I’ve played the upright bass for many years. Over that time, I’ve had three of them, and each has been a 3/4. This simply means that they are not the very largest of uprights. I prefer the 3/4 for ease of gigging. It‘s easy enough to handle without having to haul an actual full size around from place to place. The casual observer would never know the difference - the appearance, function, and sound are the same; they’re just easier to manage and find space for in the house!
In considering this Doberboy, 3/4 came to mind. He is small for a male, but that may be an advantage in a variety of homes and families. I’ll say this much, my current boy at home is about one hundred pounds, and when he gallops through the house, everything needs to be tied down and everyone needs to stay out of the way! His front paws are more than three inches across, and his back paws must be close to six inches wide when he pushes off! Of course, that’s just how I like my Dobers, but for some families a 3/4 Doberman may be just the thing.
Originally, he was found as a stray by a family that kept him for about five or six months before they took him to a shelter with the explanation that they had no time for him. He was only there for two days before he was adopted by a probation officer. After four months the officer returned him, with the explanation that the dog was being crated while he was away at work for eight or nine hours a day.
Once back at the shelter, they noticed that he had begun spinning and flank sucking at times. In an effort to alter the behavior, they put him in an isolation kennel, but he went back to the spinning and flank sucking when he was out, unless he was with another dog in the exercise area; then he didn’t do it.
Fortunately, Rescue Angels brought him to DRT a few days later, and we’re working with him to see if we can modify the behavior. It does no harm, but at the least, it’s distracting. Out of the blue, he spins as though he’s chasing a non-existent tail. Then he lies down and starts flank sucking. This is not an unusual Doberman behavior, as it is really a gene that they carry (it is real). Chasing the tail is usually either phantom pain or learned behavior. He had been crated for the four months that the officer had him; maybe that had some effect. I’m happy to say that he‘s doing MUCH better now, on low-level meds and with interaction with other Dobes. He thoroughly loves other dogs.
He truly is a sweet fellow, and he absolutely loves attention and affection of any kind from his humans. He walks nicely on a leash also. We’re hoping that with time (and some modest meds), he will exhibit less and less of this obsessive behavior until it perhaps phases out entirely.
If you’re interested in providing a home for this sweet, gentle, 3/4 size Dober, you know the drill: apply, acceptance, appointment, arrive, acquaint, away. Nothing would benefit him more than being in a loving, nurturing home.
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