Aggression

[Jackiegarcia1]

Hi everyone! I have a 10 month old puppy, his names Prince he’s the first Doberman I’ve ever owned and honestly best dog I’ve ever had he’s amazing in every way! He’s super friendly with people and dogs, and greets everyone as a happy pup! Thanks to socializing when I very first got him! He’s never shown aggression ever! Only time he’s ever been “guard dog” mode is when my neighbors peep over the fence for whatever reason lol
But with that being said I met this guy who loved prince… who owns a doberman as well and said that it’s a “phase”. He said that he’s super nice and surprised he let him come up to him to pet him because his Doberman would not let anyone do that. He went on and made it seem as if once he hits his one year mark that everything will change and he’ll become aggressive. Because his dog realized that he’s a “male” when his balls dropped. And that he would not let anyone touch his toys such as other dogs or he will get mad etc.
Basically telling me to beware once prince gets to his one year mark because his personality as a nice pup will change eventually. I seriously hope that he would never change but has anyone delt with this? Such as having a very nice socialized pup turn aggressive once they get older? He’s legitimately a SWEETHEART and I wish that would never change.

 

[Ravenbird]

Nope. Your dog is what he is and will follow through with your training. Dobermans are pretty diverse in their defense levels, so not so much that you trained yours to be sweet and he trained his to be more aggressive, but genetically they are more or less that way and you can shape them more-so with specific training. It's why Dobermans are not very popular in protection sports, their defensive traits were bred down for show dogs and so they made better pets for John Q Public.

I hate that saying that "Dobermans will turn on you when they get older". If that happens it's generally because it's a spoiled dog who has taken the top position in the household, and one day (yes, usually after maturity & gaining confidence) you tell it to get off the bed and it snaps because he's saying "this is MY bed, you don't tell me what to do". All this can be avoided by raising your puppy correctly to respect you & your boundaries, no matter if it's easy-going show lines or very defensive working lines.

And edit to say, that resource guarding by the mans dog that started this conversation with you is not a desirable trait at all and should not be tolerated. And balls have nothing to do with it, there are some female dogs who are fierce as can be in protection.

 

[Panama]

Obviously he's raised his dog different then most Doberman owners I know, because I've never heard of them having that issue.
I will agree that once they (male or female) mature, they do become more protective and key in on their owners vibes, but not out right aggression.
Reacting when someone peeps over the fence, that's normal. It's something that's out of place or doesn't belong there.

To me, it sounds like they teased the dog alot when he was younger -or- they never corrected the problem when it started. So they play into the old (stupid thinking of) "A Doberman will turn on its owner once they mature".

 

[Ukesox]

What absolute tosh! Totally agree with Ravenbird & Panama.
Great looking boy btw.

 

[Ddski5]

That guy is FOS….

Keep doing what you are doing but make sure you stay the Alpha according to Prince.

If you do not hold the top position, then Prince will inherently step up to fill the Alpha position. When they do this they become the boss on all aspects including protection and dominating- that is if that is in his genetic nature.

 

[LifeofRubie]

Agree with all of the above but wanted to add, be an advocate for Prince and set him up for success. He sounds like he's a go with the flow type of dog which is great! I would say that often times, it a negative interaction that will turn an accepting dog into a fearful or defensive dog.

 

[Kaiser2016]

Basically telling me to beware once prince gets to his one year mark because his personality as a nice pup will change eventually

Agree with all the advice. I think the man that spoke to you was not specific enough about what changes. My male is almost 6 years old and still intact. The "personality" change they go through does not include aggression, but they do become more of a serious dog when they mature - that's normal, that's how a Doberman should be. With a male I'd be surprised if he became serious so young lol. Mine made the change between 2 and 3 years old. He is still a playful little devil around the home, still very sweet, that side of his personality has not changed, but when we are outside, he is serious about his responsibilities and less easily distracted. Keep up with your training and it should be fine!

 

[Oh Little Oji]

Yeah, the man was making a blanket statement about the breed that is not true. Maybe his Dobe had that experience, but it is not universal by any means.

It's interesting because as I have been researching other breeds, I have looked fairly extensively into the Central Asian Shepherd. Now that breed does undergo a change once they start to become mature. One person worded it: "Once they hit 1 year, they stop accepting friend requests." Ha. I'd say it is probably older than 1 year, as like most large dogs, they mature slowly. But yeah, I keep hearing it claimed that you cannot get dogs of that breed to accept strangers into the home, even if you're right there and commanding them to accept the person.

Dobes are not like that, especially if you have given them decent training and socialization.

 

[Oh Little Oji]

By the way, your Dobe has some of the looks of a working line Dobe. What kind of lines is he from? (like show lines, working lines, Euro, etc). Just curious. Don't feel obligated to answer if you don't want to.

 

[Cranekc35]

Hi everyone! I have a 10 month old puppy, his names Prince he’s the first Doberman I’ve ever owned and honestly best dog I’ve ever had he’s amazing in every way! He’s super friendly with people and dogs, and greets everyone as a happy pup! Thanks to socializing when I very first got him! He’s never shown aggression ever! Only time he’s ever been “guard dog” mode is when my neighbors peep over the fence for whatever reason lol
But with that being said I met this guy who loved prince… who owns a doberman as well and said that it’s a “phase”. He said that he’s super nice and surprised he let him come up to him to pet him because his Doberman would not let anyone do that. He went on and made it seem as if once he hits his one year mark that everything will change and he’ll become aggressive. Because his dog realized that he’s a “male” when his balls dropped. And that he would not let anyone touch his toys such as other dogs or he will get mad etc.
Basically telling me to beware once prince gets to his one year mark because his personality as a nice pup will change eventually. I seriously hope that he would never change but has anyone delt with this? Such as having a very nice socialized pup turn aggressive once they get older? He’s legitimately a SWEETHEART and I wish that would never change.

wow! he's handsome!