Almost 4 months, and I got some questions...

newdobemom

newdobemom

Jr Member
Hi All,

I'm kinda new to this community but there is so much great info on here, its awesome for new dobe owners such as myself. This breed is beautiful and intelligent and with the right advice and help I hope to be an educated breed owner. With that being said, Mauser is our red dobe pup who is about to be 4 months. Unfortunately I don't think we got him from a very reputable breeder, his tail is docked but a little longer than usual it looks like, to me at least, and when we got him at 8 weeks we had to start him on all the puppy shots ourselves ( don't know if that's normal). But also, I need some tips on how to help his dandruff he has been getting as of late, he did have at least 2 baths since we got him, with a gentle dog shampoo, and I am brushing him at least a couple times a week. Do I need to brush him more? Does he need another bath? It doesn't seem to bother him too much but its very obvious he has dandruff all on his back and hind legs. But the real issue I hope to resolve as soon as I can is the nipping at my kids, especially when we are all outside in the backyard and they play with him, he likes to nip at their legs and elbows if they happen to be running or walking away. How can I redirect him or help this stop, I don't want them to be afraid to play with him. Thank you so much for the help! My kids are 4 and 2.
 
I would probably give him less baths (mine are always more flaky in the days following a bath) and what kind of food are you feeding? Usually a good quality food can help curb the flakes but it will take a couple of weeks to see a change. I think a lot of folks steer clear of food with grain and corn. There are several threads on here about good puppy foods (best advice - buy the best food you can afford). Rubes has been flakier lately but I think it's in part because of the dry weather as her skin and coat look wonderful.

As for nipping, this is normal puppy behavior but there are ways to teach them that no teeth to skin contact is allowed. We don't have kids so we always just stopped playing with her when she nipped at us or redirected but I'm sure it's not easy to explain that to a 4 and 2 year old. Hopefully someone on here has more personal experience with that!
 
Thank you! Right now we are still feeding him what the breeder was feeding him so the transition was not so hard on him, its dry puppy food, I think its called Diamond. But I would like to slowly change that as we get near the end of the food we already have, to something more organic and healthy. I will try adding some tea tree oil or something like that, I read it helps too. But the nipping part is what worries me, I know its normal puppy behavior but those puppy teeth are razor sharp and leave scratches on my kids. I know he knows he is not supposed to bite, because when I play with him he holds himself back a little and tries to just pinch me with his little front teeth....clever guy.
 
I'm a new Dobermom too and my boy is 3 months old, he gets flaky after a bath too but I have read that coconut oil in their food helps with dry skin but I have yet to try it. If you think about it though, what doesn't coconut oil help with:blush:
 
lol nipping is totally normal. I am on my second dobe and she's also 4 months old. I give her a firm No and redirect her to a toy, if that doesn't work I just put my squirt bottle and spray her butt lol
As for the dandruff. I would add coconut oil and fish oil once daily to her food :) you can also use coconut oil as a topical :)
 
The nipping and jumping is not fun. We got our first dobie, Princess, when my girls were 5 and 7. I got all sorts of advice, everything from "tell the girls not to run" to tell them to to turn their backs to her so she knows the fun is over. In theory yeah that might work but in reality my kids wanted to run and if you turn your back our pup would jump on their back. When your kids are as young as yours 2 and 4, one of the things that worked for me is to be "momma bear" meaning that you're always out there with the kids and as soon as the nipping/jumping starts you intervene and correct the behavior - so the pup knows -don't mess with the kids or you'll be dealing with me. I don't know if that's right or wrong but for the most part, it worked for me. Since my kids were a bit older, I was able to have them redirect at times. They would hold a large stuffed animal and she would nip at that or we would tie the toy to a jump rope and they would run with it and the pup would go after the toy at the end of the rope and not them. The good thing is the pup will out grow it but in the meantime it's a lot of work. We got another pup this fall and now that the kids are 9 and 11 it's been a lot easier.
 
Research shows tea tree oil is safe for dogs and cats and effective only when it is diluted correctly – i.e., diluted in large amounts of water. The recommended ratio is 0.1-1.0 percent strength, to be dispensed topically. Oral application is not safe for your pet.
I would add teaspoon of coconut oil per day into food and you can also use Grizzly Polluck oil in food for skin. This winter weather makes everybody dry out.
 
Welcome!

Dandruff:

I was told by a vet, and have heard and read elsewhere too that you really should only bathe a dog if it really needs it – as in their odor gets to be a problem (I know this is subjective) or they get into something dirty. I follow this rule, though my wife complains often that he stinks. I don't really smell it! :rofl: But I will admit that I always feel I have to wash my hands after petting him. Some of this is his natural oils.

Dandruff, at least in this breed, seems pretty prevalent in my experience. My current male has a nice shiny coat, but pretty much always has dandruff too which is pretty confusing to me.

I know it is advised to brush your Doberman, then wipe them down with a damp towel. I imagine if I ever did this it would keep the dandruff away.

Nipping:

Yes, it's certainly normal puppy behavior. When we got our pup, our little daughter was 4. I started out with the plan of not reacting when the pup bit, which is recommended by experts if you want to promote your Dobe's ability in bitework for sport or protection work. After a couple weeks or so I scrapped that plan because I need to err on the side of safety and order. So, I basically instituted a no teeth policy. Not even a little bit. I'm consistent and firm in verbally reprimanding him when he even so much as opens his mouth to start the action of nipping a family member. This is in calm situations inside the house.

I do not let my daughter play with my Dobe really. I guess I'm different in that way than many people. She is just too little and he is just not gentle. She loves her Dober "brother" and is allowed to pet him calmly and I supervise (try to) every interaction. He knows I am in charge of how he acts with her. If I hear them interacting, I move into sight of him and he looks at me like "Is what I'm doing okay?" I guess it all comes of me being a vigilant hard-ass (pardon my french).

I do not like our daughter to run when he's around. It's easier for us than many families, because we only have one child, and when we have other kids over to visit, I just keep him out of the house, or away from wherever they are. I just don't let sticky situations occur.

It works for me. Hope you find what works for you!
 
Oh Little Oji said:
I do not like our daughter to run when he's around. It's easier for us than many families, because we only have one child, and when we have other kids over to visit, I just keep him out of the house, or away from wherever they are. I just don't let sticky situations occur.
Click to expand...
I totally agree with this. It only takes a nano second for something to go wrong when kids are playing with dogs, especially a strong breed such as Dobermans. Good job Tad!!
 
Oh gosh, yes same here.

I could never live with myself if something happened between my son, Bailey and Kobi. You're absolutely right, Bri....it takes a nano second.

When my son has his friends over Kobi is crated for the period that they are there (generally not very long!!! Argh, I can't stand the noise lol) for the safety of the children as well as Kobi.
Kobi can go from calm to 'worked up' in seconds but takes a lot longer to come back down. So, it's best to not even contemplate it.
With supervision there are so many great games for a dog and child to play, safely.

I'm totally with you with the running, Tad. My son sometimes forgets and needs a gentle reminder. kobi just sees running with a child as one big game.
 
Oh Little Oji said:
Ha! Are you talking about the noise of crated Kobi, or the noise of uncrated children?
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Definitely uncrated children! Lol
Kobi's an absolute dream in the crate.
Aged 9 boys, all they want to do is fight with light sabers and swords. I'm like "wouldn't you prefer to play outside, much more space to run around."Lol

Don't get me wrong, I love my children with all my heart. I'm just not a 'other childrens' entertainer. Its just not me, my husbands the same. He's like "what time are their parents picking them up again?"...."Andrew, they just got here!!'' DAMN!!! Haha.
 
IMG_0421.webp Thank you all so much for the advice!! I or my husband always supervise any interaction with Mauser and our kids. Recently Mauser has kind of learned the fetching game and I encourage that so he gets his running in and they stay stationary. Despite being nipped a few times my kids still seem to like him so that's a good sign lol. They especially like cuddling with him when he is tired and lounging with them on the couch, those are the cute moments. Thanks again everyone, I will try some tea tree oil or coconut oil and just keep brushing him as well. It is really frustrating though that we still have one more set of puppy shots in a few weeks, so getting out to explore and socialize has been really difficult! :(
 
Kind of a late reply here but here goes.

Dandruff has been pretty well covered. A higher quality food will likely help along with less frequent baths.

Nipping - like others have said, totally normal puppy behaivor. I've raised two dogs from pups since my kids were born. The first was a lab when they were 2 and 4 and now a dobe/rott mix at 4 and 6. The absolute biggest thing I can say is absolutely do NOT allow unsupervised interaction. Not even for a minute. Not even if the pup is sleeping. Redirect with appropriate toys. Teach the kids this as well (you'd be amazed at how quick they pick up on it by watching you). Try to limit their running around the pup as the pup sees that as nothing but a game.

Now this is where some people may disagree with me - the fact that your pup is already demonstrating that they CAN bite gently (no blood) is actually a positive sign. My boy took a bit to get to that point and even now at 8 months he's rather mouthy. He will mouth your hand, not enough to hurt or even leave a mark, but mouthing none the less. He's slowly getting better about it by realizing that when he does it, we ignore him.

Fortunately, a lot of it just goes away with age and consistency.
 
Viemarangelrock said:
Definitely uncrated children! Lol
Kobi's an absolute dream in the crate.
Aged 9 boys, all they want to do is fight with light sabers and swords. I'm like "wouldn't you prefer to play outside, much more space to run around."Lol

Don't get me wrong, I love my children with all my heart. I'm just not a 'other childrens' entertainer. Its just not me, my husbands the same. He's like "what time are their parents picking them up again?"...."Andrew, they just got here!!'' DAMN!!! Haha.
Click to expand...

I'm the same way!! I just not an other people's kids person... very close friends of ours, my boys call them aunt and uncle and their boys call us aunt and uncle, their son wants to come camping with us this year... he's 12, so a bit older, and right in line with my oldest but I'm sort of like ummmm... are one of you coming too? :rofl: ayden had a sleep over for his 13th bday I think that's maybe the second time ever in 13 years and 3 kids we've ever had another kid spend the night!
 
Yes as some have said already. Don't give too many baths. They can take the natural oils out of the skin and cause itchy skin. Look for shampoo with a conditioner in it. Also one that doesn't have harsh chemicals in it. Look for Organic shampoos. Something like Burt's Bees. Also stay away from ones that have Oatmeal in them. Some dogs that have food issues with grains. They can cause problems.

By now he should have settled in. I would look at switching his food to a better one.
A very good sites to research foods and ingredients are
www.dogfoodadvisor.com Start out looking at the 5 Star ones. But then I would not go below a 4 Star one. It's going to depend on your budget. Try and get one that has the lowest amount of Carbs in it.

Choices for types of foods you have to feed
Raw and Pre-Made Raw
Dehydrated and Freeze-Dried Raw's
Canned
Kibble




Also some other good sites
www.dogaware.com
www.dogfoodproject.com
www.truthaboutpetfood.com
 
newdobemom said:
THank you! We switched over to Organix and mixing in some raw freeze dried bits.
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I believe Organix is made by Evanger's! If so!
They have had lots of issues with their foods!!!!!!!!!!!!
Special Alert
Unfortunately, due to serious and recurring issues associated with this brand, we cannot (in good faith) recommend this product at this time.

Evanger’s Dog Food
Recall History
The following list (if present) includes all dog food recalls since 2009 directly related to this product line. If there are no recalls listed in this section, we have not yet reported any events.

You can view a complete list of all dog food recalls sorted by date. Or view the same list sorted alphabetically by brand.

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