I bought my first Doberman in 1959.  I'd gone to a couple of shows with a friend and fell hard for Dobermans and the show ring.  Only because of incredible luck (certainly not from knowledge) that first dog turned out to be exceptional and he finished owner handled and later went on to a wonderful career as a Special with his breeder.  I've tried other breeds since then but finally admitted there was NOTHING like a Doberman and acknowledged the inevitable. 

I don't breed--bred my first and last litter in the early sixties and figured out that I vastly preferred males to bitches--so I now share my home with an Australian Shepherd (the last attempt at a different breed) who raises the occasional puppy for me and two Dobermans.  But I watch what the breeders are turning out and from time to time go looking for my next show prospect, although lately they seem to be coming to me.  My latest excursion into performance events is tracking -- my youngest Doberman and I are working at a TD which he'd probably already have if it weren't for me.

My only real claim to fame is that I have nothing but males--intact at that.  And they all get along just fine--I get a lot of entertainment out of dumping the three of them into Michelle's ex-pens at shows and watching people do double takes as they realize that they are males and they aren't fighting.

R. M. (Bug) Russell, USA

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