Advice needed, 5 year old dobie energy level

[godzilla_753]

Hi all

I adopted a Doberman from a rescue shelter 3.5 years ago and was one of the most life changing experiences, am so thankful for Rocky. He is my first pet, He was around 6-8 months when I got him and already neutered. I have since trained him myself, knows all his obedience commands, crate training, regularly walk him off leash in our neighborhood, social with all humans and pets etc etc....generally just an amazing guy.

My issue is I'm going nuts trying to keep him stimulated...

Swim daily in the pool for 2-4 hours at a time, run twice a day for a few miles depending on weather, dog parks etc


NOTHING tires this guy out... We can do all of that in one day, day after day...after day... And if I step to the door he's perked up looking at me to see if I'll invite him out.

He has a crazy prey drive for lizards and can be in the backyard chasing them all day.

I thought after a few years they slowed down... I feel like rocky is getting stronger day by day, I mean legit will do 100 laps in my pool and will get out to pee and be back in there to do another 100... If they had doggie swim Olympics I'd legit enter him.

He's not food motivated at all... Just wants to PLAY ALL DAY. I can't keep up. Is he some sort of working breed??

How can I exercise his drive fully so he can chill out. Or is this just how it's gonna be?? He eats once a day mix of kibble and raw.

-An exhausted Dobie owner

 

[Rits]

Mental stimulation. You are only building his stamina with all that physical stimulation! It's a fine balance but I would definitely be cutting back on the physical and adding in way more mental stimulation. Nosework or anything to do with sniffing is at the top of the list for mental drain. Teach him something new. Teach him his "place" command so he learns to chill, turn off his brain and cap that energy unless you say it is go time.

 

[CRDobe]

I agree with Rits, he needs mental exercise. I use Nosework, tracking, find-it games, etc.

 

[Ukesox]

They can keep the physical stuff up all day. What I’ve found can help to calm & tire is the opposite of what appears natural….not just the mental stimulation activity games (which are great) but getting them to focus on doing nothing as a exercise….ie extended “stays” & “leave it” as a big part of a mental training regime.

 

[Two Dobes]

Agree with all of the above....Dobermans are a working breed, and need a good balance of mental and physical exercise. Teaching him to just "hang" out on a dog bed will be a challenging exercise for him. Never too late to teach him that it's not "go time" all the time. Have you ever tried to have him stay while you are on computer, or cooking or anything? Once they get it; you can teach "place" and they will just go and lay down and wait for a release. Beautiful boy....very athletic looking!

 

[Oh Little Oji]

Great points regarding the mental stimulation!

I was just going to chime in and say that you have probably built him up to being accustomed to that very high level of physical activity. Boy, it's testament to what machines these dogs can be! But yeah, no way in the world I have ever devoted that much of my time to exercising my Dobe – even when I was a bachelor.

Oji is from working lines and you all would probably be amazed at how little time I spend exercising him. Should I be doing more? Probably should, yes; but he is in top physical condition and I think has a good life. I do incorporate training into his every day life though.

When I walk him, I let him pull like a freight train. It's literally like weight-pulling training. Other times, I have him run alongside a bicycle with me. But yeah, he is accustomed to very little actual exercise time each day. We love Oji, but our lives most certainly do not revolve around him.

It's really quite a thing what you can get a dog accustomed to.

But if Oji needed to use his stamina in an emergency, a fight, or some other prolonged task, I have little doubt he'd have what it takes.

I have found that they don't really slow down much with age. I think perhaps other breeds do slow down a lot more with maturity than Dobes do.

 

[godzilla_753]

Thanks alot for the replies, I dove into the training forum a bit more last night and saw different things yall mentioned about nose work.

Thankfully I trained him to place and "chill" but I always feel bad because he's tracking my every move when he's in place..making me think he's bored as hell. I've just seen other friends dogs (diff breeds) that are completely oblivious to owners, knocked out tongue out during the day and a little envious.

Still learning alot about this breed and dog ownership in general. When I was a bachelor I could keep up but I recently got married to a cat person and she's blown away with the amount of work I put into him. I'm just thankful for the backyard, pool, and electric skateboard..I can't run the miles that this guy needs everyday

Really appreciate the support

 

[Two Dobes]

Look forward to more photos and a good report!

 

[Kaiser2016]

Godzilla meets Rocky, how appropriate

NOTHING tires this guy out... We can do all of that in one day, day after day...after day... And if I step to the door he's perked up looking at me to see if I'll invite him out

Isn't it the worstKaiser gives the most intense stares to my hb in order to initiate anything involving play and my hb would get so stressed out about it. He felt like he was being pressured all day long! It'll be hard at first, but just don't give in to it. Look away and move on to another activity where you tell him to 'settle'.

I mean legit will do 100 laps in my pool and will get out to pee

Now I'm impressed. When I think of all the disgusting people who pee IN the pool and your Doberman is so sophisticated that he actually understands the concept on not pissing in your own pool!

He is my first pet,

Same here, so reading this made me take a deep sigh LOL. They are mind boggling aren't they?

I thought after a few years they slowed down... I feel like rocky is getting stronger day by day

That's because he is! Getting stronger that is, not slowing down But this is because that is a TON of activity you are giving him. It's such a fine line between draining their energy enough to have them behave inside the house, versus building their endurance. I wonder how many of these Dobermans are given up because people don't realize how critical the mental component is. Physically, you can't exhaust them, we have tried! I think heat can really wipe them out, so Florida has that to offer, but not if they have a pool to cool down in! Maybe split up his pool sessions and make that his only exercise?

because he's tracking my every move when he's in place..making me think he's bored as hell.

You'll have to figure out a balance here. I do find that Kaiser following me around while I'm busy means that he's not getting a chance to rest, so that can help build up a level of tiredness for later on in the day, but he is now 5.5 years old and this would not have worked as well when he was younger. But ya, I was also hoping he'd slow down a bit, but it does not seem that this happens with these devils.

I've just seen other friends dogs (diff breeds) that are completely oblivious to owners, knocked out tongue out during the day and a little envious.

This is definitely not that breed and I think you wouldn't be the first one to be caught off guard by the difference in behavior when compared to the dogs that your friends have. I've always said that this breed should come with a warning label!