Added a new Dobergirl to the family!

[Aaron56]

If I had two of same sex, I don’t think I would let them clash and play aggressively (even though that’s what Dobermans do). I would have to stop anything that remotely looks like something that could trigger real aggression towards each other.

Good luck.

Three females would be much worser -

Unpossibile to ever expect that sort of stuff to work out.

Dystopia and this girl became BFF's pretty much instantly when the new girl walked in the door -

I have been testing new girl a bunch to see how she follows (or 'if' she follows) commands when she is playing and worked up...

I know how the existing girl will respond.

So far, new girl seems pretty darn responsive and has not needed much for telling her to 'ease up'.

If new girl was not passing her tests she would still be on a leash and not allowed to run around free at all.

I can't really test her 'off leash' without her being 'off leash'.

 

[Aaron56]

Pretty sure it was not 'easy' for her previous owner to have to rehome her (because of the circumstances there and because I have another dog here both) so...

I try to keep Agathas previous owner updated on how she is doing and how everybody is getting along. If the roles were reversed and I were in her shoes I would like an update here or there so I could know if my former dog was doing ok or not.

I sent her a few videos and a message today and got this in reply -

After I got done laughing I just had to shake my head thinking 'Yup, I can see Agatha doing that'.

I have had Dobermans that were bad about grabbing them up before (and some were down right habitual about picking them up for a little bit and carrying them around) but have never had one actually eat them. Guessing something about that toad defense mechanism and the foaming at the mouth that made them choose to NOT eat the darn things?

It is NOT fun having a dog that can't leave the frogs alone. Having to clean their mouth out before you come back inside after a simple potty break gets old after the 3rd mouth cleaning and dependige on how long the from 'season' is - It's not fun.

Apparently that toady defense does not work so well with Agatha! This is the same girl that has an 'If its flying - Its dying' attitude towards anything buzzing around in the air that she can catch (flys, wasps, bumble bees, etc.) and similar to any sort of crawling insects she stumbles across.

I am telling myself that it is her super duper protective nature wut makes her like she is.


The dog that passed away before Agatha came along was very much the same as far as flying stuff. No matter how many times she decided to kill a wasp or similar and it stung her (which she was allergic to so her face would swell up like a ball almost every time) she could never learn to leave that crap alone if it was buzzing in our air space!

(lots of benadryl in my doggie medical kit because of that previous dog)

Got Agatha a tug rope on the way in this morning.

Played with her and it a few times today for short periods and don't think she has had a lot of anyone playing this sort of game with her yet. She was not really trying to tug anything very hard or for long and didn't seem too bothered whenever she lost her end. Not at all aggressive in how she was playing and she does not seem at all protective of her toys. (my toys that I am letting her borrow)

I know for sure Dystopia does not care about any of those toys and will not try to take anything away from Agatha. Not gonna happen...

So far stuff like food / mealtimes (me right there in the middle and directly supervising) and toys are not causing any sort of guarding behavior on the part of Agatha.


She is blending in faster than I ever hoped for by a few miles. Pretty much all of the easy 'routine' stuff here seems to have clicked in her brain already.

Still working on lots of stuff but very happy so far!

 

[Aaron56]

Went to go out the front doors for the first time today and Agatha completely locked up when she got to the steps leading down to that entry.

Even after Dystopia and I went down to the landing Agatha was stuck up there like there was a force field holding her back from taking that first step down...

I had Dystopia go up and down a few times to show her that it was 'ok' but Agatha still refused to try those steps out.

When I came up to get her and lead her down personally she pissed herself a tiny bit before getting lead (dragged) down the steps.

It's only 6 steps down there...

It's not steps or stairs that is bothering her here (does other steps without issue) - It is the surface of these steps and how slippery they are on her feet that is causing her issues.

Girl is not a big fan of slippery surfaces. (have been a few other signs other than this one)



I is pretty sure I can help her get over all of that.

The dog on the right side in this picture is Dystopia. She learned a little faster than her sister did how to wait to launch (or quickly change direction) until you had something not as slippery under your feet.

Since all of her future potty breaks for the time being are going to happen at the front of the building and involve going up and down those steps each time -

Agatha is going to whip this quickly. I already know!

 

[JanS]

It is the surface of these steps and how slippery they are on her feet that is causing her issues.

I can definitely see that. Our steps inside are carpeted and the ones outside are wood.

 

[Ddski5]

It's not steps or stairs that is bothering her here (does other steps without issue) - It is the surface of these steps and how slippery they are on her feet that is causing her issues.

I used to spend a lot of time on soccer fields with my daughters. Great opportunity to train a Doberman. They absolutely would freeze when going on/up/down aluminum bleachers. It took me many many trips to overcome that fear. It was actually kind of weird…once they did that, it kinda leveled them up about four levels. They then became more daring and easily tried other things that were difficult.

 

[Aaron56]

I used to spend a lot of time on soccer fields with my daughters. Great opportunity to train a Doberman. They absolutely would freeze when going on/up/down aluminum bleachers. It took me many many trips to overcome that fear. It was actually kind of weird…once they did that, it kinda leveled them up about four levels. They then became more daring and easily tried other things that were difficult.
View attachment 154052

Hoping you is correct cause with Agatha being a 'used' dog she only came with the 30 minute / 30 miles warranty and I can't return her now. (30 minutes from time of purchase or 30 minutes from her house - Whichever occurs first...)

 

[Aaron56]

Dystopia approves of the new member of the family here.

 

[Aaron56]

I don't think anybody ever gave Agatha strawberries before.

Stuck a few fat ones in each of the girls bowls tonight with their dinner and Agatha pushed them out of the way until everything else was gone and only then slowly started pecking at one of them. Once she actually tasted the first one the second one got inhaled.

Glad she likes them cause I got a fairly large container just for the girls!

Girls continue to get along much better than I had hoped for (Agathas history at her previous home to be considered here) and seem to be bonding well with each other.

This was today on their bed at the shop -

Agatha has been pretty much kissing Dystopias butt ever since she got here and really seems to enjoy her company.

If Dystopia was not here to help me (and them getting along) Agatha would need a lot more work on my part doing stuff to try and exercise her or tire her out. She is bursting at the seams with Dober energy that should be expected at her age!

I really need these girls to work as a team and be comfortable together.


Still trying to figure out why Agatha has no problems sharing the dog bed with Dystopia at work but here at the house she has still not stepped a single foot inside. She will get right next to the dog bed here but not even try to step inside.

Old picture from when she first came here but nothing has changed as far as her behavior towards that dog bed -

That dog bed is big enough for Dystopia and 2 Agathas AND Dystopia even leaves a spot wide open for her instead of sprawling out but...

Agatha has been here for a while now and still won't invade that space... Have noticed similar with respect to the crates. Agathas crate is right beside Dystopias but she has never even tried to go sniffing about inside the one that was not 'hers'.

I have not tried to coax her or deter her from anything with respect to that dog bed. I have only been observing how the dogs worked all of that stuff out on their own.

 

[Aaron56]

I added baked potatoes and green beans to the kibble tonight. (and a big fat strawberry in each bowl)


Dr Share DID say I needed to put some meat on Agathas butt and potatoes WILL do that so...


Never really had to 'tell' Agatha what to do during mealtimes here - She picked it up watching Dystopia. When the food comes out and bowls are being prepared they both go to their crates and wait until they are individually called to eat. Each girl knows which bowl is theirs and that is where they go when called to eat.

I got some pretty strict food 'rules' here and Agatha picked them up in less than a week just from watching how the other girl acted.

I do camp out right between them while they are eating to make sure everyone follows the rules but so far no signs of problems from Agatha as far as food or resource guarding stuff. She stays to her own bowl and does not go anywhere near Dystopias and does not seem bothered while she is eating if Dystopia finishes and walks behind her to go back to her crate.

Girl is calm and not overly protective because food is around.

Pretty sure she knows I am not about to allow anybody to steal or otherwise mess with her food and appreciates me being there to supervise things...

Agatha has no issues with me rubbing on her / praising her while she is eating.

Food rules around here are pretty much as follows;

1) Wait in your crate while I fix the bowls and STAY there until YOUR NAME is called.
1a) It is very possible I may start filling bowls and then get sidetracked and then walk away / leave the room and do something else for a while. Dogs are to wait in crates no matter what until called regardless of what sort of food is laying around just a few feet away in the bowls because 'I was not done yet' and did not call them.

2) Keep to YOUR own bowl. Do not go anywhere near a bowl that does not belong to you.
2a) If the other dog has finished and walked away from their bowl you got to ask ME first for permission before going anywhere near said bowl to check to be sure it is empty.

3) If you are in the middle of eating and I say CRATE. You want to get in the proper crate as fast as you can because this means I am adding more gooder stuff to the food bowls. The more gooder stuff does not get added if you is not in the crate like asked and you don't get to come get it until YOUR name is called...

Agatha is nailing every single 'routine' and every single 'rule' I toss her way so far and not taking very long to do so. We do have a 'routine' here and she seems to be picking it up with little effort. Same stuff is going to happen every day at the same time right down to who gets in the truck first and who gets in second...


For those that may not have started reading at the beginning of this thread -

Agatha came from a home where she was not getting along with another girl there and fights were breaking out.

Not knowing for sure if she was the girl that started it or not or much of anything about how that stuff actually happened - I am treating Agatha as if she was the girl that started the problems there and she is going to have to be tested before she earns any trust here.

So far, have tested her with toys, with attention / affection, with treats, with mealtime stuff, with everything the other dog does normally and routinely every single day.

Have been slowly increasing times for 'waiting' sorts of commands and me 'disappearing' around the corner and such...

Agatha has steadily been passing every sort of reactivity test (with respect to the other girl being around) I toss her way and has been nothing but affectionate / submissive towards Dystopia so far.

She does tend to play rough when they do play like one should expect with a Doberman but so far has shown perfect bite inhibition. I watch that stuff very closely for obvious reasons...

Dystopia freakin loves this girl.

Ears have never been this clean!

She (Dystopia) went from being the girl that was cleaning the ears on her sister to the girl that is getting her ears cleaned by the new dog.




I got lot of work ahead Agatha earning trust and all but I got a good feeling.