An adult Dobermann of 38 kg, neutered and moderately active, needs about 1082 kcal a day, which is about 949 g of our Chicken recipe. With this breed, though, the portion is only half the job. In UK veterinary records the Dobermann has the highest risk of hypothyroidism of any breed, a condition that can put weight on a dog eating no more than before, and it is one of the breeds predisposed to copper building up in the liver, often without symptoms and mostly in females. Its best-known health problem, dilated cardiomyopathy, is inherited and is picked up with yearly heart screening.
The FCI breed standard, revised in 2015, gives about 40-45 kg for males (68-72 cm at the withers) and about 32-35 kg for females (63-68 cm). The gap is intentional: the standard lists a lack of difference between the sexes as a fault. So a female weighs about a fifth less than a male, and eats accordingly. In the table below a neutered 32 kg female needs about 834 g a day, while a neutered 45 kg male needs about 1078 g. If you have one of each, they should not share the same portion.
Why does my Doberman look so skinny? Partly because of how the breed is built. The standard describes a muscular, almost square dog whose underline is noticeably tucked up from the breastbone to the pelvis, so a fit Dobermann has a clear waist and a belly that rises steeply towards the hind legs, and can look lean to people used to other breeds. Lean is not the same as thin, though: the standard also lists too much tuck-up and a dog that is too light among its faults. Body condition tells you more than a weight chart: on the WSAVA 9-point scale the target is 4-5, with ribs you can feel without pressing and hip bones and spine that do not stick out. An adult that is losing weight for no obvious reason needs a vet check before any extra food.
Of all the breeds in a Royal Veterinary College study of 905,553 dogs seen by UK first-opinion vets (the VetCompass programme), none had higher odds of a hypothyroidism diagnosis than the Dobermann: about 17 times those of crossbreeds, after allowing for age, sex, neutering and other factors. The Tibetan Terrier and the Boxer came next. In raw numbers, 62 of the 2,461 Dobermanns in the study (2.5%) had the condition, against 0.17% of crossbreeds.
The link with the food bowl runs through the metabolism. Thyroid hormone sets how fast the body burns energy, so a dog that is short of it spends fewer calories on the same ration. The earlier studies cited by the VetCompass authors found weight gain or obesity in 41-44% of hypothyroid dogs, which also means that most affected dogs are not overweight: a normal weight does not rule the thyroid out, and vets also look for lethargy, hair loss and intolerance to cold. Across all breeds in the study, the median age at first diagnosis was 7.65 years.
This is the finding that surprises most owners. When a Dutch team examined 106 randomly chosen three-year-old Dobermanns, with blood tests followed by liver biopsies in 65 of them, 22 dogs, about one in five, had subclinical hepatitis: an inflamed liver in a dog that looked perfectly healthy. 19 of the 22 were females. Their livers held on average about twice as much copper as those of dogs without liver disease (419 against 197 µg/g), and in the dogs whose hepatitis persisted, copper kept rising over the following years.
The 2019 consensus statement of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) confirms the picture: the Dobermann is one of the breeds predisposed to chronic hepatitis, including the copper-associated form, females are affected more often in this breed, and Dobermanns with chronic hepatitis tend to be diagnosed younger than Labradors. The same panel states that excessive copper in the diet strongly influences how much builds up in the liver, in predisposed and other breeds alike. In the archive of a US diagnostic laboratory, median liver copper in Dobermanns, Westies and Dalmatians rose by about 286 µg/g between 1982-1988 and 2009-2015; the authors point out that the rise coincided with changes to US copper recommendations for dog food, although they could not prove cause and effect.
What your vet does: the most useful blood test for spotting chronic hepatitis early is ALT, and the diagnosis needs a liver biopsy with a copper measurement. Above 600 µg/g the consensus recommends a copper-restricted diet for life (under 0.12 mg per 100 kcal), which does not replace the medication that removes copper from the liver. One detail surprises many owners: for most dogs with chronic hepatitis the consensus does not recommend cutting protein. In practice, with a Dobermann, and a female in particular, it is worth asking for ALT in routine blood work and leaving out mineral supplements unless your vet prescribes them.
Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is the most serious health issue in the breed, and in the Dobermann it is inherited. A European study that followed 412 Dobermanns with heart scans and 24-hour Holter ECGs found it in 3.3% of dogs aged 1 to 2, 9.9% of those aged 2 to 4, 12.5% of those aged 4 to 6 and around 44% of dogs over 6, a cumulative prevalence of 58.2%. Males and females were affected equally often but differently: males showed changes on the scan earlier, while females had more irregular heartbeats. In an international owner survey covering the deaths of more than 1,700 Dobermanns, heart disease accounted for 28% of them.
Is the thyroid to blame? Hypothyroidism and DCM are both common in Dobermanns, and a link between them has long been debated. In a Munich study of 175 Dobermanns checked for both conditions, hypothyroidism was more frequent in the dogs with DCM (21% against 9% of healthy dogs), but the authors could not confirm that it causes the heart disease or makes it progress: in dogs with both, DCM advanced despite optimal thyroid treatment. Thyroid tablets do not replace the cardiologist's treatment.
Because DCM gives no signs at first, the European Society of Veterinary Cardiology recommends screening every year from the age of three with both a Holter and an echocardiogram; a single normal check does not rule out the disease later. What about DNA tests? Many breeders use the commercial ones, but the screening guidelines do not include them, and a 2026 study using genetic data from more than 5,000 European and North American Dobermanns could not confirm a link between the disease and two variants sold in commercial tests (DCM1 and DCM2); instead it found a signal shared by both populations near the RNF207 gene (DCM4). For now, a DNA result is no substitute for the Holter. If your Dobermann is diagnosed, its treatment is for the cardiologist to decide.
Every Pappa Fresh recipe contains one meat only and declares the percentage of each ingredient on the label, so you always know what goes into the bowl and can show it to your vet:
They are cooked in the pouch and keep outside the fridge until opened; once opened, they go in the fridge and should be used within 2-3 days. Pouches weigh 400 g, and on the Complete plan a 38 kg Dobermann gets through about 66 every 28 days. For dogs over 25 kg the quiz suggests the Topper first, a quarter of the daily ration on top of your dog's usual food; the other option is the Mix, half the ration alongside your own kibble. With both, remove the same share of kibble, or you are simply adding calories.
Turkey is poultry: if your Dobermann has reacted to chicken, check with your vet before trying it.
An adult Dobermann of 38 kg, neutered and moderately active, needs about 1082 kcal a day: that is about 949 g of our Chicken recipe, or 796 g of the richer Beef. An unneutered Dobermann burns more, about 1353 kcal. The table runs from a 32 kg female to a 45 kg male, the two ends of the breed standard.
Our quiz works out energy needs from your Dobermann's weight, age, activity and body condition. If your Dobermann works or does a sport, pick the high activity level in the quiz, then let the scales and body condition tell you whether the portion is right. For a dog this size the Complete plan costs about €15.79 a day, the Mix about €7.90 and the Topper about €4.07. When comparing the grams with a bag of kibble, remember that for the same calories wet food weighs about three times as much: kibble has around 350-400 kcal per 100 g, our recipes 110-136. For the general logic behind portions, see how much a dog should eat.
| Weight | Energy need (kcal/day) neutered / intact | Grams per day neutered / intact | Complete plan | Mix (½) | Topper (¼) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 32 kg | 951 / 1189 | 834 g / 1043 g | €14.42/day | €7.21/day | €3.73/day |
| 38 kg | 1082 / 1353 | 949 g / 1187 g | €15.79/day | €7.90/day | €4.07/day |
| 45 kg | 1229 / 1536 | 1078 g / 1347 g | €17.14/day | €8.69/day | €4.34/day |
Grams based on the Chicken recipe (114 kcal/100 g); with Beef, which is richer (136 kcal/100 g), you need about 16% less. Prices for a neutered dog.
Figures calculated with the same method as our quiz (FEM×K: maintenance energy adjusted for breed, activity, neutering and body condition). They are an estimate: take the quiz for your dog's exact plan, and talk to your vet about any health concern.
Two minutes: enter weight, age and activity to get your dog's portion, with 30% off your first order.
An adult Dobermann of 38 kg, neutered and moderately active, needs about 1082 kcal a day, which is about 949 g of our Chicken recipe, or about 1187 g if unneutered. A neutered 32 kg female needs about 834 g and a neutered 45 kg male about 1078 g. These are estimates: adjust the portion to your dog's body condition.
The FCI standard gives about 40-45 kg for males, 68-72 cm at the withers, and about 32-35 kg for females, 63-68 cm. Body condition matters more than the number: 4-5 on the WSAVA 9-point scale, with ribs you can feel but not see.
It may simply be the breed: the standard asks for a muscular dog with a noticeably tucked-up underline, so a fit Dobermann has a clear waist. If you can see ribs, hip bones or spine, or your dog is losing weight, have your vet check it before increasing the portion. If your vet confirms it is underweight, choose 'Underweight' in our quiz and the portion goes up.
Very common: in a European study of 412 Dobermanns the cumulative prevalence was 58.2%, and 3.3% of dogs were already affected between 1 and 2 years of age. It is inherited and silent at first, so European guidelines recommend a Holter and an echocardiogram every year from age three. Commercial DNA tests do not replace these checks.
It does happen. In an international owner survey covering the deaths of more than 1,700 Dobermanns, gastric dilatation-volvulus caused about 4% of them, against 28% for heart disease. Bloat is an emergency: if the belly swells and your dog retches without bringing anything up, go to a vet straight away.
We found no research that ranks foods or brands for Dobermanns, so there is no single best brand. What the evidence on this breed does support: a complete food in a portion matched to your dog's sex and weight, keeping it at 4-5 on the WSAVA scale, no mineral supplements your vet has not recommended, and blood tests that include the thyroid and ALT when your vet thinks they are due.
Written by the Pappa Fresh editorial team from published veterinary studies (see sources). Not a substitute for your vet's advice.
Other breeds: