ABOUT US - EUROPEAN DOBERMANS - KENNEL CANIS MAXIMUS
Welcome to our site dedicated to his Majesty, The Doberman!
I grew up in Russia, so I am not your typical US breeder. I have to write this because you cannot expect the same from our kennel. Please read so that there is no misunderstanding or false expectations.
A European breeder normally has a few dogs, many of the pups go to show homes. Not because it's mandatory but because people actually enjoy gathering together. A weekend show is a full day event. Lots of excitement, very eventful. And most important - dogs and people united by the same passion. There are a few major dog shows. IDC - International Doberman Club. The most prestigious doberman-only show. World Dog Show - that's when dogs can become World Winners. European Show - European Winner. Every country falling under FCI (a big canine organization that has all European and many South American and some other countries as its members) has a breed club that oversees breeding, various requirements and breed regulations. This breed club has Nationals every year. That's when breeders show their results. Local only. Also, all member countries have a few CACIB shows - these shows usually attract the greatest amount of dogs because of the chance to win an International Champion Candidacy. Your dog will need a few from different judges and countries to become an International Champion. These shows are very competitive. And these shows are the most fun. You do not need to have an expensive handler to win a show. Most often, it's your dog, not the handler, who is judged. And this is what attracts me in European shows. We've tried AKC shows but still prefer showing in Europe. The spirit is different.
Breed clubs also oversee what tests and working trials have to be performed before a dog can be bred. National clubs have a set list of requirements. You can't just breed a dog to a dog and get the litter registered. It's simply unheard.
Normally, you'd be expected to have shown your dog at least one - with an adequate result. Hips will have to be checked. And some training certificates have to be obtained if you have a working or a hunting dog.
All this puts European breeding at a much higher level.
When European buyers start looking for a pup, they normally refer to the Internet and visit dog shows. NOBODY asks for references. You will look like a fool if you did. Why? Because of what was said above about breeding ethics. Also, kennel websites usually have updates about show results of their 'products' which gives the buyer an idea of the quality. Nobody really cares about the numbers as do American breeders. My understanding is that this happens solely due to an outrageous number of poorly bred dogs that end up euthanized in shelters.
It is hard to be a puppy miller in Europe. One reason - tradition and values. Second reason - living conditions. Not many people live in detached homes with acres of land. Third reason - dog food usually costs about 3 times more. Fourth reason - time. People work and have dogs as hobbies. Enjoyable addition. Stress-reliever. Companionship. Reason to jump on a bus and spend 2 days driving all over Europe to get to that magical place - IDC show. Fifth reason - dogs have to be shown, and working dogs have to be trained. Otherwise, no papers for the pups. Which means, no buyers for them either.
Breeders also travel across the European continent for breeding. It is pretty normal to drive or fly from, let's say, Sweden to Italy, Russia to France. All for that chance to have a better progeny.
Now, a bit about me and my kennel.
Passion for horses and inability to have one lead to the quest of the breed that resembled my passion the most. And that's how the doberman walked in our lives. A true perfection! Sleek, elegant, powerful, agile, smart, intelligent, devoted, a true companion!
Canis Maximus is quite a unique kennel. You can't compare us to anyone else involved in raising
Dobermans in the United States. There are hundreds of backyard breeders breeding without even knowing what
they breed. There are dozens of commercial breeders breeding for the sake of money. Then there are hundreds
of show kennels breeding for conformation... quite often overlooking the working abilities of the breed.
Then there are a few dozen kennels breeding working dogs... very often overlooking the conformation of their
breeding dogs. And then there are kennels which don't breed for the sake of money, which do know what and
why they breed and which breed for the sake of both conformation and working skills of the breed. And that
is us.
There are many kennels like us in Europe but they don't operate in the US and don't do as much health testing making us pretty much the only ones who train on both continents, title, health test on both continents, breed and participate in working trials... on both continents.
My passion for the breed started a long time ago - a few decades ago. But this passion obtained a familiar shape of a Dutch/Russian bred, black/tan doberman male in 1994. How many miles were walked, bicycled, jogged, hiked with him! How many shows won and lost! He passed away due to a tragic accident two years later making it one of the biggest blows. My next dog was one of the show stars in Russia in 2000-2002. That male was bred in the oldest Russian kennel "Iz Zoosfery". A few years later our family obtained a companion female for him from a very well-known "Smart Wood Hills Kennel". Neither of these kennels did any kind of cardio evaluation at that time. Both of our first dogs died of a heart attack. One was 8.5 and the other one - only 5. That hit us pretty hard as those were primarily our buddies, our companions. And though the dogs didn't suffer much, their loss made us suffer greatly.
This experience turned upside down our views on breeding. We weren't really planning on becoming breeders to begin with. But our first litter turned out to be a big hit. All dogs were stylish, extremely powerful, with gorgeous heads and chests, and with a lot of presence. One male became an International CH. Two more siblings went to compete and get certified in Obedience and Protection.
At this time, when it's extremely hard to find a cardio-safe line, without an established genetic test, it's only up to the breeder's intuition and extensive research to make the right choice. We learned it the hardest way. And that's why our main target is longevity. Longevity in a good-looking doberman. Every breeding takes months of preparation. This is the main reason why our puppies will never go to a breeder or a mass producer or to somebody who doesn't know how to handle a doberman.
Our goal is not as utopic as that of most breeders that try to breed "The Total Dobe".
We believe that breeding should be realistic and results achievable. Thus, we put a lot of effort into breeding and importing dogs with excellent temperaments and of sound construction and good health. We love strong bodies with good angulation, short backs and correct heads with very strong jaws. Of great importance are also the width and depth of the chest as well as the bone density. So, basically, it's an intelligent dog with a very strong but harmonious look - that's what we love!
Our breeding Ethics is different from the majority of American breeders because
most of our valuable show and training experiences came from Europe. We believe that traveling several thousand miles across the world for training or breeding is worth the result and expense. We also believe that importing a few pups with valuable bloodlines is done for the betterment of the kennel or the breed itself. We also think the breeder has to be honest about the quality of his/her breeding not only with the buyers but with himself/herself as well. There is nothing worse in the dog world than illusions or deceipt.
We think that the Doberman is a working breed and our greatest interest is in maintaining working talents and skills of this breed. We participate in IPO, VPG and ZTP Trials.
We pick breeding combinations based on our lengthy show and training experience. Breeders who never showed or trained a dog will not be able to pick the right partners, nor could/should they make claims regarding show or work potential of the litter. Breeding titles and names are not a guarantee of the pup's quality. But the breeder's intuition, knowledge and experience are what creates a top-quality litter and top-quality dogs. How many breeders can boast that?!
VERY important things that any potential buyer should be aware of while searching for a working breed puppy: breed surveys, temperament tests, Schutzhund/IPO or any similar training AND showing - all this DETERMINES WHAT DOG SHOULD OR SHOULD NOT BE BRED. Without training scores and showing titles, or with poor scores and poor conformation, the dog is NOT SUITABLE for breeding. And if a breeder tells you that trophies don't matter - this is the biggest FLAG you can get, run away. DO NOT buy from a breeder who doesn't do any of the required work with their breeding dogs. Same philosophy is applied to those who buy 'ready-made' dogs from Europe titled by previous owners with the only purpose of breeding and making money.
Canis Maximus" (which means "The Great Dog" in Latin) works only with best European bloodlines.. We train, show and do health tests on all our dogs used in breeding.
We don't breed often and we carefully select the stock. Every dog has to bring something valuable to the gene pool. Otherwise, why breed?!
Many people ask us if we have parents on site. We are not a multi-dog kennel, so we are not able to keep dozens of studs for us to make our selection out of. We'd rather spend our money on flying our best females to Europe, to its best studs and bring something NEW, FRESH, MINDBLOWING to the States. So, no, we hardly ever have both parents on site.
We've got 3 little kids. Pups are raised inside only. Kids are allowed to play with them on a daily basis. We also have visitors every weekend. All of this means that our puppies leave our house with a good set of social skills, the rest will depend on how well you are prepared to be an owner of one of our cuties. We have no cats.
PLEASE-PLEASE-PLEASE!!! Read the links on the For Sale page. The pricing is there. We get dozens and dozens of calls and emails EVERY DAY, so, please, read the information we provided just for you. This will save you time, and this will save us time.
But to give you a rough idea how much we spend on raising ONE pup, here are some numbers:
- $3000-6000 on training
- $1000-2000+ on shipping
- $700 on health testing
- $1000+ on showing
- $300+ on docking and dew claw removal
- $50/mo on dog food per ONE dog
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Multiply this by TWO if we use our own stud. Or add $1000 for the stud fee.
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Divide by the number of pups and you will get the cost of raising ONE puppy.
A LEXUS shouldn't and won't cost the same as a TOYOTA, right? Same applies to every product in our life. Puppies are a product of our hard work, enthusiasm, sleepless nights, high expenses. So, think twice before you skip the information we made available on the site just for you, and call us with the same and only question: "How much do your puppies run for?"
We justify the prices on our pups - read above. Now ask kennels like Kimbertal or Britton Farm or similar ones how they justify their puppy prices. And draw conclusions.
We import.
For the fun of it. For the enriching experience and knowledge. Because we've got great friends breeding awesome dogs in Europe. And we want to have some over here. Because we know what we import. Because it's gratifying. Because people want imports but don't know how to do it themselves or it becomes too expensive. Because it helps us offset the breeding expenses. Because we love working with animals but breeding is stressful, time and money consuming. Because we like to help, buyers and breeders, and know how to do it the best way possible. Because we like diversity. Because it's fun to get to know new breeds and results of new breeding combinations. That's why we import. And this has to be respected because we are driven by far greater motives than money.
With all this said, enjoy the website! - CM
CopyRight2008 2007
Design & Support Alexandrova Inna http://laitiona.narod.ru/
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