In the mid-seventies I inserted a section with the above heading. The first paragraph began, "As far back as I can recall, I have heard rumors that leprechauns exist along with the abominable snowman, but I have never seen any of these personally and in the last few years, ads have begun to appear offering another improbability: the so-called White Doberman." It went on and as humorously as possible. I made rather brash statements including my referring to the "white Dobe," if it did exist, as the bastard of the Doberman World.

Since then I have met a few personally, received photos from sellers and have a few on video. Does this mean white Dobermans exist? Perhaps but only if you rationalize. If it's not black, red, blue or fawn but it appears to be a Dobe of light color then yes, Whites exist. Or are they just washed out fawns or blues? Take for example the red Dobe. If the color is so light it looks like straw, it still is considered a red; or should someone begin calling it the rare blond Dobe? There is also a "chocolate bar-brown" Dobe, but these too are simply called red; or should someone begin calling these dogs rare Hershey® Dobes? In the case of the reds, straw and chocolate are simply genetic or medically induced flukes. One day we may see an ad that hypes five legged Dobes. For those who spend time hiking with their dogs, if it breaks a leg, it still has four good ones. Fine examples of American salesmanship.

Taking into consideration the color variances and knowing the ancestral history of the breed, not even the first authored book on the Dobe (The Doberman Pincher, 1926) mentions a white coated dog as contributing to the development of the breed. For the first eighty years of the breed's existence, even a small patch of white was looked upon as a sign of inferior breeding.

One also must wonder why, if the breed took only seven years from initial mixing of the old German Shepard and the large smooth-coated German Pincher to be an accepted breed (1899), did eighty years pass before we began seeing ads offering 'whites?' And why in the last 25 years did no breeder of whites yet produce paired whites that produce just whites if in fact a white gene given back in the 1890s does exist?

Perhaps one day the American Kennel Club will add white as a fifth color but for now we can only presume, like the chocolate and blond color, white is just a shade that some seek and others turn their backs on. So is the White Dobe a rare find or rip-off? It depends on one's point of view. Have I changed my opinion about 'whites' since first taking a stand against them? No! For one should be breeding for improvement not novelty.