Many people ask us; what is it like living with a Doberdoodle?
So, we decided to share our life-changing experience with our Doberdoodle and CTO (Chief Tasting Officer), Bouncer.
First, what is a Doberdoodle?
It is the offspring of a Doberman and a Standard Poodle. In Bouncer’s case, his father is a 110 lb. Dobie and his mom is a 75 lb. Standard Poodle.
The Doberdoodle (Doodleman Pinscher) combines the stubborn, protectiveness of the Doberman Pinscher with the intelligent, playfulness of the Poodle. The two breeds actually have much in common. It is these commonalities though, as well as their differences that, when combined, result in a very interesting being.
Many people think that a Doberdoodle’s disposition is somewhere in between that of a Poodle’s and a Dobie’s. This isn’t necessarily the case though. Doberdoodles, also known as Doodleman Pinschers, will pick up on certain traits more than others and, in some cases, have qualities from the two breeds that clash.
Every dog is an individual. However, breeds have been bred to take on certain characteristics. What happens when you mix these up though? We would like to share our experience with one such dog: Bouncer
Let’s look at some key traits where the Doberdoodle accentuates his parent breeds’ differences or where he magnifies their similarities. We focused our analysis on 17 key breed characteristics, assessing how a Doberdoodle compares to their Doberman and Poodle parent breeds.
First, we look at each characteristic and indicate how much stronger or weaker a Doodleman exhibits any particular trait relative to either of its parent breeds (see The Doberdoodle Scorecard on the right below). Then, we can see how much “Dobermaness” and “Poodleness” a Doberdoodle exhibits for any particular trait (see How Much Dober? How much Doodle? on the left below). As you can see, not all traits fall neatly in between that of a Dobie and a Poodle.
Personality Comparison of Doodleman Pinscher To Doberman & Poodle
Our Experience
The vast majority of the time, our Doberdoodle, Bouncer, is quiet, similar to his Doberman parent. However, he becomes ear-splittingly clamorous probably more so than his Standard Poodle parent would be when something or someone gets within 500 feet of his home. He remains vocal until the perceived threat is well out of earshot.
Doberdoodles are incredibly intelligent, as their parent breeds are, and will intensely eavesdrop on all conversations. We often feel as if we are being spied upon, with a pair of eyes watching our every move and ears listening to our every word.
Bouncer has learned many words just by listening to us. He clearly understands when we ask him questions such as whether he is hungry, whether he wants to play, what he wants to play with, and what game he wants to play! He also will point out where his “boo boo” is when asked. On his birthday, we bring him to the doggie section of our local department store and tell him to select a dog birthday gift. He goes right to work checking out all the toys and other items before honing in on his prize. He will even ask for a Barkaron Decadent Doggie Dessert!
If you’re looking for privacy when going to the bathroom, a Doberdoodle may not be for you. Doberman are called “Velcro dogs” for good reason, and Doberdoodles seem to have picked up this trait. They are utterly devoted and closely attached to their people.
In our neighborhood, the sight of another dog, even hundreds of feet away, will drive Bouncer crazy. However, when dogs are accepted into a Doberdoodle’s extended pack, they will be treated to a lasting friendship.
Bouncer does enjoy the company of such an extended pack during his weekly Pack Day outings. Other than this group though, Bouncer does not care for the company of other dogs.
As is the case with their parent breeds, Doberdoodles needs a firm human to raise them; otherwise they will walk all over you. With Bouncer, one always has to be aware, as he is constantly testing the dominance hierarchy of the pack, probing, inspecting, and patiently waiting to exploit an opportunity to increase his perceived status.
He also can be quite dominant with other dogs, especially when on leash.
As we were house training Bouncer, he loved doing his business on our handcrafted Persian rug, probably to establish his dominance. Later, he claimed another silk rug we received as a gift, sitting on it as soon as unrolled it. When we installed our new king-size Sleep Number bed (that we purchased because the three of us – two humans and Bouncer – had outgrown our old queen bed), he immediately claimed it as his own. We had thought the king-size bed would solve the problem of Bouncer’s hogging our old queen-size bed. Nope!
Both Poodles and Dobies are highly sensitive dogs, a characteristic they seem to have passed onto the Doberdoodle. Like Dobermans, Doberdoodles will mope around the house if there is tension or strife in the home.
Similar to all of us, sometimes Bouncer needs a bit more attention than usual. At these times, he will give us his paw to hold. Within a few minutes, he shows his vulnerability by “crying” through his nose. He becomes a crying dog.
Doberdoodles can be shy and don’t typically need a lot of social activity other than hanging out with their humans. As previously mentioned, Bouncer goes on weekly playdates with his extended pack whom he has befriended over time, but otherwise just needs attention from his people.
As a young lad, Bouncer got a bit too close to a cat who was minding her own business while sunning herself. Feeling threatened (or perhaps just for fun?), the cat swiped at him drawing blood. This incident almost certainly contributed to his total abhorrence of cats.
If a cat is within 500 feet of him, he will take off after it unless he is restrained from doing so. We once took him to a friend’s house and he immediately started running around hunting for the cat that he knew was there somewhere. He ignored our friend’s two dogs, running right past them. We found him in the bedroom with our friend’s cat trembling under the bed. Needless to say, this was the last time Bouncer was invited over.
Bouncer seems to have picked up fussy eating from both parent breeds. If something is not quite right with his food, such as the chicken to kibble ratio, he won’t touch his dinner. If we take it away after 10 minutes, as trainers recommend, he’ll go on a hunger strike rather than give in.
His picky eating habits help us know when a product, like our Barkarons, is ready for prime time!
Doberdoodles love to play rough. Interesting enough though, Bouncer plays much rougher with his dad than he does with his mom. Perhaps he sees play as another opportunity to test his dominance.
Bouncer will play fetch, but often enjoys having you try to wrestle the ball from him more than he does returning it to you for another throw.
Bouncer will often initiate play after he’s made it clear to the UPS guy whose home our house is or has chased the local black bear away. It is his way of indicating that payment is due promptly upon his satisfying his watchdog duties.
Some Dobies can get interested in chasing small animals, but Doberman typically are not highly prey driven. Doberdoodles are true, felinesque hunters.
Bouncer believes that squirrels were created for him to stalk, chipmunks are meant to catch, deer are meant to torment, bears are meant to prove his machismo, wild turkeys were created to keep him on his toes, rabbits are god’s gift to canines, and the fox, his nemesis, is meant for the chase.
90 lbs. of muscle builds a lot of momentum quite quickly! So, we recommend not getting in the way of your Doberdoodle chasing his prey, or you might end up needing hand surgery resulting from attempting to do so (true story!).
When walking with a Doberdoodle, It is best to proactively scan the environs to locate any nearby critters before he does.
Want your own Secret Service protection agent? – Get a Doberdoodle! Doberdoodles are intensely protective and will not tolerate anyone threatening their humans or home. They are fearless protectors; we once woke to Bouncer’s barking and facing off a massive bear at 2 am. They are extremely territorial and claim their block as their “hood.”
A while back we stayed in NYC for a few weeks. It took Bouncer but a few days to adopt the entire block on 86th street between Amsterdam and Columbus as his “hood.” Any dog, homeless person (he can be quite judgmental), or other perceived dangerous being was clearly put on notice that this block was HIS! (He also terrorized the local rat population: even taking his hatred for the critters to the point of chasing one down to the subway! – see prey drive – # 10- above.)
Don’t even think about threatening Bouncer’s mom; he will take a chunk out of you (and he has done so when he perceived a threat to her, tackling a passing jogger and shredding his jacket, only stopping short of ripping into the poor guy’s arm by his mom’s intense interjection).
Also, when with a Doberdoodle WATCH OUT for skate boarders! We are not sure why, but Bouncer obviously perceives them as a total threat. He will tackle passing skate boarders if given the chance. We think he sees them as the ultimate animal threat – in the same category as bears!
As discussed under #4, Doberdoodles continually test your dominance over them and will watch to see what lengths you will go to counteract their stubbornness. Bouncer is fully aware that he can wear us down when we’re not on our toes and will do so to try to prevail.
Due to their high level of stubbornness, Doberdoodles require focused training to thrive.
Despite their highly protective nature, Doberdoodles can be friendly towards strangers after an introduction and a trial period. When we introduce Bouncer to anyone working on our property, he will sit nearby calmly watching them while they work. If they make what he considers to be the “wrong move” though (e.g. heading upstairs instead of heading out the nearest exit), all bets are off.
Once he gets used to someone after a few visits though, he will greet him or her as one would an old friend!
After spending thousands of dollars working with Bouncer on various training programs, we came to the conclusion that Bouncer, is… Well… just a bit different…Combine his stubborn nature, his eternal jockeying for dominance, his strong prey drive, his intense wanderlust (see # 16 below) and his extremely high level of protectiveness, not to mention his brute strength (all 90 lbs. of it) and you get a strong-willed being that wants to do things his own way on his own time (while ensuring that all “threats” in the vicinity are neutralized)…
This doesn’t mean that Bouncer is a wild animal; he is not. However, he most certainly is not as well “behaved” as many (most?) other dogs are. Despite his shortcomings in this regard though, he has come a long way though; we are proud of him for that!
At this point we have come to realize that this is one of those areas where the Doberdoodle’s parent breeds’ traits clash and counteract each other. Although both Dobies and Poodles are highly trainable, Doberdoodles do not seem to be.
Like the Doberman and Poodle, Doberdoodles are excellent watchdogs who will alert you of anything approaching their home. Bouncer is a very aware being and almost always knows what is going on around our home (there was that one time though when he was napping and a bear walked right past him a few feet away on the other side of a glass door…).
Bouncer has a well-developed watchdog language; he has a different bark for a person walking, a fox, a bear, or the mailman approaching his home.
Doberdoodles love an adventure!
Several years back, it was one of Colorado’s coldest days in decades, and Bouncer picked that day to bolt through the front door. We spent hours looking for him in the snow with no success. Unable to tolerate the cold anymore, we returned home. Several hours later, he showed up looking like a snowball with legs, beaming with one of the largest doggie smiles we have ever seen. We recommend having an invisible fence and a GPS collar for Doberdoodles as they are prone to bolting towards any animals they see and other stimuli that take their fancy.
So, What Is It Like To Live With A Doberdoodle?
Still Considering a Doodleman Pinscher?
A Doberdoodle’s personality does not simply lie in between that of a Poodle and a Doberman. Although that may be true to some extent with some personality traits, there are a number of important characteristics where Bouncer has ended up with the extreme qualities or the extreme lack of qualities of both, rather than just a blend of them. So, the Doberdoodle is a unique dog breed that takes on their parents’ different traits to varying degrees with sometimes counterintuitive results.
If you want a Doberdoodle go in with eyes wide open. They are a challenge, but they offer invaluable love, devotion, and companionship. You will get a protection-crazed, small animal-obsessed, free-spirited, stubborn, difficult, fuzzy, cuddly, and adorable natural guard dog who will be a most valued and loved family member.
Similar to any family member, despite his flaws, we love Bouncer and feel honored to have him in or lives. Our family would not be complete without him! He obliges us to be more tolerant and patient. He makes us better humans. We could not be more blessed than to have Bouncer in our lives.
Every dog is unique, but we hope this article highlighted some of the challenges and many exceptional traits that Doberdoodles have. Regardless of his/her breed we know your dog is special and deserves a unique dog gift. So, we invite you to buy a Barkaron® Decadent Doggie Dessert® gift box now!
Have a Doberdoodle & want to share some stories?
