Dobra was born in the village of Vrbovac in the municipality of Glogovac in 1934 and attended primary school in Tërstenik before going to Skenderaj Gymnasium in Glogovac for secondary school, from whence he graduated in 1953 as part of its first class of 42. He spent the next six years self-educating due to a dearth of Albanian language schooling in Yugoslavia, finally enrolling with geography Prof. Musa Gashi off the books for sixth form college at the Mitrovica, Kosovo, graduating in 1961 and going on to undergraduate and graduate studies at the University of Pristina Faculty of Philosophy’s Department of History. His 1977 master’s thesis was entitled “Drenica në Luftën Nacionalçlirimtare 1941 – 1945” (“Drenica in the National Liberation War 1941 – 1945”), and his 2002 doctoral thesis was “Qëndrimi i Italisë ndaj çështjes shqiptare 1908 – 1912” (“Italian attitudes toward the Albanian cause 1908 – 1912” (written in Rome and defended in Pristina). Dobra worked at the Albanological Institute of Pristina and contributed articles to newspapers and to journals such as "Përparimi", "Kosova", and "Gjurmime alabanologjike - seria histori". He participated in social sciences workshops and symposiums at home and abroad.