About Us – The Story of vom Illerdamm
For us, this is more than breeding dogs.
It's preserving a legacy, strengthening bloodlines with intention and integrity, and raising dogs that embody the qualities that made us fall in love with the breed.
More Than Four Decades of Dobermann Experience
Our journey with dogs began separately. I (Jürgen) bought my first dog in 1979. Mata Salamata's Golab (INT CH el Kaira's P'smoke Dream x el Kaira's Unah); an Afgahn, led me to the show ring. At almost every show I took him to I found myself at the Dobermann ring. Already at that time, the Dobermann's nobility, musculature, strength and formidable expression fascinated me.
I immigrated to South Africa in 1985 and after settling into a new home followed my feelings and bought my first Dobermann, Aaron in 1986. Aaron was a South African bred male, he was tall and strongly built with a medium character.
The South African Dobermann was at that time a mix of UK, USA, Canadian, Dutch and German bloodlines, there was no real distinguished type and the nervous costume of these dogs was too weak, therefore for my first bitch I decided to go to German bloodlines and purchased Spree Adele vom Illerdamm ZTP SG1A, APT, who was out of fully imported parents (Citto vom Märchengarten x Isolde von Georgstolz) and registered a kennel name (vom Illerdamm) in 1988.
Lauren has had dogs all her life and bought her first Dobermann in 2004.
Building the vom Illerdamm Bloodline
Since there were no suitable males in South Africa to breed to Adele, she was only mated for the first time when she was four years old to Odin vom Norden Stamm (Baron Bryan vom Harro's Berg x Kassandra vom Norden Stamm) which produced my 'A' litter. One dog from the litter was a South African champion, attained ZTP and IWT2.
In 1992 I saw a need to improve character and was in a financial position to import a male. I was lucky enough to get a dog from the well known van't Smeulveen kennel in Holland - Popeye van't Smeulveen (Hertog Conan van Manensheide x Natascha vom Norden Stamm). Hertog Conan van Manensheide won all the major international titles - IDC, DV Sieger, Bundes Sieger, ZTP V1A, Angekört ZVA 1A. I bred three litters from Popeye, all with very good characters.
A year later Mr Mencke, being very happy with the character and looks of the previous litter, repeated the mating and one year to the day, Quina van't Smeulveen SA CH ZTP V1B (Hertog Conan van Manensheide x Natascha vom Norden Stamm) was born.
I offered a partnership to a young Dobermann enthusiast and breeder JC Pieters of the South African Trustdore kennel. We formed in this partnership, the Sudroyal kennel.
International Bloodlines
In 1995 we imported a brown male, Uran Royal-Bell SA CH (Larson Royal-Bell x Niagara Nike Royal-Bell) from the world famous Royal-Bell kennel in Croatia. Uran had a very successful show career and was a South African Champion. Uran was mated to Quina three times with very good results, many of the progeny achieving South African championship status, ZTP and other working qualifications.
In 2000 I was fortunate enough to import Smart Wood Hills Paola from Heinz Grimm. Because Paola was cropped she was not able to be shown or worked in South Africa. She produced two beautiful litters with Actros von Cobra.
Again I could not find a suitable male in South Africa and decided to import two males, Hazar Altobello-Hillo SA CH ZTP V1B (Casanova Altobello x Grate Ginga House) and Actros von Cobra SA CH ZTP V1A (Nitro del Rio Bianco x Beauty Biagotti von Cobra). They were three months apart in age and when Hillo was nine months old I gave him to JC Pieters (Trustdore).
Actros is overall the best Dobermann I have ever had the pleasure of owning. He was much more than a successful dog—he was a beloved member of our family. In 2010 we lost our beloved Actros, we miss him everyday.
Dobermanns Became a Family Passion
In 2005 I met Lauren and started training her dog (Chaldonne X'Tycho ZTP V1A) a son of Actros, he was a super dog, and although stubborn he had great potential. We were devastated to loose him to cancer so young.
In 2008 we got married in a special ceremony shared with our friends. Actros von Cobra was our ring bearer. We share the same passion for Dobermanns and are thankful that they brought us together. Lauren came into the relationship with 4 Norwegian Forest Cats and a passion to breed them. If you're interested in seeing our cats and previous litters you can visit them here.
In my opinion (and that of many Dobermann fanciers), the Italians have some of the finest looking dogs in the world and I was not able to resist importing a top winning Rui Manuel del Rio Bianco daughter to South Africa. Escada Empire von Cobra (Rui Manuel del Rio Bianco x Black Witch von Cobra) was mated to Livonijas Baron Hero Hieronimus (Nitro del Rio Bianco x Paola Penelopa Piligrimas). She was imported in whelp into South Africa in September 2006 and gave birth to a very promising litter in November 2006.
I decided to keep a bitch from this litter - vom Illerdamm Hexe Harmonie. Unfortunately Hexe had a missing tooth (p2) and whilst, according to the Kennel Union of Southern Africa, I would have been allowed to breed with her, I decided against it and placed her in a pet home.
We were then fortunate enough to import two high quality bitches into our home. Casa di Oro Adelina Ada ZTP V1A, IPO1, was a daughter of the famous Jivago van het Wantij x Gelo Robis Gretta, she was not only an excellent looking bitch, she had a super temperament with very high drives. We mated her to Actros, two bitches were born. Janis Joplin vom Illerdamm was sold to our friend Chris Griffith at the SouthernBell kennel in KZN.
We kept Jagger vom Illerdamm ZTP V1A, APT with us. Jagger was Lauren's baby, she was a pleasure to live and work with. She inherited her father's calmness and her mother's fantastic drives.
Nirvana von Nemesis (Hilo von Nemesis x Borana von Nemesis) came to us from Germany (many thanks to the Pfisterer family), she had an excellent temperament and very high drives.
In 2009 our precious daughter Ella was born. She grew up surrounded by Dobermanns and has the same passion for Dobermanns as we do, she is becoming a very good handler.
From South Africa Back to Germany
In 2013 we moved back to Germany, it was hard to leave South Africa and our friends and family, but we try to visit as often as we can. When we moved we brought two dogs with us, Jagger and her daughter, Leb Die Sekunde vom Illerdamm (Pierreluigi Prinz Vis Absoluta x Jagger vom Illerdamm).
Originally, we sold Leb on condition that we could have a litter with her, but due to a change of circumstance, her new owners could no longer keep her and we took her back. Leb was so similar in character and drive to her grandmother, she was a wonderful dog.
We also brought three Norwegian Forest Cats with us.
Our Dogs and the Development of Our Breeding Programme
After many years of looking we finally found our special boy Freaky Styley von Hohenzollern ZTP V1A, IGP1, FPR2 (Oksamit de Grande Vinko x Armani von Hohenzollern) we are so grateful for him, he was a real gentleman, calm and absolutely rock steady, he had good drives and would do just about anything to please us. Styley died in July 2026, our home feels emptier without him, but we are so happy that we shared more than 12 years together.
After we lost Leb to bone cancer and Jagger to a lung infection, we were on the lookout for a new bitch. Tahi-réme Jamila (Quarz de Andreoli x Tahi-réme Tutti Frutti) came into out home in 2020, she only has eyes for Ella, she is super, lots of drive, the sweetest nature and is very pretty too.
We kept a bitch from our M litter, Mick vom Illerdamm (Freaky Styley von Hohenzollern x Tahi-réme Jamila), she is similar to her father in many ways. She is dry, compact and well balanced. She has done very well at the few shows she has been to. We look forward to seeing what she brings to our breeding programme.
Our Approach to Dobermann Breeding
Our breeding programme has developed over more than four decades and across two countries, with Dobermanns from Germany, South Africa, the Netherlands, Croatia, Italy, and other European bloodlines contributing to our experience.
Throughout this journey, we have aimed to make thoughtful breeding decisions based on more than appearance alone.
For us, a good Dobermann should combine:
- Health and longevity
- A stable, confident temperament
- Strong character and sound nerves
- Athletic structure and functional movement
- Working ability and drive
- Trainability and willingness to cooperate
- A strong bond with their people
- The qualities needed to live successfully as a family companion
Every generation teaches us something new. Our breeding decisions are shaped by the dogs we have lived with, trained, shown, worked, and raised as members of our family.
Responsible Dobermann Breeding in Germany
Today, vom Illerdamm is registered in Germany with the Dobermann-Verein (DV), under the VDH and FCI.
Our long history with the breed has given us the opportunity to learn from many generations of Dobermanns and to develop a long-term perspective on health, temperament, structure, working ability, and longevity.
We see breeding as a continuous learning process. Every generation provides new information that can help us make better decisions for the generations that follow.
Most importantly, our Dobermanns are not simply breeding dogs. They are part of our family, and that perspective continues to shape how we approach the breed.
We hope you enjoy exploring our website and learning more about our Dobermanns, our history, and our approach to responsible breeding.
If you are considering welcoming a Dobermann into your family, we invite you to learn more about our puppy placement process, our breeding philosophy, and what life with a Dobermann is really like.
Our goal is to find the right match between each puppy and their future family, to build relationships that last well beyond the day a puppy leaves us and to change lives through the simple, powerful love of a Dobermann.
Welcome to vom Illerdamm.