JUDGING THE DOBERMAN
by JEFFREY LYNN BRUCKER
I n order to judge the Doberman, you must first know what you are look- ing for. You must have a mental picture of the ideal. You need to make yourself very knowledge- able about the standard and the history of the breed. You also need to know what Dobermans were bred for (compan- ion and guard). Know- ing the reasons for the Doberman will help you decide which parts of the
standard are most important. All show dogs have good parts and faults. When you make your decision make sure it is based on the standard, not only on which dog is showing best. After all, you as the judge, are basically endors- ing dogs for breeding stock. In 58 years of breeding and show- ing dogs, I have seen them go through many changes. Too big, too long, miss- ing teeth, and not enough bone (they should be heavy boned). It seems as if as soon as we correct one problem, we have to address another. The only way to monitor the current problems in the breed is for the judges to enforce the standard.
“KNOWING THE REASONS FOR THE DOBERMAN WILL HELP YOU DECIDE WHICH PARTS OF THE STANDARD ARE MOST IMPORTANT.”
S HOW S IGHT M AGAZINE , S EPTEMBER 2018 • 361
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