Dilute Color Alopecia
What is "dilute" color in a Doberman mean? Color-dilute individuals carry a recessive color gene (dd) which turns black/rust into blue/rust and red/rust into fawn/rust. Dilute individuals have flesh-colored lips, noses, and eyelids. One of the founding dogs used in the development of the Doberman was a grey bitch owned by Herr Louis Dobermann. For this reason dilute colored dogs have always been a part of the breed. However, the dilute colors have never found favor with serious breeders due to weaknesses inherent to the mutation.
The FCI is the international registering body for dogs. The FCI allows the country of origin of each breed to write the standard. Each country has its own kennel club, however in most countries these clubs use the FCI standard for each breed. America is one of the very few countries which ignores the FCI standards and has its own standard for the breed. This is one reason there are several differences between Dobermans of European and American bloodlines.
Germany (and therefore the FCI) has never recognized the fawn/rust color and stopped accepting blue/rust in 1994. This was due to inherited issues which cause the dogs severe health issues their entire lives. The most obvious issue is loss of hair and infected hair follucles. This is caused by the granules of material which provide the color of the coat (located in the hair shaft) is evenly spread through the hair shaft. In dilute dogs it is found in clumps; the clumping makes the hair shaft fragile at that point and prone to breaking. When this happens below the skin line in the follicle itself it can “kill” the follicle so no new hair is produced. In my experience it also causes infection within the follicle causing the red pustules.
As well dilute animals are known for having weakened immune systems. For this reason no ethical breeder tries to produce blue or fawn Dobermans intentionally. Sadly, when blue/rust puppies are born, the kindest thing is humane euthanasia to avoid causing them a lifetime of health issues and discomfort.
What is "dilute" color in a Doberman mean? Color-dilute individuals carry a recessive color gene (dd) which turns black/rust into blue/rust and red/rust into fawn/rust. Dilute individuals have flesh-colored lips, noses, and eyelids. One of the founding dogs used in the development of the Doberman was a grey bitch owned by Herr Louis Dobermann. For this reason dilute colored dogs have always been a part of the breed. However, the dilute colors have never found favor with serious breeders due to weaknesses inherent to the mutation.
The FCI is the international registering body for dogs. The FCI allows the country of origin of each breed to write the standard. Each country has its own kennel club, however in most countries these clubs use the FCI standard for each breed. America is one of the very few countries which ignores the FCI standards and has its own standard for the breed. This is one reason there are several differences between Dobermans of European and American bloodlines.
Germany (and therefore the FCI) has never recognized the fawn/rust color and stopped accepting blue/rust in 1994. This was due to inherited issues which cause the dogs severe health issues their entire lives. The most obvious issue is loss of hair and infected hair follucles. This is caused by the granules of material which provide the color of the coat (located in the hair shaft) is evenly spread through the hair shaft. In dilute dogs it is found in clumps; the clumping makes the hair shaft fragile at that point and prone to breaking. When this happens below the skin line in the follicle itself it can “kill” the follicle so no new hair is produced. In my experience it also causes infection within the follicle causing the red pustules.
As well dilute animals are known for having weakened immune systems. For this reason no ethical breeder tries to produce blue or fawn Dobermans intentionally. Sadly, when blue/rust puppies are born, the kindest thing is humane euthanasia to avoid causing them a lifetime of health issues and discomfort.
Whites, Melanistic & Other Bad Ideas
Sadly, there are people out there who produce puppies for no other reason that to sell them for as much money as they can get. They have zero interest in bettering a breed, improving the health of a breed or in anyway contributing to the ethical stewardship of the breed. Without doubt one of the most blatant "red flags" that a person is one of the above type puppy producers is when they offer "rare" variations of the breed, outside the recognized standard.
The most classic examples of these unethical breeders are those offering "giant" sized individuals and "rare colors".
Since its inception Doberman litters could include black, red, blue and fawn (all with rust markings) puppies. Due to health issues with the dilute colors (blue and fawn) Germany has never recognize or allow registration of fawn dogs and in 1994 removed the blue color from the standard.
In the United States, in 1976 a white puppy, later determined to be a form of albino though not the classical pink-eyed animal associated with this term was born in a backyard bred litter of Dobermans. This was Padula’s Queen Sheba, who, when bred back to her son, produced more white puppies.
Unfortunately the person who owned Sheba and her offspring felt he had found a real marketing angle and began to breed Sheba and her pups together and selling the resulting pups for big bucks. Despite valiant efforts by several concerned Doberman owners to control the registration of these dogs, the AKC and DPCA (Doberman Pinscher Club of America) higher-ups refused to do anything about it.
Even more serious than the significant health issues these dogs suffered from was the fact that very poor temperament was being inbred into not only the white dogs but all their black/rust sisters and brothers. Wildly unpredictable aggression toward their owners became a real issue.
All white Dobermans today descend from Sheba and her son, and all suffer from photophobia - photosensitivity (abnormal intolerance to light), skin lesions and tumors (skin cancer); as well as temperament issues. It was not until 1998 that concerned Doberman lovers were able to convince the AKC (who refused to block registration of these problematic animals) to start a program of noting and tracking dogs descended from Sheba. All animals descended from Sheba now have a Z added to their registration number, allowing ethical breeders to recognize and eliminate Sheba descendants from their lines.
Another "fad color" are so called "melanistic" dogs. Melanism does not mean a dog is pure black, it simply means the dog has an abnormal increase in black pigment. There are two types of "black Dobermans"; one is the melanistic dog who is purebred but its genetics muddy the tan markings to the point they can very difficult to see except in strong sunlight. The other type of "black Doberman" are true black dogs and they are the result of crossbreeding with other breeds. In the 1970s it was a common practice to breed Dobermans to black great Danes, producing mixes called "Dober-danes". Some of these mixes were registered as purebred Dobermans and to this day there are still dogs which carry these genetics. Today other breeds are also mixed in with Dobermans, such as cane corso and American pit bull, producing black dogs in some cases.
The merle color (see picture) has become a real fad lately! Many breeds which have never been, nor can be, merle in their purebred state are now suddenly popping up with this color. There is only one way this is done and that is by crossing a Doberman with a breed which does come in merle. In the case of the Doberman a relative, the French Beauceron can be used, or merle great Danes. Merle is a particularily poor thing to breed into any breed as it comes with its own serious health issues. These include hearing impairment – ranging from light deficits to complete deafness; vision impairment – up to complete blindness, and microphthalmia: a rare condition causing very small eyeballs that sometimes have to be removed.
Absolutely NO ethical breeder produces white, melanistic or mixed-breed merle Dobermans.
The most classic examples of these unethical breeders are those offering "giant" sized individuals and "rare colors".
Since its inception Doberman litters could include black, red, blue and fawn (all with rust markings) puppies. Due to health issues with the dilute colors (blue and fawn) Germany has never recognize or allow registration of fawn dogs and in 1994 removed the blue color from the standard.
In the United States, in 1976 a white puppy, later determined to be a form of albino though not the classical pink-eyed animal associated with this term was born in a backyard bred litter of Dobermans. This was Padula’s Queen Sheba, who, when bred back to her son, produced more white puppies.
Unfortunately the person who owned Sheba and her offspring felt he had found a real marketing angle and began to breed Sheba and her pups together and selling the resulting pups for big bucks. Despite valiant efforts by several concerned Doberman owners to control the registration of these dogs, the AKC and DPCA (Doberman Pinscher Club of America) higher-ups refused to do anything about it.
Even more serious than the significant health issues these dogs suffered from was the fact that very poor temperament was being inbred into not only the white dogs but all their black/rust sisters and brothers. Wildly unpredictable aggression toward their owners became a real issue.
All white Dobermans today descend from Sheba and her son, and all suffer from photophobia - photosensitivity (abnormal intolerance to light), skin lesions and tumors (skin cancer); as well as temperament issues. It was not until 1998 that concerned Doberman lovers were able to convince the AKC (who refused to block registration of these problematic animals) to start a program of noting and tracking dogs descended from Sheba. All animals descended from Sheba now have a Z added to their registration number, allowing ethical breeders to recognize and eliminate Sheba descendants from their lines.
Another "fad color" are so called "melanistic" dogs. Melanism does not mean a dog is pure black, it simply means the dog has an abnormal increase in black pigment. There are two types of "black Dobermans"; one is the melanistic dog who is purebred but its genetics muddy the tan markings to the point they can very difficult to see except in strong sunlight. The other type of "black Doberman" are true black dogs and they are the result of crossbreeding with other breeds. In the 1970s it was a common practice to breed Dobermans to black great Danes, producing mixes called "Dober-danes". Some of these mixes were registered as purebred Dobermans and to this day there are still dogs which carry these genetics. Today other breeds are also mixed in with Dobermans, such as cane corso and American pit bull, producing black dogs in some cases.
The merle color (see picture) has become a real fad lately! Many breeds which have never been, nor can be, merle in their purebred state are now suddenly popping up with this color. There is only one way this is done and that is by crossing a Doberman with a breed which does come in merle. In the case of the Doberman a relative, the French Beauceron can be used, or merle great Danes. Merle is a particularily poor thing to breed into any breed as it comes with its own serious health issues. These include hearing impairment – ranging from light deficits to complete deafness; vision impairment – up to complete blindness, and microphthalmia: a rare condition causing very small eyeballs that sometimes have to be removed.
Absolutely NO ethical breeder produces white, melanistic or mixed-breed merle Dobermans.
CLICK HERE to read a history of the white Dobermans and how the Doberman Pinscher Club of America and the American Kennel Club both fought concerned breeder's efforts to stop registration and breeding of these unsound dogs. The above dog shows the squinting behavior due to these dogs having severe photosensitivity. They cannot open their eyes fully in sunlight.
"White Dobermans" are not really white. They are various shades of very pale tan. This dog is a bit darker than most.