Any Doberman Pinscher of an allowed color and not Z factored who has lived to age 10 or greater, or has parents who have lived to age 10 or greater, is eligible for this program. The Doberman Pinscher must be registered with the official breed registry of its country. This includes, for example the AKC (American Kennel Club), CKC (Canadian Kennel Club), UDC (United Doberman Club), FCI (Federation Cynologique Internationale), Australian KC.
The Longevity Certificate (LC)
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. A LC number will be assigned to each dog attaining the certification, and they will be entered into a database which is displayed on this website. Living dogs will be issued a certificate with a number ending in -L. When the dog passes away please notify us of the date of death so we may update the database and website. A presumed cause of death is optional, but desirable information. If this is longer than a year after the initial certification, we will issue a second and final certificate. For example, a dog is issued an LC at age 10, but lives to age 13. If the owner will send the LC number, plus the date of death, a second and final certificate will be issued. On this certificate the dog’s number will change to -D for Deceased. That way, the certificate will reflect the true longevity of the dog. Dogs who are deceased at the time of application will automatically be assigned a number ending in -D. Applicants are strongly encouraged to enter any and all dogs they have verified information on, including dogs who lived long ago.
The Bred for Longevity Certificate (BFL)
A second very important component of the Longevity Program is to recognize those Dobermans (and their breeders!) whose ancestors demonstrate longevity. A Bred for Longevity (BFL) certification is awarded to any individual Doberman of any age whose ancestors are LC. If both the sire and dam are longevity certified (LC), the dog or bitch is eligible for BFL-1. If both parents and all four grandparents are LC, the dog or bitch is eligible for BFL-2, etc. In order to get a BFL, there can be no gaps. In other words, if you had 3 grandparents and both parents LC, the dog would only be eligible for a BFL-1, not a BFL-2. These dogs also are entered into a database and are displayed on this website. A certificate is issued to the owner.
How to Apply
The breeder or owner of the dog may apply for certification. If you would like to apply for a Longevity Certification or a Bred for Longevity Certification, please click on the appropriate ‘Application’ link.
The DPCA reserves the right to refuse LC/BFL certification to any dog for any reason.
The Longevity Program was approved unanimously at the 1997 DPCA National in Houston, TX. It was started by Vic Monteleon to identify dogs and lines strong in longevity. Recognizing and tracking long lived Dobermans helps breeders establish longevity as a breeding goal.