Q: Of course the question everyone is dying to know from someone with your knowledge of the subject is:
Who would win in a fight, Odin or Thor? Also what if Thor diddnt have Mjolnir?
A: In any way Odin would win, he is far too cunning and have the ability to change shapes, so who would Thor be fighting? He wouldn't know, perhaps his
wife, his children, and then there's the temper one has to consider. Thor has a problem controlling his temper, his rage, which will get the better of him.
Q: Seriously I have been hearing of you and your dogs for a couple of years now. Youve always been mentioned as a "working Kennel" Is this accurate?
A: If you have read our introduction on our web site, you'll know that we started out as many before us focusing on shows. Luckily, I have to add, we quickly changed our view on what the Dobermann breed is supposed to be able to accomplish, and the purpose behind the breed in general. Besides that, it is much more fun to work with your dog, than just attending shows - any dog can, in my opinion, do shows there's not that much to it, on the other hand, to be able to pass a trial is a quite another task, and does take a lot of work from both the handler and the dog. They have to be able to work together to make these accomplishments and the dogs have to have working abilities. To get back to your question, we are very pleased to hear that our kennel and our dogs, are known to be of working quality and we treasure that reputation highly.
Q: Why do you not compete in conformation shows? Also what Value do they have for the Dobermann as a breed?
A: There's a lot of reasons as to why we do not compete in shows just to mention a few, you have to have the interest in participating. The money and
not to forget a high quality conformation dog, not just a first prize dog, but far beyond that to be able to get anywhere. Aside from that, there's far too much politics going on in the show ring. As long as our breedings, our dogs and their offspring, are within the standard of the FCI, and can obtain a first prize at shows, we will settle for that, and concentrate our breeding program around the abilities
of the dogs. The value and purpose behind shows are important to the breed. The Dobermann has a standard which all breeders should comply by and the shows help the breed and the breeders to uphold this standard. Otherwise we might as well be breeding "mutts".
Q: Why would a good working dog trainer own a Dobermann? What benefits does a well bred working Dobermann have over other breeds strictly on the working side?
A: That should be obvious. A Dobermann in itself is a unique dog breed. The abilities within this breed are beyond any other working breed. Just think about all the different tasks the Dobermann has been used for up through time, and still are being used for?
The capacity this dog breed has to fulfil all the various demands we humans ask of it, the devotion this
dog breed has towards us humans is much higher than most other breeds used as working dogs. A Dobermann which has the perfect bond to its owner will go through hell and fire for its owner, protect and serve, without asking why. This kind of dog, and with
this kind of bond to its "family", can not just be handed over to anyone else. A lot of other working dog breeds just do not have this kind of mentality, yet another trait which makes the Dobermann the
working dog no 1. Then of course there are all the practical issues, especialy the coat. The Dobermann is easy to keep clean, very little grooming.
Q: Describe your perfect working Dobermann
A: My perfect working dog has to contain: Structure within the standard of the FCI, good health, have longevity within its lines, correct nerves, excellent mentality and character. Be independent but have a social behaviour, be confident, have prey/hunting drives, able to be worked in defence, and finally. Be a happy dog that loves to work with the ability to live and function in a normal family environment.
Q: Many American Dobermann people heavily criticize all European Dobermanns from temperment to structure. Specifically on structure they say the dogs are unsound, prone to injury, and not built for a lifetime of working. What are your thoughts on this?
A: I know this is a major issue, and a discussion which have been going on for so many years. I also know that no matter how much this issue is being discussed, I for one will never be able to agree totally with these peoples point of view. I can merely
answer this question with yet another question, or actually several questions..... If the European Dobermann are that poorly built in structure, why is it that these dogs don't suffer the kinds of injury they are supposed to? How come the European bred dogs really are used as working dogs? Not only sport but also service dogs within the police and military, and functioning soundly? And the so-called American bred Dobermann doesn't? I think that should answer your questions in full.
Q: I have noticed that there are a few Kennels here in the U.S. that describe themselves as working Kennels and have used your dogs for their foundation. What have the results been?
A: The answers to your questions, are based on the responses we have received....It seems that the health in general, the temperament/nerves and character, along with the working abilities, have been increased. Whith these improvements and the correct combinations there should be a foundation for future good results. Just hope there will be equally good handlers/trainers/homes for these dogs.
Q: There has been a surge in interest here in the U.S. for true working Dobermanns. So far a great one is still hard to find, so there is still a lot of importing going on here. Is it likely that the U.S. will be able to produce Dobermanns of such high working quality that we begin exporting to Europe?
A: Rome was not built over night, and to breed proper good working quality dogs does take time. Along with creating a good reputation in connection with such dogs, I personally feel that there are breeders today in the USA and Canada who are doing their very best, and strive to accomplish these goals. If they continue to stay on this path, are able to ignore the pressure from breeders with a different point of view, the future of the working Dobermann could be bright and prosperous in the USA and Canada. Also the general mentallity amoungst the people of the USA land of the free, and how high the freedom of the individual is cherished, will have the outmost
importance to the future of the breed. As to whether breeders in the USA and Canada will start to export Dobermann's to other countries, and amoungst these countries within Europe. I know that some breeders already are, so that is likely to continue and even perhaps grow.
Q: What are Dobermann breeders doing wrong when it comes to producing puppies that can compete and win against the Shepherd breeds? Or are they doing a good job and its just prejudicial judging, or the Dogs not going to the top working trainers? Is Erick V Strundertal the first of many Dobermanns who are going to be highly competitive in all breed working trials?
A: The breed has had a less than good reputation within the working community for several years, not only in USA but all over the world. We have felt it here in Denmark as well. The breed has lost a lot of credibility due to various reasons. The most common I've heard about have been due to lack of the right nerves, the temperament and the character, which have affected the dogs abilities to work, their hardness, and courage. Loosing that kind of credibility, takes several years to rebuild. As to whether people in general are prejudical in their judgement of the breed as of today, I can only say, yes they are. The same goes for finding good working trainers that will take on a good working prospect Dobermann. It seems that along with loosing credibility, the breed also suffers a lack of sufficiently good handlers, which will take their time to work with the Dobermann, and at the same time have the necessesary experience for doing so. There have been dogs before Erik v. Strundertal, and there will be dogs after him, that will be able to accomplish these achievements. As I've stated before, the problem is within the credibility towards the breed in general and finding the right people who will take on such a task today and in the future.
Q: Is the Dobermann breed progressing as far as working ability goes? I hear all these stories
about Bingo V Ellendonk and how he was the worlds best working Dobermann. I see people line breed on him 10X or more. If we could transport our best dogs backwards in time 50 years or more would the Dobermann people be very impressed with how far we have progressed or wonder how we could have gone so far backwards?
A: I do not think so, there's still a lot of work to be done. We have to get a much higher consistency within the breed in general. Bingo was an amazing dog but not the only one at that time. There were several excellent working dogs but he was perhaps the best promoted working dog at his time. A bit of both I think. I for one would not like to have a Dobermann, that looks like they did from before the second World War, yet on the other hand, some of the working traits of that time could with preference have influence on the breed of today. I also strongly
believe that within the genes of the Dobermann breed of today, there still are extremely high potentials for obtaining a very good working prospect without making compromises in connection with the FCI standard. It's important to be selective when it comes to breeding dogs no matter which breed we may be talking about. To not recognize the tremeandous work done by the breeders of yesterday, not to treasure the huge work they have done, the legacy they have given us, would be equally as wrong for the future of the breed as when we ignore the problems we are dealing with today.
Q: Since number 1 doesnt realy count:
If you were the Uber breed Marhsall of the Dobermann breed and had ultimate power. Is there anything you would change with the FCI? What about the standard? What about the minimum quality required of dogs to be bred? What direction would you take the Dobermann
and what would be the Number one thing you would change?
A: A lot of questions adding up into more or less merely one question: Some of the most important issues, which I feel are being ignored, and which is fundamentaly important in connection with a working dog breed would be: The nerves, temperament, character and last but not least, the general health. I feel there are far too many people and breeders that take these issues far too lightly. I've seen dogs at shows, backing off just because the judge wants to examine its teeth, and even being placed as the winner. This happens far too often and in my opinion these dogs should not have been able to gain such high recognitions. There should also, as a requirement for breeding, be a much higher health standard. It's my strongest belief that without good nerves, mentallity, character and health, no matter whether one likes working or showing dogs, the breed will suffer, and I feel it does suffer now because of these issues being ignored.
I would like to personally thank Bitten Jonsson for consenting to an interview. I am also thrilled with the results, I know I learned alot and have a better understanding of these dogs we all love so much.
If you would like to contact Bitten and ask her some questions privately her email address is: jotunheim@post.tele.dk
She is also a very respected working breeder based out of Denmark, for more information about her kennel, her dogs, and their history visit her website:
http://www.geocities.com/jotunheimdobes/forside.html>
Bitten is also an active and recent member of our forum and I am sure she would be happy to answer any questions or comments you might have for her here in this thread.
