DanBar Ranch
BUYER BEWARE - DOBERMAN HEALTH WARNING!
I am VERY concerned over three things
happening in the Doberman world right now.
PLEASE READ!
First, beware of breeders who list their dogs as "Free" of Dilated Cardio Myopathy; this is misleading. At this time there is no way to know if a dog is "free" of the chance of developing the breed. It's that simple.
NEWS FLASH! Three Universities in Europe have proven that the DNA tests called "DCM 1 and DCM 2" are not predictive for European bred Dobermans! THIS IS IMPORTANT! Ethical breeders of European bred Dobermans no longer use DCM 1 and 2 test. Instead they are using new tests which have proven very predictive (again, for European bred Dobermans, not American bred Dobermans). These tests are called DCM 3 and DCM 4. More info HERE.
Second, are those breeders who "poo-poo" current research on Dilated Cardio Myopathy (DCM) genetics simply because we don't have ALL the answers yet. The truth is, there is NO TEST which can assure you a dog is "DCM FREE" meaning it will never develop the disease at some point in its life. However, research is ongoing, and there ARE tests which can indicate a high probability of not developing the disease. Because a few dogs who test "clear" have developed a form of DCM (there are multiple forms) these breeders choose to ignore the tests all together, as "meaningless" - they are the best we have right now and should be utilized.
Third, and even MORE important to YOU and the BREED...
PLEASE READ!
There are several "big name" (big puppy volume) kennels in Europe and Russia that specialize in show-type Dobermans which appear to have a very high incidence of DCM, and are bred down from dogs KNOWN to produce DCM. These kennels produce a LOT of dogs and with their flashy ads and websites they suck a lot of novices into buying their dogs as "breeding quality" despite the shocking lack of health testing done on the breeding stock.
These dogs are flooding into America, and YOU as a puppy buyer need to do your research!
To me, life is NOT a "popularity contest"; I speak truth and if that gets me trashed by those I call out - I have no problem with that. I'm proud to say "judge me by the people who don't like me!" As you can imagine, my attempts to educate the public on this and other issues has not made me the most popular person among sketchy breeders, and that's just fine. My loyalty is to the BREED, not those who harm it for money.
I am going to give you two bits of advice now, to help you do your research and your due diligence before you buy or breed your Doberman. First, use this very handy website, out of Russia, which attempts to list cause of death and age on Dobermans. It can be MOST helpful to check up on a specific dog or line of dogs to see how much reported DCM is in the background. Mind you - far too many people attempt to hide the fact one of their dogs died of DCM, so the records are, of course, incomplete, but it is a great starting point! Remember, a dog does not have to die of DCM to end up passing it on to his offspring.
Just add the name of an European Doberman you are researching. https://doberbase.ru/dog/
The HEREDITY tab is most useful.
Along with this I am going to list a few "big name" dogs that are notorious for passing DCM to their offspring. They are listed in no particular order. In my opinion, animals with these Dobermans either close up or multiple times in their pedigree should BE AVOIDED!
Pride of Russia Sidor * Tigr iz Slavnoi Stai * Sant Kreal Zeus * Akuna Matata de Grande Vinko * Gino Gomez del Citone
Ebo v.d. Groote Maat * Maxim Di Altobello * Oscar Z Padoku * Fedor del Nasi * Oksamit de Grande Vinko
ANY KENNEL can and probably will at some point produce Dobermans with DCM! But ethical breeders avoid using dogs which are found to pass DCM on - no matter how many dog shows they won. I put this list here not to imply anything other than it would be a VERY good idea to be extra vigilant when researching a dog or pup from these kennels or from puppies bred down from dogs FROM THESE KENNELS. In my opinion, it would be foolhardy to purchase a pup or dog from these kennels or from American kennels using dogs with these lines, without seeing DNA results for DCM 3 and 4 and more importantly Echocardiogram and HOLTER results on BOTH parents. Of course, the other basic health testing still applies, hips, eyes, DM, vWD, etc.
Pride of Russia * Sant Kreal * Di Altobello * Betelges
THANK YOU for taking the time to read this. If we are to save the Doberman it is more and more apparent that its breeders and owners will be on their own; no club has stepped forward in a meaningful way. Only educated puppy buyers who support reputable breeders will make a healthy, happy future for the breed.
