I have been a loyal Doberman owner for my entire lifetime, quite literally. When I was born, my family owned a Doberman and we basically grew up together. He died however when I was 10 years old, he himself was 10, which is essentially quite an old age for a Doberman to live. Having grown up with them, I can quite honestly say from personal experience that Doberman Pinschers are possibly the easiest dogs to look after when it comes to grooming having very short fur and often coming in black and tan colours, they require very minimal attention in the grooming department.
However, that does not mean you can slack off with them, their fur is actually very delicate and when not looked after can become very tedious as it can lead to unholy amounts of moulting. Many experts will recommend that in general, you should leave your Doberman alone in the grooming department, however, that is not entirely true. Like any dogs they require bathing in order to not only keep a healthy fur coat, but also to remove any excess fur that has moulted away from their skin and also to make them smell and feel fresh.
Bathing them once a month is my personal preference. I currently own two Doberman females who require bathing once a month depending on the weather. If the weather is hot, we often soak them down with the hose. Being black and tan dogs, they naturally absorb the sun which can lead to sickness and overheating so soaking them down is generally the first major step when it comes to grooming and caring for a Doberman's fur and believe me, they love it!
Once they are nice and wet, you can let the sun do its work, they will dry up in no time. However, if you want to give their coat that extra bit of shine, you can brush them. However, for this you will have to use your hands. Simply run your hands back from their neck down to their tail, you should then stop and repeat. It is uncomfortable for the dog to run your hands back and forth due to them being shorthaired animals, therefore, make sure you only do so in one motion. You will find that this will smooth their coat and give them a nice and healthy shine also!
When bathing you can use two choices. The first of course being dog shampoo, the second being baby shampoo. I have found that certain dog shampoos cause the Doberman dogs to suffer from dandruff and flaky skin which can cause them to itch and scratch leaving them uncomfortable and sore, however, baby shampoo does the opposite. I personally used Johnson's baby shampoo for both my Doberman's when they were pups as it was more sensitive to their skin and fur and still gives them the healthy looking shine.
In general, that is all there is to Doberman grooming! They are very easy to look after in the grooming department and very basic; just take the tender loving care that you would with any dog and you can not go wrong with this unique and gorgeous dog!