In DESPERATE need of advice for Doberteen behavior!

[doberdemon]

My pet name for the e-collar is the "hearing aids".


These tools don't make you dog weaker or afraid of you or to piss themselves or anything you may have heard. They simply make the dog understand that you mean what you say and you are to be respected. My dog is hard as nails but also very sensitive. She can handle it and never holds a grudge. It's more like, "OH, alrighty then! I thought it wasn't a big deal what I was doing." Mine will be 2 years old in a couple of months, I use it less and less as time goes by, but always on when I know she will be tempted to become deaf. Find a good understanding instructor, the e-collar needs to be understood by you before you use it on your dog. Keep on with your good work!

I love that! Haha yes, I do see that e-collars can 100% help in communication and it does appear Enzo will need those nudges so I would indeed like to learn to use it! A previous trainer did try a prong on him and he just absolutely shut down, so that’s why I’m a little hesitant to aversives! But I understand they do work for some dogs! Unfortunately here in Nashville, I can’t find any trainers who will help with learning about that tool! Other than Off Leash, but I have my reservations about them. I may try Zoom classes by other trainers I look up to and go from there. Thank you very much, I’ll continue to work hard and persevere through these terrible teens!

 

[doberdemon]

Thanks for the update! You are really on this, and that's good. What is WIP? Oh wait, Work In Progress?

Work in progress, yep! I’m putting 100% of myself into him as he deserves, but that’s not to say he doesn’t make things challenging at time! I have heard the Doberteens can be pretty rough though! So we’re just going back to basics and powering through while we look for some outside help!

Thanks for the update....I understand some dobes are "softer", but I will tell you; they also play on your emotions. I have a friend who will not trim her boys nails cause if you touch his foot with clippers in your hand, he cries out like you are going to cut his foot off. So he has learned that all he needs to do is "cry out" and she won't cut his nails. Until "Mean Mommie" me comes over...I back him into the wall, have lots of cheese, and trim just the tips one at a time. I am working to get them back for her (Going to take awhile) but I can't have my friend in the room when I do it. He completely feeds off of her.
So just keep that in mind....they will outsmart you in a minute to get you to go along with their ideas....ideas of not working, not listening, not wanting their feet touched....

LMAO you are totally not wrong in that regard! He definitely has his dramatic moments and I’ve been guilty of giving in to him on occasion. Most of the time when something needs to be done, I offer him the choice and give tons of rewards if he cooperates on his own, and this works great as 95% of the time he’ll choose to allow something. If not, I give time and ask again later. If something HAS to be done like nail trims, he understands I’m not asking and he can trust I won’t hurt him. He doesn’t scream thankfully, just pitifully tolerates it! There are some situations in which force will absolutely make him shut down, freeze and shake and I’m just not about making him if he hits that point, y’know? We’re still finding the right balance here. I really only mean prongs or man handling if he’s scared of something like the bath that I’m thinking he can be fearful or sensitive with, and those are the things I won’t force as he’ll shut down. Definitely a work in progress!

 

[Katyusharocket]

This has been an amazing thread to read! Doberdemon, i admire your commitment to your dog! Just having that makes me think everything is going to turn out fine, even if it is a lot of work. I gotta confess its all a little frightening to read, as my Katyusharocket is only 7 months, so thinking to myself, "what have i gotten myself into"?

my biggest training challenge to date was with Thor, my Bernese Mountain dog. We went to training at Petco, which, in this case, had a fabulous trainer. The first thing Thor did when he met the trainer, was bit her. The trainer gave us 3 weeks of an hour of her time, for free, just to get us to where we needed to be to start adult 1 class. (turns out most of our problem was me, and i think the trainer is secretly a relationship therapist)

the trainer said Thor was her biggest accomplishment, i.e. the worst to start with, and advanced the most. I called her again when i got the Dobergirl. she said i didnt need her, if i managed Thor, dobergirl will be no problem. now i am starting to wonder if that will be true.....

in any case thor is a great dog now. absolute obedience from him, and he really just knows what is expected and does it, and knows what is not permitted, and doesnt do those things. (except counter surfing, but again, that is more of a problem in me than from him). Katyusha has so far seemed to learn quite a bit from Thor as well, which is a great thing!

Best of luck Doberdemon! I am calling you inspiring!

 

[doberdemon]

This has been an amazing thread to read! Doberdemon, i admire your commitment to your dog! Just having that makes me think everything is going to turn out fine, even if it is a lot of work. I gotta confess its all a little frightening to read, as my Katyusharocket is only 7 months, so thinking to myself, "what have i gotten myself into"?

my biggest training challenge to date was with Thor, my Bernese Mountain dog. We went to training at Petco, which, in this case, had a fabulous trainer. The first thing Thor did when he met the trainer, was bit her. The trainer gave us 3 weeks of an hour of her time, for free, just to get us to where we needed to be to start adult 1 class. (turns out most of our problem was me, and i think the trainer is secretly a relationship therapist)

the trainer said Thor was her biggest accomplishment, i.e. the worst to start with, and advanced the most. I called her again when i got the Dobergirl. she said i didnt need her, if i managed Thor, dobergirl will be no problem. now i am starting to wonder if that will be true.....

in any case thor is a great dog now. absolute obedience from him, and he really just knows what is expected and does it, and knows what is not permitted, and doesnt do those things. (except counter surfing, but again, that is more of a problem in me than from him). Katyusha has so far seemed to learn quite a bit from Thor as well, which is a great thing!

Best of luck Doberdemon! I am calling you inspiring!

Awww thank you so much friend, that means a lot and I’m honored to be an inspiration in any regard! I’m far from perfect, and still very inexperienced as far as dog training goes, but I think I’ve learned a lot in the year I’ve had my Dobe and I’m happy to share it!

I’m so glad to hear you were able to get help with Thor, what an amazing trainer!! If you can handle a BMD I feel like you can handle most dogs! Hopefully some of his now lovely manners and training will rub off on your little girl!

And please don’t let my struggle with Enz discourage you!!! I promise things get better, he’s turning into an amazing dog, even with the little training I’ve done with him myself bc inexperience! I think so long as you put in the work, it WILL pay off, as I’m sure you’ve definitely seen with Thor! Enzo has a long ways to go, as I’m not a trainer nor have I found one to help yet, but even then he’s a completely different dog than the one I first posted about! It took me learning dog body language and understanding what overstimulation and thresholds are to finally get to the root of the problem and stop it! Also just learning how to meet his individual energy and stimulation needs made a world of difference! Like a lot of us say, I didn’t know how much dog I was really in for! But it’s been a really rewarding journey I’ve gone on with him as he grows, and I wouldn’t trade him for anything in the world. Hang in there and practice like you did with Thor, you’ll see the fruits of your labor with her too! For us it was like a light switch. One day all my training to this point just..clicked. He was driving me crazy and frustrating me and then he just wasn’t. It fell into place and I’m seeing a glimpse of the dog he’s going to become with the work I put into him. And god, it’s the best feeling ever! He’s my heart dog and he was worth every tear I shed over him, and there was a lot!! It sounds like you’re just as committed as I am, you’ll survive this!

 

[Sage024]

Hey y’all, this is my first post here, I’ve posted on Reddit and in Dobe FB groups and I just don’t know where else to go! My puppy has developed a very particular and bad habit I need help with.

I have a 9mo male (unfixed until ~18mos?) American/European Dobe named Enzo, and he’s absolutely INCREDIBLE. He’s my first Dobe, he’s difficult as all hell and wonderful all in one. We’re currently dealing with the normal teen things, not listening, interested in anything but Mom, being a butt, etc. We’re working on persevering with basic training and exhausting him daily till we make it through LOL. That’d be fine and dandy if he didn’t have this one habit- he likes to hump, but in a weird situation that I can’t figure out how to solve.
Basically, only in dog parks/public, only to strangers, he will attack/jump from behind and hump relentlessly until I’m forced to leave entirely and go home. He will fixate on 1-3 people (or dogs) and follow to hump them. Kids are his favorite. Even on leash he cannot be around kids bc he WILL knock them down and hump them. I remove him immediately every time, with stern “no”s. He will not listen to commands, time outs and prong corrections are failing. Treats and toys are of no interest to him currently while out of the house, and he’s got to be “in the mood” to train even at home with the highest value treats lol. Playing with dogs and exploring off leash is his FAVORITE thing in the world, the ONLY way I can completely tire and satisfy this butthead, so I really don’t want to just stop going all together (we have for now) but that’s all people tell me to do when I ask for help! Surely there’s something I can do? Anything?

So far we’ve exhausted 2 basic obedience trainers, little turd won’t listen to them and they can’t offer me any more help or advice. Off-Leash Canine is one of the only other options for trainers I’ve heard about for the Nashville area but I’ve heard some pretty bad things about them and don’t want to rely solely on e-collars if possible. Idk where to turn y’all, this sucks!!! Will an e-collar help w this strange behavior, does anyone have any other suggestions as far as training methods to stop this, or know of better trainers in the Nashville TN area? I would be INSANELY grateful for any help I can get.

Here’s the rude Baby in question (ear is a WIP)View attachment 117104

What a little stud you have there! The WIP ear adds even more sass to his look haha

I’m fairly new here too and have an 8 month old euro boy who is also a handful and everyone is super helpful, so you’re in the right spot and not alone!

I can tell you what I’ve done for humping, but not sure how well it will work if he’s gotten into the habit. Kanda humped for the first time at a dog park and I pulled him off immediately and we left the park shortly after. The next day we were playing and he tried to hump me! I immediately pushed him off, repeatedly said no in an angry voice and sprayed the shit out of him with a spray bottle (he hates the spray bottle). He has never attempted to hump me since. We went to the dog park one more time on Christmas Eve and he was a little too interested in a 5 month old Dane girl pup. I kept super close to him, he tried to mount her twice, I pulled him away both times immediately and then whenever I saw him close to her I would “AH AH” and walk up on him. He doesn’t have very good recall in busy places, so that was our last park visit. I’m currently no longer allowing him to play with other dogs (unless it’s a one on one play date) until he’s much more trained and reliable. He hasn’t humped at home since and hasn’t had the opportunity to do it to any strangers or dogs since. I’m hoping this minimizes any building of that habit.

With our boys being in their teens and still very much in training, I recommend tiring him out and socializing him in a way that doesn’t directly interact with other people and dogs. (Keep im mind I’m regurgitating advice that is so far working, but I’m very new, he’s my first dog).

Training tires my boy out more than any exercise, a good long session does wonders (if you can get him to focus and if he wants to listen that day). So we are focusing on training. I also know walks are a pain at this age because of their pulling and strength. I live in a city and have only one area I know of that is fenced in and that other dog owners rarely go to, so I can let him off leash in a controlled environment to play fetch and run. I know the dog park is great for burning his energy, but if he’s not reliable yet like my boy isn’t, and he’s as hormonal as mine is, it’s just not worth the risk of him getting attacked or into a fight at the park.

You got this! Keep training, we will get though this awful teen phase. Maybe try using a spray bottle first for the humping, see if he responds to that at all.