Here's a summary statement from the Doberman Pinscher Club of America that tells you what you need to know:
A Longevity Certification (LC) may be awarded to any individual Doberman who reaches the age of 10 or greater. The LC can be awarded posthumously.
Age 10 is considered award-worthy. Of course, at this point it should be considered so for so many breeds, shouldn't it?
WOW.
ReplyDeleteThat certainly makes it difficult for Dobe breeders to talk about health, doesn't it? When a decade is considered award-worthy?
That Dobe in the pic looks really small compared to some of the giant ones most owners like to parade around...then again, some of the monster "pit bulls" ou thtere are nothing like the svelte beauties in the show ring either.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if they die early because their breeders don't religiously take them for annual exams 2x/year...
;) I keed, I keed. Still depressing, though. Wonder if the Danes and mastiff have any similar honors.
It's a tragedy that dogs don't live longer. And its a larger shame that the breeders have allowed this to happen by breeding more for unnatural standards then for healthy dogs. After losing several AKC reg dogs at early ages of 6 and 7, I purchased my first mixed terrier because I remembered from childhood that they have longer life spans. She lived to be 14, still not long enough but much better than the previous dogs. And she killed a squirrel 3 days before she died from a possible stroke.
ReplyDeleteDebi C (remembering Race the crossbred JRT.)
This is depressing! And I have to brag about our anatolian shepherd. He turned 12 this month, and he does have some weakness in his rear legs, but otherwise looks and acts like a much younger dog. We bought him in 1998, before anatolians were admitted to the AKC, and his grandparents were imported from Turkey where they were working flock guardians. We bought him after our AKC, show line german shepherd had to be euthanized at age almost three, after we spent thousands of dollars in vet bills. And now here we are 12 years later, no vet bills and we still have a healthy, beautiful, giant breed dog. And now anatolians are in the AKC and are parading around the show ring with the other ruined breeds, which pains me greatly but what can I do? Dog shows are the root of all evil I think. :/
ReplyDelete