Dobermann - Onyx

Breed: Dobermann

Breed Group: Working (UK), Working (USA)

Appearance: A large proud dog with a short, smooth, glossy coat. Originally bred as a guard dog. Intelligent, bold, loyal and obedient. Good with children if properly trained. Requires a considerable amount of exercise and little grooming. An approximate lifespan of around 12 to 14 years.

Head: A long flat skull with good depth of muzzle. Nose black in black dogs; dark brown in brown dogs, dark grey in blue dogs and light brown in fawn dogs.

Eyes: Reasonably deep set eyes, almond shaped and dark in colour.

Ears: Small, neat ears set high on the head.

Mouth: Strong jaws with a complete scissor bite.

Neck: Neck long and lean.

Forequarters: Straight, muscular forelegs with good round bone.

Body: A straight, short, firm back with deep, well sprung ribs and a well developed chest.

Hindquarters: Long, muscular hindquarters with well bent stifles.

Feet: Feet compact, and cat-like.

Tail: Customarily docked.

Gait movement: Elastic, free, balanced and vigorous paces, with strong driving power from behind.

Coat: Smooth, short and glossy.

Colour: Definite black, brown, blue or fawn only, with rust red markings.

Health checks: The specific health check recommendations for this breed are:-

Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM): Dilated Cardiomyopathy is a predisposed genetically disease of the heart muscle. The heart muscle is damaged, becomes weaker and begins to stretch and in size and is unable to contract to normal.

The essential abnormality is the heart muscle cell is unable to contract normally and the heart chambers dilate increasing heart size with the heart retaining more fluid but circulation slowing. The exact trigger for the failure of muscle contraction is unknown but is most likely related to presence of certain genes. Other factors are age, sex or specific breed lines probably influence the onset, development and severity. The way to identify this disease is echocardiogram.

The two clinical features of "Cardio" are reduced heart muscle contraction which can lead to heart failure and electrical instability of the heart (arrythmia) i.e. rhythm too fast, slow or erratic. If this is severe, fainting can occur or sudden death.

Other signs are tiring, exercise intolerance, difficulty breathing, fainting. This disease can develop at almost any age from about 6 months to past 10 years. It is usually treated by drug therapy with can slow the progression of heart muscle disease also medication can be used to control irregular heart rhythms.

Autoimmune Hemolytic Anaemia [AIHA]: In hemolytic anaemia, a loss of red blood cells [rbcs] occurs due to destruction of the red blood cells. The destruction occurs due to antibodies which stick to the rbcs and cause the body to react, leading to destruction of the cell. This can be the direct result of a drug, toxin, blood parasite, virus or other primary cause - or it can be an unexplained immune mediated reaction. It can occur inside the blood stream [intravascular hemolysis] or outside the bloodstream [extra vascular hemolysis]. In most cases in dogs, hemolysis occurs outside the blood stream in the spleen, liver and bone marrow. The destruction of red blood cells often leaves recognisable cellular debris in the blood stream. In particular, a form of damaged rbc known as a spherocyte occurs. Finding spherocytes on a blood smear almost guarantees that some form of hemolytic anaemia is occurring. However, it does not really give a clue as to whether the IMHA is due to a primary cause, or if it is occurring for no apparent reason. Since this disorder does not stop the production of red blood cells, there are usually immature red blood cells in the bloodstream which can be detected on the blood smears as well [a regenerative anaemia].

Von Willebrands Disease (vWD): von Willebrand's Disease of vWD is an inherited bleeding disorder that affects many breeds including Dobermanns. Dogs affected with vWD have a reduced ability to produce on von Willebrand's Factor, a substance needed to achieve blood clotting. While the incidence of the disease is high, the mortality rate is rather low. Bleeding tendencies lessen with age. Recently developed tests allow the determination of whether or not the disorder is present

Persistent Hyper plastic Primary Vitreous (PHPV): The abnormality arises somewhere around the 4th to 5th week post conception, i.e. at the junction of the embryo developing into a foetus. The fault is linked with a developmental anomaly of the blood vessel coat of the lens which is instrumental in the formation of the lens itself and the vitreous body. The vitreous body forms progressively with the passing of time as a result of this active blood supply, which must have done its job at birth. If the blood vessels are not properly disposed of the remnants are referred to as persistent primary vitreous or as hyaloid remnants. Hyaloid refers to the principal blood vessels that travel between the optic disk and the rear face of the lens. There is another web like vascular coat coming from the iris to feed and form the front part of the lens. This too may persist as a pupillary membrane which can appear as a few dots on the front capsule of the lens to more overt strands of tissue from the face of the iris to another part of the iris or even to the front capsule of the lens. This last set of changes is uncommon in the Dobermann but is still seen from time to time. There is no necessary link between this vascular remnants and PHPV.

The formation of PHPV in the Dobermann Breed is substantially variable. It is usually bilateral (that is affecting both eyes) and can vary from a small aggregation of deposits on the rear face of the lens, specifically the lens capsule to whole sheets of residual tissue, sometimes containing blood vessels which are patent.

Although there has been a classification given for PHPV on a scale of one to six, with one being the least affected and six being the most affected, there seems little point in pursuing these graduations since there is no evidence that grade one is less heritable than grade six, although it may give a prognosis about sight and the future wellbeing of the eye.

There is some degree of argument as to whether the condition is substantially due to a primary metabolic disorder of lens fibres subsequently leading to the formation of an abnormal posterior lens capsule or whether it is the fault of the vascular coat giving rise secondarily to the lens changes.

Whatever the theory any deposit on the posterior capsule of the lens in the breed should be taken as being highly suspicious if not diagnostic of PHPV. There are minor remnants seen in all breeds from time to time related to a vestige of the hyaloid vessel system attached to the posterior lens capsule often referred to as Mittendorf’s dart. This can be recognised, such that it is not confused with PHPV. It is rare to see any non-pathologic form of aggregation on the posterior capsule otherwise.

Clearly minor aggregations are unlikely to give rise to sight abnormalities, but since the majority of the more prominent remnants occupy the visual axis sight abnormalities may be slight to extreme with blindness either at the time or later, due to intraocular haemorrhage arising for those with the worst affliction.

The inheritance of PHPV in the Dobermann is by an autosomal irregular dominant with variable expression. This is the expected inheritance type due to observation of the disease pattern in affected animals in litters and their antecedents. A dominant genetic disorder is passed on to every member of an animal’s progeny, but due to the irregularity and the variable expression factors some members of the litter may not show the fault whilst others are positive for it or whole litters can be free of the sign and yet carry the dominant gene.

Wobblers, Cervical Spondolopathy (CS), "Wobblers syndrome" is the compression on the spinal cord between the 5th, 6th, and 7th cervical vertebrae located in the neck. It usually develops gradually and is seen in the canine between 7 and 8 years of age.

Early visual signs that the dog may have Wobblers is the dragging of the hind feet causing abnormal wear to the dog's toenails. Wobbling is exactly the way the dog will appear. The hind legs will often be awkward and sway, making the animal walk like he is drunk. The disease will progress from this point eventually affecting all four limbs.

Occasionally in more serious cases there is a rapid decline in the dog's condition. This is associated with extreme pain, arching of the neck and the dog is unable to raise his head higher than shoulder level. All four legs are extremely rigid and walking is impossible.

Remember not all dobermanns are affected by "Wobblers Syndrome" and the extreme cases are rare.

Hypothryroidism: A hormonal disorder usually occurring in dogs that are around 2-5 years old. Clinical signs are lethargy, hair loss, bacterial skin infections, excessive skin pigmentation, coarseness of the hair, and obesity. Dogs affected will be lethargic and will tend to feel the cold more. This conidtion can be diagnosed by means of a simple blood test.

Hip Dysplasia: Hip dysplasia means, literally, an abnormality in the development of the hip joint, and it is characterized by a shallow acetabulum [the 'cup' of the hip joint], together with changes in the shape of the femoral head [the 'ball' of the hip joint]. These changes may occur due to excessive laxity in the hip joint. Hip dysplasia can exist with or without clinical signs. When dogs exhibit clinical signs of this problem they are usually lame on one or both rear limbs.

Severe arthritis can develop as a result of the malformation of the hip joint, and this results in pain as the disease progresses. Many young dogs exhibit pain during or shortly after the growth period, often before arthritic changes appear to be present. It is not unusual for this pain to appear to disappear for several years and then to return when arthritic changes become obvious.

Height: from 67 to 69cm (Dogs) 63 to 65cm (Bitches)

Here's Onyx back in the summer.


and here's all the gand together: