives him dandruff if we don't wash it off) and we never see any fleas but we wash him with oatmeal and moisurising stuff so maybe the fleas like it. I don't think he has any fleas though because he often sleeps on my bed spread cover (which is white) and leaves none of the little flea specks that I've seen before from animals with fleas. Oh well, no-one seems to think it's the sign of anything horrible, so I guess my dog found one solitary flea somewhere who unfortunately happened to be old and died before he/she could make my dog itchy. RIP little guy.

Well the other day I was giving my dog a tummy rub (and removing prickles and what not from his coat) and I found a dead flea. This is the first flea I've seen since moving to Adelaide 11 months ago - and so I have not had any flea prevention on my dog since this time last year (12 months +). I performed a very thorough search but did not find any other fleas, and he doesn't seem to be itchy or anything, but I guess I don't understand why the flea was dead. I know many people would be happy to find a dead flea on their dogs but, there's no illnesses or anything are there that could kill the flea are there? I would just be a bit concerned if a flea bit me and then died - seems very strange.

One thing that I learned the hard way, don't give a command multiple times. If you know your dog heard you and then chose to ignore you, don't teach them that they don't have to obey until you've given the command 50 times or delivered it in an angry tone. Tell the dog 'sit' - if the dog does, praise, if the dog doesn't, make them sit (don't hurt the dog) say sit and then praise. Dog will quickly learn that if you give a command they need to obey. Make sure you're in a position to follow through, so if you decide to do a training session with the dog, have a lead on, even if you're not holding the end. You'll notice changes very quickly there if you're consistent. The jumping behaviour is difficult because it can be self-rewarding. I have a dog who finds jumping an enjoyable experience, and jumping almost always gets a dog attention even if it's negative (my dog figured being told off is still better than being ignored). So ignore the dog, but also make it uncomfortable. Turn around so the dog falls off and don't acknowlegde them at all. We have a dobe cross rottie who loved to jump on people. When the trainers made scary aggressive noises at him (as many training clubs will do) he retaliated, not aggressively, but would just bark and growl back and then excitedly jump more on them. So with a GSD you might have the same issues, but ignoring the dog and just making them fall off worked perfectly for us. They're the 2 problems of yours that were also problems for us at one stage so hopefully that helps. Like many others have said though, exercise, training and CONSISTENCY (can't stress that one enough) are key.

Some of the results were surprising, below are the top ten most aggressive breeds: 1.Dachshunds 2.Chihuahua 3.Jack Russell 4.Australian Cattle Dog 5.Cocker Spaniel 6.Beagle 7.Border Collie 8.Pit Bull Terrier 9.Great Dane 10.English Springer Spaniel The Dachshund, colloquially known as the Sausage dog, was originally bred to hunt badgers. They came out as the most aggressive breed with 1 in 5 reported to have bitten or tried to bite a stranger and 1 in 12 snapping at their owners.

"The most horrifying example of the lack of breed predictability is the October 2000 death of a 6-week-old baby, which was killed by her family's Pomeranian dog. The average weight of a Pomeranian is about 4 pounds, and they are not thought of as a dangerous breed. Note, however, that they were bred to be watchdogs! The baby's uncle left the infant and the dog on a bed while the uncle prepared her bottle in the kitchen. Upon his return, the dog was mauling the baby, who died shortly afterwards. ("Baby Girl Killed by Family Dog," Los Angeles Times, Monday, October 9, 2000, Home Edition, Metro Section, Page B-5.)" I don't know why this breed doesn't come with a warning...

So these breeds go. What's the stop these people (because you're acknowledging it's the people creating these weapons) from going out and buying another breed and raising it tough? My dog is known as the happy dog, who always has love to spare. But I know that raised differently he could have been trouble, and at 40+kg's, able to run at over 50km/hr and the biggest teeth we've seen on a dog (at my schutzhund dog club it's something they often talk about), well he could easily seriously injure if not kill someone. So what do we do? Ban each breed as they're chosen by irresponsible people who shouldn't own dogs? Or to be safer, just ban every dog that under any circumstances could be capable of seriously injuring a human? Like other people have said - every dog above knee height? But don't forget the lovely little daschund that castrated a newborn baby... And there was a case of a papillon managing to kill a doberman so really, what would we have left? When everyone knows the problem is the people and not the dogs - (how else could we have therapy pitbulls etc), the only way that banning dog breeds could prevent all dog bites would be to ban all dog breeds.

Well I have a doberman cross and I guess he doesn't believe in taking any chances. Especially if I'm home alone, he is almost on constant semi-alert. Luckily though he seems to have enough rottie in him to be more of a growler than a barker. One thing he can't stand is the guy who comes around garbage night to collect bottles to trade in for the 10c reward in SA. And the guy is now too scared to go past our house lol, even though the dog is just growling at him from indoors - he just has a very 'Omen' style (that's how people have described it to us) growl so I guess for strangers it can be intimidating. He has a thing about loitering outside our house lol which is a good thing when it's the losers coming to collect drugs from our next door neighbour, but not so good when it's the poor little old man who walks very slowly. He's not even 2 yet so hopefully as he grows he's will learn the difference... He doesn't like strangers that haven't been introduced, and I know that he at least stands his ground when weirdos approach me late at night and scare me (they ran off when he growled so who knows what he would have done had they pressed forward) - but we wanted that in a dog. If they have been introduced they're new best friends which is also exactly what we wanted. One of the guys at our training club is incredibly jealous because his best doberman bitch won't even bark at strangers entering their home, she is a labrador/greyhound in that regard so we know we're lucky to have that balance. One breed that to me has an amazingly scary bark are labradors, but most large dogs can at least sound the part. I would never break into a house that owned a rottweiler or an ACD - I reckon they're the 2 dogs most likely to want to teach you a lesson, no questions asked (but hey I don't break into a whole lot of houses anyway to be fair lol).

Gosh I hope by the time my dog gets old they can do something to extend his life. 26 years doesn't seem that long and 10 years just seems ridiculous. Beautiful dog though isn't he...

Heigl - Hi-ghel like gull but with an e (so not gel)

Dobermans are interesting, because they do come in blue but nobody likes it - I think because it just looks like a washed out black against their tan markings, and also because dilute in dobermans is heavily associated with poor coat. Here is a link to a good page about doberman colours for anyone interested: doberman colours Most popular would definitely be black and tan, but brown/red and tan is fairly popular these days too. The breeder of my dog never liked the red and tans, but now having seen my dog grow she thinks the next one she keeps will be a red and tan. We get a lot of compliments on his colours, so I have a feeling it's growing in popularity. That said, if I get a second I want a black and tan to have the set lol

Yeah but women don't like identify themselves through their breasts (or at least I don't lol). not sure if I'm reading this right but it kinda souonds like you're saying that Men's testes are a major part of their identity? Not for all men, but they talk about them a lot. Like if someone seems hesitant to do something hard, they tell him to grow a pair (of balls). If someone does something brave and confrontational, they say, wow they have balls of steel, or he's got balls etc. You get the idea. I have not heard anyone talk about breasts the same way - they aren't seen to affect personality. as you say not all men are like that... But I think the add does a good job at targeting those whose identity is closely tied to their balls (those who subscribe to hegemonic masculinity). You're right, I do think it's targeted at those sorts of men. Unfortunately, I also think they're the least likely to respond well to a woman telling them she thinks balls are ugly and so should be cut off. Yes we're talking about desexing, but we have desexing threads come up every week. The test will be whether any of those men decide to desex their dogs to make them more adorable for Katherine Heigl. I totally agree with Sandgrubber.

I know what you mean about the dobe part. My dog is not DA, but when people see us coming, it's not unusual for them to pick small dogs up and freeze. But once I had a guy in Sydney eastern suburbs with 3 pomeranians off-lead. They were actually biting my dog (his legs etc) so I started telling them off and shooing them away. The guy turns around - miles in the distance by this stage, and tells me not to worry, just let the dogs sort it out... Seems unfortunately I mostly meet people of one extreme or the other.

Yeah but women don't like identify themselves through their breasts (or at least I don't lol). not sure if I'm reading this right but it kinda souonds like you're saying that Men's testes are a major part of their identity? Not for all men, but they talk about them a lot. Like if someone seems hesitant to do something hard, they tell him to grow a pair (of balls). If someone does something brave and confrontational, they say, wow they have balls of steel, or he's got balls etc. You get the idea. I have not heard anyone talk about breasts the same way - they aren't seen to affect personality.

Yeah but women don't like identify themselves through their breasts (or at least I don't lol). I don't really notice balls on dogs, except for bull dogs (they seem to be larger relative to body size than other breeds - maybe it's just me). I had a bull dog owner come up to me once and tell me it was a pity I had desexed my dog because he would have liked a dog like him (like I would have agreed to let him use him... and worse, people never seem to understand that it's not the dog, it's them as owners that keep resulting in them having undesirable dogs). Of course my dog isn't desexed, and I pointed this out to him, so he replied, oh, dobermans have small balls.

That's really interesting. I always heard people say that about their dogs, but I haven't met many other dobermans, and of the handful I have met, only 1 was playful. The rest were either ball obsessed and couldn't see my dog, dog and sometimes human aggressive or super serious. Now when my dog sees dobermans he doesn't seem anymore interested in them than any other dog. He does seem to have a thing for shepherd females. German and now Belgian too...