Ripley

[Ravenbird]

It feels so good to have my dream come true! On the drive home from picking her up, I couldn't stop looking at her (and it didn't help she wouldn't stop looking at me, deep into my soul)! I told my husband, "it feels like we just stole her!" LOL Far from the truth but it felt like I needed pinched to tell me this was all true! The wait certainly was worth it. I couldn't possibly have given my attention to my three girls all at the same time during their prime and that's why I refused to even entertain the idea until the very beginning of this year when I felt a strong shift that "it's time to cross that bridge". Every experience has been part of the journey here and I don't regret any of it. I thank Java for preparing me for a high energy dog and all the lessons she's taught me, and all my beloved dogs before her. I thank Paige for being my steady rock. Accepting Ripley at her age, playing with her, and helping show her how to exist in our family.

My words of wisdom from this journey... Appreciate the dogs before you. Don't be in such a rush. Listen to what they have to teach and offer you, and you will greatly be rewarded in many more ways than you can imagine.

Similar story here! I went almost 20 years without because of my work. No way could I get a puppy with my traveling and 10 to 14 hour days, so I didn't even think about it. Horses were my business and I had a cat for company. Then semi-retirement and it just dawned on me it was TIME. I remember staring at Asha those first couple of days too, thinking how it was surreal to have this baby Doberman after all those years.

 

[PhilT]

My experience was a bit different as my previous dobies were with me all day but when my blue boy Zues passed away in 1997 I decided that maybe being in my work inviroment was not always best so decided I would not have another dog until I could be at home with it everyday do didn't get another companion until 2012 spent 2011 looking for the right one for me then picked him in November and brought him home in the second week of January couldn't take my eyes of him the whole journey home was like when we brought both our kids home i think that why it hurts so much when you know you will loose them King has been my constant companion you must do everything you can to squeeze every moment with them you can (even when they drive you mad)

 

[Rits]

I didn't want to spam pic of the day with my story so posting it here for Ripley's own thread. Yesterday we rented a dock diving pool for an hour and took Ripley for her second swim ever. We previously took her out at 9 weeks to a small creek that connects to the river that the kayakers use to launch from. Kept it really short and sweet with just a few chest deep swims back to shore.

No pics of actual swimming, I was too busy in the moment with her. But she did great! We just focused on making the water a very positive experience and teaching her how to get out of the pool correctly by using the ramp. The head trainer came out to give pointers and used her lab to let Ripley watch from half way out into the pool, then let Ripley chase swim back to the ramp with the lab. It was too cute. She was tickled a puppy so young was out there and a Doberman at that! She took pics for her business so hopefully I'll have some to share soon. She had their smallest life vest on with a handle. You could just lift her up like a little Dobe puppy package and put her in the water lol. By the end, Dad was taking her out half way, pointing her away from the ramp and letting her turn herself around and swim back to exit all on her own! Ripley didn't get in the water by herself so we also worked on that. The ramp is floating in the water so you would think that would be scary to her but it wasn't! She would run right down the ramp to the waters edge. It was funny cause she was so frustrated she couldn't get to Dad without getting wet. She would back up, play bow and bark then storm forward just enough to get wet. We were able to coax her in with treats and worked our way up to getting all 4 feet wet just to the point she was buoyant. We were very happy with her progress overall for her first time and ended on a good note. She was very brave about it all and she was sooo close to getting in on her own so we will be back again to keep at it!

After an hour with short breaks in between you think she would be tired at the end?? Instead she had puppy zoomies and wanted to tug with her towel so those are the pics I have to share lol

 

[Viemarangelrock]

^^Sounds like you guys had a blast! Fingers crossed you’ll get some pictures of her in the water.

Typical Dobermann....they’re like the energizer bunny!!! They keep on going and going....

 

[JanS]

Wow you have some awesome shots here! She's off to such a great start!

 

[Rits]

Puppy Kindergarten started for Ripley today. She's 15 weeks and has 6 weeks of class. It's a mostly for fun class to get them used to other dogs, people, different surfaces etc and for people to ask questions but I'm taking advantage of it for training with distractions and rewarding good relaxed/focused behavior. When people are asking questions I'm rewarding her for loose leash stands, sits or downs, whatever she chooses as long as it's on a loose leash. And of course building that bond with her. The class was HUGE..so many people have puppies right now. The class is a drop in class so people are at varying stages of how long they've been there so this class was the instructor's biggest one. At least 20 puppies were there. We walked in with her verrrry excited about everything and half way through she figured out the game and was sitting facing me, staring at my face for treats. Then when she laid down and kicked out that rear leg showing she was relaxed, more treats. She learned fast that I was more interesting (and I had her dinner on me hah).

The class tonight had us play on some agility equipment to get them used to different surfaces and challenges and the instructor touching them at different times (like for the tunnel). Ripley was eager for them all. The soft tunnel she went right through and the "jumps" (puppy appropriate) I had to jog to keep up with her lol. She hesitated a little on the plastic tunnel (it was a hard plastic food grade barrel) but she overcame it after encouragement with kibble.

While the class isn't exactly as structured as I hoped (the instructor said she doesn't start that until 6 months) I'm still happy with how things went for Ripley! A few pics courtesy of my husband .

 

[Ravenbird]

Oh I would have done anything to have a place like that for Asha when she was this age! It doesn't matter what you set up at home, this is the cat's meow.

 

[Rits]

Oh I would have done anything to have a place like that for Asha when she was this age! It doesn't matter what you set up at home, this is the cat's meow.

Oh for sure! I hesitated a bit because they do a mixture of puppy off leash in the beginning for about ten minutes to get their cranked up energy out and to socialize, with eyes on everyone, then do the onleash stuff. However I really couldn't afford not giving her the experience period and missing the opportunity. I originally had her signed up to start at a different facility much sooner, around 11 weeks and that class was more focused on structure/good manners while in new and different environments then doing the AKC Puppy Star evaluation at the end. The class ended up not working out with our schedule so I had to sadly pass.


While the class isn't exactly as structured as I hoped like the other facility's puppy class was going to be, I'm still very pleased with the experience and Ripley's behavior. This instructor said she doesn't start teaching more structured stuff like heel until 6 months, which I don't particularly agree with because why not start shaping the behavior now in short doses? Rather than waiting until she is a wild child developing the bad habit for months and now is at 35+ lb I'm telling her "don't do that thing I've let you do!" She's already doing a beautiful heel at home by starting as soon as she came home. Of course it's puppy sized, meaning she's only focused heeling for about two minutes then given the FREE command to break focus and be a puppy. But I do firmly believe in starting young! I was never able to wean Java off of a correction collar no matter how hard I worked on it and I'm wanting to avoid that. We will just keep working on puppy appropriate structuring by shaping the behaviors we want, while the class is happening, to take advantage of those distractions we can't offer at home.

 

[Rits]

Puppy class went great this week! All structure and basic foundations to obedience. We worked on sit, down, name game, come, and touch. Ripley did everything so well since we have already been working on that stuff. So I made it a little more challenging and asked for a few seconds of focus with everything going on before treating instead of treating instantly. She got to be the demo puppy for touch where the instructor asked her to touch her open palm...of course a Doberman nose poke extraordinaire does well on that one haha.

Positives this week: while we were standing around while people asked questions we worked on giving to leash pressure in place. Ripley also was a bit cautious last week of all the dogs coming to sniff her, this week she was playing with the most forward puppy there! A cute little bulldog much smaller than her but the same weight lol. They both were having so much fun. Ripley made sure to go around and give everyone a good punch or two lol. But she didn't get obnoxious unless they engaged back. And walked right up to people and wiggled her entire body to get lovins.

Pottying on leash came up as a question. We have been trying to get her to go on leash but never can catch it. Came home and kept her on leash in her outdoor kennel and she went! Lots of success this week ! Remind me when I'm crying here because she's being naughty in a few months

 

[Kaiser2016]

I agree, you want to work on the heel asap - I don't think it makes any sense to wait for a Doberdevil to be 6 months old - they are total freight trains by then!

She got to be the demo puppy for touch where the instructor asked her to touch her open palm...of course a Doberman nose poke extraordinaire does well on that one haha.

Kaiser was the demo dog for this too! Granted he was 9 months old at the time and we were sitting in on a puppy class

 

[jazzies mum]

Ripley is being a great little Doberman ambassador. This has a lot to do with the good early training you are giving her, and a good dose of great temperament! I really hope you do take her to a few shows later on, just for fun.

 

[JanS]

It sounds like she's doing great! I so wish we still had something like that around here. I'm hoping one of the good trainers I know who just moved back from KS will start doing some training again. It's still 50 miles away but I could make it work if it's a day off.

This instructor said she doesn't start teaching more structured stuff like heel until 6 months, which I don't particularly agree with because why not start shaping the behavior now in short doses?

It sounds like the instructor is doing stuff old school but it's since been proven (as most of us know) that starting earlier is way better than waiting. We started Phoebe on leash from day one too and while she doesn't do perfect heels yet, it's usually a fairly loose lead and she readily goes where you want to go.

 

[Rits]

Ripley had her 2nd swim session last night! We rented the indoor heated pool this time since it's getting chilly outside, so tonight was a whole new place to learn. Ripley went to the first step very comfortably and was playing and running across it. We got her to learn she could also walk in shoulder deep water on the second step which she wasn't even sure it was possible without swimming! I didn't get any pics of her doing the steps so well since I was treating her in the pool.

She did a few swims back to the stairs. Then 30 min later after doing so well she gave us a feisty zoomy fest (the videos and pics) where she started letting dad know her opinions on him not just giving her the toy to play with out of the water! Going to keep building on the toy drive cause the frustration to get in the water for the toy is certainly there! We are going to go back once a week to keep building on this while it's fresh so she doesn't revert back every time. She did pretty good tonight for not being a natural water breed! The best part is how great they sleep after.

I kept the videos very short so those with data limits they shouldn't be too bad.

Waiting and falling sleep before her ears get put back up.

 

[Lizbeli]

Fantastic! Love how she hops around in the first video. Wants the toy but shes not happy about the water barrier. And the puppy paddle. Hilarious how they flail their arms so high in the beginning.

Jasper is a water dog. It took him maybe three separate days of swimming until he was keeping his legs under him. I wish I had a dock diving class in my area. I think the closest one is a two hour drive. Jasper would absolutely excel at it. Maybe ill look around again.

 

[MyBuddy]

Awesome!! Was this close to your house? Man, a heated pool to yourself! I'd like that for ME! hahaha! I have no interest in a chilly pool. But heated! Wow! And Ripley took to it like a fish ! She looks so adorable 'stepping in'!! Such a cutie! LOVE her vest!!

 

[PhilT]

I love Ripleys flotation jacket he sure looks like she having good fun she's an adorable little lady

 

[Viemarangelrock]

Love the pics and videos. She’s doing awesome! Dad’s doing a great job, too. Very encouraging!

 

[Rits]

Awesome!! Was this close to your house? Man, a heated pool to yourself! I'd like that for ME! hahaha! I have no interest in a chilly pool. But heated! Wow! And Ripley took to it like a fish ! She looks so adorable 'stepping in'!! Such a cutie! LOVE her vest!!

Yes it's a facility that's largely for rent for seminars but they offer the space to rent for others to come use too. They have an outdoor dock, indoor pool, and agility equipment to rent. Occasional outside trainers put on classes for different things. The person that owns the place runs a service dog training business out of it. About 20 min away from us. No classes but at least we can have the pool to ourselves for an hour to work on getting her comfortable and have fun!

I love Ripleys flotation jacket he sure looks like she having good fun she's an adorable little lady

Haha thanks! She is cute with it on. Fortunately they have jackets of all sizes for us to use. The first time we went 4 weeks ago she had to wear the smallest one, it was stinkin cute!

I wish I had a dock diving class in my area. I think the closest one is a two hour drive. Jasper would absolutely excel at it. Maybe ill look around again.

I would LOVE for there to be a class nearby too. Since Jasper is already so good at it you could go to an event for a fun jump, typically it's only $5 or so and try it out. The dock diving community is super friendly and helpful.

Hilarious how they flail their arms so high in the beginning.

Oh my god it's so funny! She can't even see where she's going!! I hope she learns to lean her weight forward one day LOL

 

[AnnV]

I didn't know dogs had 'arms' LOL!
Loove this!
Splish splash video is priceless

 

[Ravenbird]

How awesome! You guys are rocking' it on all these levels! So good for that youngster.