Physical Differences
Let’s break down the physical differences of these two dogs a little bit further. Because they do look different if you only see one every now and then though you may think that they’re the same dog. But you see him side by side they do look different.
“so let me throw up a picture of both dogs the American Doberman and the European Doberman.”
American Doberman
- American Dobermans head is a little bit smaller.
- The muzzle is similar but little bit slimmer than the European
- Americans neck kind of slopes up comes up as at a sharper angle from the body and has a little bit of an arch in it.
- The chest size, the American Doberman is going to have a little bit smaller.
- Tends to have lighter brown colored markings.
- The body structure in general, there is a bit of a difference as well the American is going to have a little bit longer body. Overall it’s going to have leaner muscle mass and a little bit more definition typically.
European Doberman
- A little bit thinner head .
- The muzzle is broader a little bit ,thicker bone structure and blocker in appearance.
- The Europeans neck comes out as more of a slow rise from the body, It’s a thick shorter neck.
- The big broad chest of the European.
- Darker rust-colored markings.
- Whereas the Europeans going to be a larger body but usually a little bit shorter more compact and not as long. On average the European Doberman is going to be about 5 to 10 pounds heavier and one inch taller than the American variety.
The easiest and quickest way to tell the difference between these two dogs in person is to just look at the neck. The neck on the American will come up much sharper and we’ll have that slope in it, it’ll be a thinner neck. whereas the neck on the European will be thick neck that just kind of Rises gradually from the body.
Temperamental differences
You have American and European dogs with very different temperaments in a lot of cases so what are these temperamental differences let’s compare them side-by-side.
American Doberman
- American Doberman is an alert, loyal, loving and protective dog.
- The Americans are less likely to be physically protective
- Slightly more in tune with human emotions and sensitive to human’s emotions
- They love to be on beds and sofas and they readily share their personal space they have no problem being crammed into a small place with their owners.
- The American Doberman in general is usually a little bit calmer with slightly fewer exercise requirements
- The American really excels as a family dog.
- American excel more as working dogs, search-and-rescue police, Trent dogs, military dogs that kind of thing American dogs respond very well to positive reinforcement and they’re generally more sensitive to physical correction than the Europeans.
- When a family is threatened the American Doberman may react with barking and possibly some physical intervention and they may occasionally retreat.
European Doberman
- European Doberman as alert, loyal loving, assertive and protective.
- The European Doberman is certainly more likely to be physically protective of their families.
- Isn’t as much they still consider them in tune with their owner’s emotions just not as much as the Americans.
- They are a little bit more of a space hog they sometimes like a little bit of space. They still love cuddling up on beds and sofas but they may not allow you so close to them and crowding them
- European definitely has a high stamina they have lots of Drive and certainly high exercise requirements as well
- The strong point of the European is as a working dog, they can still be great family Guardians and family pets.
- The Europeans when you’re training them you really need to have more strong direction.
- Whereas the European Doberman if their families threatened they’ll react with barking and they may very well act with physical intervention and they very rarely retreat from a situation like that.
Differences in Breeding Regulations
In America it’s more of a free market open system, where anyone is able to breed these dog’s kind of at will. The breeding is more based on again kind of free markets so someone who has a dog with championship lines in the in the family history will do a lot better than a dog that doesn’t and will command higher prices for puppies.
so in general if the dog has competed in a dog show of what they call breed conformation show and that’s placed extremely well then that dog will be bred more than a Doberman.
In America these shows they’ve really just based on looks of the dog. There’s a little bit of temperament taken into account with who wins these competitions but most of us, how the dog looks that’s why the look of the American Doberman has kind of been refined over the years and over the generations.
In Europe there’s a lot more regulation surrounding the breeding of these dogs. You aren’t just free to do it as you want, you need to permit to breed Dobermans in Europe and in order to get that permit, you need to pass ZTP testing. And in order to get ZTP certified, your dog needs to pass a series of tests.
That includes:
- A temperament tests.
- Their protection ability.
- Overall nervous system.
- How they react in chaotic environments
In general, they test the whole overall temperament of the dog and if the dog is deemed stable enough and meets the requirements then you’ll get a permit to breed the dog. That’s a far cry from what it is in America or pretty much anyone can breed the dog.
IPO Training
There’s other factors such as what’s called IPO training, IPO training is a protection dog training in Europe that is done by a lot of breeders. If your dog has a title in IPO training and it’s done well in the past you can command higher prices for your puppies.
So that also tends to drive, how these dogs are picked or which dogs are picked to breed. In general, European dogs have split as far as the temperament has gone they’ve split
All right the big question of the day:
Which one of these two dogs should you get?
Let me put your mind at ease because I don’t think you can make a wrong decision both of these dogs are wonderful dogs and it matters way more how you socialize them? and how you train them? then which variety of Doberman they are?
But if I had a stereotype a little bit. Let me tell you which these two dogs you should get in which situations:
Why American Doberman?
- American Doberman pinscher might be right for you. If you want a dog who loves a tight family environment and will stick close by your side.
- If you are an inexperienced dog owner because the Americans are a little bit easier to Train. They love the soft training approach and they’re a little less headstrong.
- If you value a dog that can read human emotion really well and is very in tuned with humans that an American might be great for you.
- If you love the beauty and the more elegant look then the American Doberman Pinscher that might be a reason.
- If you want to compete in a KC or breed conformation shows, then you might want to get an American Doberman pinscher.
Why European Doberman?
- On the other hand, if you might want to get a European Doberman, if you have an active family who’s always going on new outings and new places and new environments and you want a dog that is going to be very confident in all these new environments then a European dog might be great for you.
- if you are an experienced dog handler the European Doberman might be great because you’ll fit really well if their learning style. They love clear direct firm directions and guidance and they do great with that. But they’re a little bit harder to train and the Americans but experienced dog handler usually does great.
- If you want the best possible guard dog European Doberman will be a good choice. They’re stronger, they’re bigger, they tend to be more confident and take physical action if need.
- Another great reason to go to European is if you like the overall look they’re larger bigger, they’re more muscular.
- some people just love that snout you know like I said in the heads a little bit wider not so pointy, that might be another reason to get a European.
- Finally, if you want to compete any kind of working dog event, some agility event, some personal protection events or maybe you want to join the search and rescue organization and get your dog trained for that then I would recommend a European Doberman.
