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The Danish Dobermann Club was founded on 9 February 1946. The originator of the club is Gerhard Refsgaard, who became the first chairperson of the club. For a brief period, he was replaced by Auchenthaler von Thornstein, but returned to the post of chair. Following Mr Refsgaard, Carl Hansen chaired for approximately 20 years. The chairpersons following Mr Hansen are Leif Husum, Ole Vandsø Andersen, Keld Rose, Tage Pedersen, Jess Borggaard, Jess Jessen, Allan Berling Christensen, Lars Arnløv Jørgensen. In 1998 Allan Berling Christensen returned to the post, and he is our current chairperson.
Originally the dobermann was cropped and docked. The cropping and docking bans along with the ban against showing cropped and docked dobermanns in conformation – and now also the most recent ban of trialing cropped and docked dobermanns – has had a great impact on the breed’s popularity and thus also on its registration numbers in Denmark.
Towards the end of the 1960s, 350 puppies were registered annually. In 1974 a preliminary record was set with 565 registered puppies, and in 1981, one canine generation later, 663 puppies were registered. That year, the dobermann placed 14 on the list of the most popular breeds in the country. Towards the end of the 1980s, the annual registration numbers for dobermann puppies dropped to approximately 300, and in the 1990s, the numbers dropped even further to approximately 100 puppies per year. On the other hand, it seems that we have hit rock-bottom; the dobermann breed can only grow in the future.
Naturally, the number of registered dobermann puppies influences the club’s membership numbers and thus also the club’s activities. Activities include conformation shows as well as working trials and competitions, which are held by the local training clubs. In this way, the local training clubs function as the central meeting places for the Danish Dobermann Club’s daily activities, and along with the breeders, they constitute the very heart of the club. |
