A friend of mine just sent me an email with a link to a well known site advertising 'rare' dobe pups from a blue dam and a fawn sire. It makes my blood boil that people breed from 2 recessive genes. And i just wanted to have a rant about it! I don't know how people have the audacity to breed from recessive lines and then charge more money for the 'rarity' factor. Arghhhhhh.

What do other people think am i being unnecessarily harsh?

No Hilly you are not being harsh. Unfortunately some of the uninformed public will pay highly for this "rarity colour factor". I've seen it happen in two breeds I have an interest in.

Even more unfortunate is when more informed breeders jump on the bandwagon as unusual colours can be worth more money. This will not happen with the Dobermanns as there are possible health consequences due to breeding these dilute colours, which are not favoured in the showring anyway.

> Even more unfortunate is when more informed breeders jump on the bandwagon as unusual colours can be worth more money. This will not happen with the Dobermanns as there are possible health consequences due to breeding these dilute colours, which are not favoured in the showring anyway.

I'm not quite sure why you tthink it won't happen in Dobes? The trouble is Joe Public won't be worried about showing, know little about health consequences and will happily part with a great deal of money for a "rare" Dobermann. The same can be said with all the "designer" breeds.

I'm not quite sure why you tthink it won't happen in Dobes? The trouble is Joe Public won't be worried about showing, know little about health consequences and will happily part with a great deal of money for a "rare" Dobermann. The same can be said with all the "designer" breeds.

What I have said is that the more informed, serious Dobermann breeders never have and never will follow this trend. They are firmly against this type of breeding and that decision has been fully in the public domain for many years. This problem of breeding for dilute colours has existed for a number of years without any responsible Dobermann breeders joining the trend. They know the consequences are too serious.

I have a white boxer and chose him as he seemed the best temperament to suit my needs, not because of colour (although I'll admit I was quite attracted to it).  I've lost count of the amount of people that come up to me and say 'oooo you should breed from him, you'd make loads of money' and 'wow they're really rare', along with 'he MUST be deaf as he's white'.  I do stop and reply to these people and inform them why I would not breed from him etc etc but it seems that plenty of people do feel white boxers are rare and so could be fooled into paying a premium for them.

So in answer to your question, no I don't feel you are being harsh at all.

i was told the health issues with pale odd coloured dobies can be quite severe :(

Iv just sat and googled the diff colours of dobes and apparently there is a white variation/ mutation, striking and very odd to look at.

>i was told the health issues with pale odd coloured dobies can be quite severe

With the albinos it can be - temperament issues aside, they are prone to blisters etc from sun damage as they are so sensitive to sunlight.  Eye problems too for the same reason.  And of course they are so inbred - all albinos being descended from one bitch, mated to her offspring - that other physiological problems are bound to result.

The dilutes tend towards skin and coat problems, otherwise they are generally as prone to the typical dobe problems as the reds and blacks.

But combine two dilutes and the skin and coat problems are that much worse - my boy is blue/fawn bred, he has nearly no decent coat left (it was sparse at 7 weeks when I got him and he started losing it at around a year old, he now has very, very little 'proper' coat left, and only a vague covering of fluffy undercoat - which the 'normal' colours don't have), and constantly has bad pimples on his back.  He also suffers a lot with ingrown hairs - the alopecia (colour dilute alopecia) causes the hairs to grow bent so they often grow straight back in, the skin grows over them and they get stuck.

The albinos are striking - if they have half-decent conformation (and I've seen some that don't even have the proper dobe shape, never mind the colour, they are so badly bred), they can be beautiful - but that doesn't make it justifiable to breed them.  Don't get me wrong - if one popped up in rescue I would consider it, any dobe in need I would consider - but I wouldn't buy.

Same with the fawns and blues - I have kept an eye open since I got Remy 7 years ago and I have yet to find a responsible breeder that has the odd fawn pop up in a litter (which is the only way a responsible breeder is likely to get one), they are all breeding for the novelty and cash value.  :-(  Again I would rescue in a heartbeat - I have a HUGE soft spot for fawns because of Remy - but I couldn't support them being bred.

This subject has been fully discussed on this site over six years ago. Read Kerioak's post of 02/02/04 which covers the whole situation regarding the white coloured Dobermann    http://www.champdogsforum.co.uk/board/topic/42728.html

I think white / albinos are very striking, but although if I was in rescue I would gladly take them on, I would neither seek one out specifically or ever try to breed one, purely because of all the attendant health problems. My friend has a white dappled Boxer who is a lovely looking boy without any health problems that I know of, but of course that's just lucky!