Our genetics and family tree: why we paired Eros and Kira

Every Dobs Kennel litter starts with a question we ask before any other: why these two? This article is our answer in full. Here is the family tree of Eros and Kira, champion by champion, with the sources each title came from, an honest explanation of the two kinds of registration, and even the proof of genetics the litter itself handed us. It's more information than most kennels publish, and that's deliberate: provenance you don't show is just a pretty word.

Two families that never crossed

Eros brings the show lines of the Americas: Argentina and Brazil, ring dogs, structure and presence. Kira brings the Russo-European core that reached Brazil through the Di Monaco kennel. Across the documented generations of the two pedigrees, we did not identify a single ancestor in common. We put it that precisely, because serious genealogy doesn't promise beyond what the document shows: what is registered is what we claim.

That matters for a simple reason: variability. Joining two distant families is a decision about health and temperament before it's a decision about looks. If you want to learn to read a pedigree yourself, we have a whole guide on it in how to understand a pedigree.

Eros's family: the Americas across three generations

Eros is the son of Van Gogh Majestic & Proud (Argentina), who appears in the CBRD's 2024 sire ranking, and Bella TM Von Dott (Brazil). Brown and rust, born in May 2023, with a CBKC Registro Geral, the full registration.

The name that shines deepest in his tree is Thor de Akido San, his great-grandfather: American, International and Latin American Champion, Grand Champion of Brazil and of Argentina, winner of the overall ranking of the Dobermann Club Argentino. Further back appear Trotyl de Black Shadow, American Champion and one of the most influential sires of the modern Dobermann, and Ban Ban Thorest von BR Weissensee, with titles and a Best in Show for the Weissensee kennel, which has been breeding since 1973. The sources: the Dobermann Club Argentino and the breed's public genealogy databases.

Kira's family: the Russian core that came through Di Monaco

Kira is the daughter of Bjorn Ultra di Monaco and Agata M.G.S., black and rust, born in June 2024, with a CBKC Registro Inicial. Her grandfather, Tsorazon del Angel Azazello, is a Russian import from Di Monaco Dobermanns.

The great-grandfather who sets the tone of the family is Teraline Rohan: Champion of Russia, of Lithuania and of the RKF, class winner at the AIAD 2017. And here is the detail that made us choose this line: the Teraline kennel, in Moscow, documents on him hips at HD-A/HD-1, vWD clear and a heart tested with a 24-hour Holter. Health documented three generations back is no guarantee for today's puppies, but it's the kind of family you want to descend from. Deeper still: Pride of Russia Sidor, Interchampion and class winner at the IDC 2012 with 7 Best in Show, and Destiny Phoenix Highway to Hell, Multichampion in six countries with an IPO 2 working title.

The two families side by side

Arraste a tabela para o lado para ver todas as colunas.

RG and RI, without the fine print

Eros has the Registro Geral: the complete tree recognized by the CBKC and by the FCI. Kira has the Registro Inicial: the CBKC's official route that opens the genealogy of a dog assessed by a qualified judge. We don't hide the difference, we explain it. The tree we publish for Kira comes from the known genealogy of her family, and the document for each of the two is shown to any interested family. That's what provenance is: the paper that exists, explained, and not the paper it would be nice to have.

The proof of genetics the litter handed us

Doberman color is textbook genetics, and our first litter did us the favor of proving the textbook in practice. Brown is recessive: a dog is only brown if he inherits the b gene from both the sire and the dam. Eros is brown, so he has only b to pass on. Kira is black, but brown puppies were born in the litter alongside the black ones, and that's only possible if she carries a hidden b: Kira is Bb, a black carrying brown. No test was needed, the puppies themselves told us. If color genetics interests you, our guide to the colors of the Doberman goes deeper, including why brown is so associated with our house.

The breeder's decision

Our breeding stock is deliberately small: one titular pair, chosen with care. We could have ten brood bitches and a new litter every month; we chose to be able to study each mating in the pedigree, in the health and in the temperament, and to document all of it in public. It's the difference between a planned litter and a litter that simply happened, and it's the standard we suggest applying to any kennel, ours included: ask for the pedigree, ask for the sources, ask for the papers. A serious breeder welcomes that question.

And a note of transparency that's part of our own rule: a pedigree shows origin, it isn't a certificate of health. On our parents page we publish what has been tested and what is scheduled for our two breeding dogs, rather than promising a healthy lineage with no paper behind it.

How we read a pedigree before deciding on a mating

It's worth describing the process, because it's the method we suggest to any family assessing any kennel. When we studied bringing Eros and Kira together, the order of reading was this: first the documented health across the generations (tests with a clinic's name and a date are worth more than any title), then the temperament of the families (a show line tends towards stability, a working line asks for an experienced owner), then the absence of a common ancestor in the registered generations, and only last the titles. A championship is the consequence of the right structure and temperament; anyone who starts reading at the row of trophies is buying the poster, not the dog.

And a rule we follow and recommend: be suspicious of a tree that's too perfect. A pedigree with a champion in every single box usually mixes titles from very different levels, or leaves out what doesn't shine. Our tree has champions of real weight and it has ordinary companion dogs, as every honest tree does.

The questions families ask us about lineage

Is the American line inferior to the European one? No: it's different. The line of the Americas prioritizes elegance, angulation and ring presence; the European carries more bone substance and, frequently, working titles. Neither is a shortcut nor a flaw of the other, and what matters is that the breeder knows the line he breeds and documents health within it. We have a whole article comparing the two in European or American Doberman.

Does the Registro Inicial devalue Kira? For showing, an RI limits conformation titles. For responsible breeding, what counts is the whole package: assessment by a qualified judge, the known genealogy of her family and the testing we do. We'd rather have a female on RI from a documented family than one on RG from an unknown tree, and we show both papers to anyone who asks.

Does a champion great-grandfather guarantee a champion puppy? No, and anyone promising that is selling a lottery ticket. What a genealogy of champions guarantees is a higher probability of structure and temperament within the standard. The rest is rearing: socialization, nutrition and the owner the puppy ends up with.

Can I meet the parents before deciding? You can and you should. A video call with the pair for those far away, a scheduled visit for those in Natal. A real dog convinces more than a tree on paper.

See it with your own eyes

The complete tree of both dogs, generation by generation, with the sources for each title, is in the Our Dobermans section of our home page. And the next litter from these two families is born here: those on the waiting list hear before the site and the social channels do, get 10% off the reservation and choose first.