Eastern European Shepherd

[OSoSwift]

As a horse owner large prey driven dogs behind rural fencing - especially when left to their own devices - worries me greatly. Horses can do a couple of things. Attack and injure or kill the dogs, get severe injuries from dogs tearing out chunks of muscle or severing tendons and major blood vessels, injuring themselves due to trying to flee and tangling themselves in fences etc, or dying due to snapped necks or being PTS due to broken limbs.

Yes I have actually seen all of the above happen.

You will need a much more secure area to contain a dog of the breeds you are looking at. There was a thread on here a little while back where an awesome large well fenced dog area.

Edited July 18, 2016 by OSoSwift

[Jack_E]

If you tell me a bit more about yoru lifestyle, family and what do you plan to do with the dog I will be able to tell you if a dobermann is suitable for you.

Kids, size of yard, height of fencing, typical day for you and the dog, Inside or out or both? Sports? Competitions?

What do you know about dog training.

He will be living on a three acre property, however predominantly within the acre and a bit that is fenced. The fenced are pretty typical farm fences, only about 1.2 metres high. There will be someone home pretty much all day, and in terms of young kids there is a 5 yo and a 3 yo that although young have quite a lot of dog experience. In terms of dog training I have never ventured far away from simple commands, eg. Sit, lye down, on your mat, crawl, out and a few more. He would spend most of the day outside with our other dog, however would come inside to sit I front of the fire after dinner until we go to bed, and on a cold day he will spend most of the day inside in front of the fire. In terms of walks/training we will strive to give him the amount he needs. As our current dog is an older bulldog, he only needs a walk every now and then, however he needs lots of attention, so that's what he gets. I am still unsure as to what dog sport I like the sound of the most, but I would most likely just be doing it for a bit of fun for me and the dog, rather than in a competitive circle. Thanks for the help. It'll definitely be useful in the process of deciding on a dog breed

Based on what you have written I wouldn't recommend a dobermann to you. Mainly due to the fencing issue.

Whilst it might be ok when you are home, where would the dog be when you are not at home?

As a breeder (and I breed dogs with a lot of drive) I also wouldn't recommend a dobe with small kids. Its not that they are agresive, but they are very active and need an outlet (training) Play often ends up in kids tears as the dog steals their toys, knocks them to the ground running by etc. Most people cant cope with couple of small kids and adolescent dobermann.

If you were to get a dobe, you would need to build some fencing and perhaps get an adult (opposite sex to your bulldog) that has got a bit of training done already.

Happy to expand if you wish.

Thank you for that. Even though it isn't the outcome I'd neccesarily want to hear I'd rather hear the truth than get the wrong dog breed for my situation.

[Jack_E]

Thank you all for the information regarding the horses. I never really considered horses as a problem as I intended to socialise my dog at a young age with a friends horses to get him used to them, however after hearing about all the terrible things that have happened to all of your dogs/horses we may need to think about getting some better fencing

[The Spotted Devil]

Just want to say well done for taking all the advice on board :) Best of luck finding the right dog for your family!