As a Doberman owner

[Gelcoater]

Theres a lot of things to consider.
Feel free to add aspects here.

My boy Rocky, he’s ball/toy driven as well as food driven and has good prey drive.
Exercising him is pretty easy.
Throw the chosen ball or toy!
There’s at least 3 balls floating around, any one of them on any given day is “the ball” the others suck that day

I admit my yard is smallish, much smaller than most but perhaps slightly larger than a few.
I feel my job is complete on our daily play sessions when he decides laying down to chew on the toy is more important than pestering me to throw it again, which he is very proficient at

We have pretty much zero in the way of destruction around here. Happy boy, exercised and mentally stimulated.
He spends his free time napping, lol.
I feel fortunate he’s not a destructo dog, I’ve heard some horror stories.

If I notice signs of him digging it’s a sure sign I haven’t ran him enough or ran him through some commands enough to challenge his mind.
I’m considering buying some agility poles and maybe a nylon tunnel to see if o can get his oldish ass moving in a new direction.

 

[crypticintent]

Ezri doesn’t seem to care so long as she gets to run.

We have 3 baseball fields about 3/4 a mile away.

Walk there let her run to her hears content, follow up with some recalls and walk back. Tired puppy.

We also went to a dog park yesterday (not in town) that had some good permanent agility stuff. She hammed it up on those and even got her to do some jumps and tunnels even with other dogs trying to goad her into play. May continue working that some.

 

[jazzies mum]

A morning and evening walk being mostly off leash but with some obedience thrown in along the way with distance stays, recall over obstacles, distance downs etc. Every few days we have some formal loose leash walking to keep her up to scratch. The sniffing and investigating wears her out in itself though. Before each walk there is a play session with the chuckit, flirt pole or her jolly ball. There is an obedience aspect to this too with random "leave its" and "downs", "sits" etc. She is asked to pop over some logs and hurdles or jump up on a log and sit. She has learned self control in regards to wildlife but I always make an issue of asking for attention when there are critters around to reinforce this.

During the day she is required to just chill out unless alerting to something in the area. Sometimes there is a car ride or market to go to, or a random bike ride for a change, but mostly she knows to just snooze.

She isn't a destructive dog either and hasn't destroyed anything that's not hers since she was about 4 months old, when she couldn't resist a sponge of any description, no matter what, so they all were put up high! She did destroy a portable solar panel once.......it was an accident.............she got the zoomies and crashed into it. $700 worth of destruction that one and the worst of it was that I couldn't growl at her as she didn't even know she'd done it!

You know, when I read what our daily routine is I realise just how much of each day is devoted to keeping Jazz happy and healthy in mind and body!

 

[Kaiser2016]

You know, when I read what our daily routine is I realise just how much of each day is devoted to keeping Jazz happy and healthy in mind and body!

Sooooo...much...time...the energy is just endless

 

[IslandDobeMix]

We’re still refining our routine with Birdie but as of right now, she gets off leash play and potty time in the yard early morning, mid morning, and afternoon. We usually do some obedience and/or silly trick training in the late afternoon. About an hour after dinner (we had Great Danes so we’re paranoid about bloat), she gets about 45 minutes of full-on go go go on the property. That sometimes involves just running around like a spaz, or frisbee, or sometimes beach and water play, although she doesn’t seem to be much of a swimmer). She gets a couple more backyard potty breaks before bed. We also try to take her on leash walks a couple times a week and take her into town to work on socializing.

I’d welcome any feedback or suggestions on whether or not this is adequate. For now, we’re happy this energy-filled girl isn’t chewing the house to bits or keeping us up all night!

 

[jazzies mum]

The best feedback on the amount of exercise/activities will be Birdie herself! You will soon notice the naughtiness levels rise if it isn't enough! She looks bright and happy and very beautiful!

 

[Gelcoater]

We’re still refining our routine with Birdie but as of right now, she gets off leash play and potty time in the yard early morning, mid morning, and afternoon. We usually do some obedience and/or silly trick training in the late afternoon. About an hour after dinner (we had Great Danes so we’re paranoid about bloat), she gets about 45 minutes of full-on go go go on the property. That sometimes involves just running around like a spaz, or frisbee, or sometimes beach and water play, although she doesn’t seem to be much of a swimmer). She gets a couple more backyard potty breaks before bed. We also try to take her on leash walks a couple times a week and take her into town to work on socializing.

I’d welcome any feedback or suggestions on whether or not this is adequate. For now, we’re happy this energy-filled girl isn’t chewing the house to bits or keeping us up all night! View attachment 96383

She’s adorable!
Like Jazzies mum said, she’ll be your gauge.
You’d probably have good luck playing the find it game. Hide a few treats around the yard when she can’t see where, then rile her up to find them.
You could use toys here too to limit total food intake if needed. Perhaps Kong’s or other toys with a great pocket.

And, beware of the water, lol.
Most every Doberman I’ve ever been around hates water, runs at the sight of a garden hose, etc.
However.
For those that learn how much fun water can be....
It’s life changing, lol.

Ever had 90lbs of happy panting, sopping wet dog plop themselves at the foot of your bed at 6:25am?
After they learn the automatic sprinklers come on at 6am the timer needs to be reprogrammed
And if they see a swimming pool, even at Christmas time, you’d better tell her no before she gets there!

 

[Gelcoater]

Ever had a house that smells like wet dog while trying to enjoy Christmas dinner?

 

[Tropicalbri's]

And if they see a swimming pool, even at Christmas time, you’d better tell her no before she gets there!

Exactly!!! And they always must run to you before shaking off. My two love to run to me and share the shaking off the water experience. So be prepared.
Once they discover the magic fun of water, it only gets more fun for them. Bogie will drop his ball in the pool, then run to the other side and dive in head first to get it. I call it self entertainment but he still runs over to me to shake off. I don’t mind it if I am working in the yard because it feels good in our heat here.

 

[JanS]

How do you gauge it when you have dogs that prefer to do this all day?


That said, they do get a lot of runs in the woods every day with their dad so perhaps there would be more of an edge if they didn't get that.

 

[Kaiser2016]

How do you gauge it when you have dogs that prefer to do this all day?
View attachment 96399

That said, they do get a lot of runs in the woods every day with their dad so perhaps there would be more of an edge if they didn't get that.

Howwwwwwwww?!

 

[IslandDobeMix]

I was curious about Doberman swimming! Thanks for sharing your experiences! Birdie tried swimming (with help from my hubby who carried her out to slightly deeper water) but she was NOT a natural, to say the least .

She seems to just want to run in, splash a bunch, get soaking wet, run out, and then shake right next to me!



@JanS - are your dogs regular couch potatoes?? It looks so peaceful!!

 

[jazzies mum]

No, I don't think Doberman dogs are natural swimmers, but they can and do get to enjoy it and become good strong swimmers! To start with they seem to sink at the rear and end up with nose pointed to the sky and front legs splashing, and I think they would actually sink and drown if they weren't quietly "rescued" and lifted up level again! Once they stop panicking and learn that they have good paddles it all ends well and I think it is a good skill for them to learn in case of accidental dunkings! I just don't think they have the flotation that others dogs have with no thick coat or fat layer. Some people put life jackets on their dogs for safety but I chose to let Jazz get her skills without one, but I watched VERY closely!

 

[IslandDobeMix]

Yes - in another thread @Mystic described as the “sink and splash” and that sums it up! On of our last dogs was a lab and he took to the water instantly. Even our doxies seem to have better instincts in the water than Birdie does so this is new for us.

We’ll keep taking her to the beach and encouraging her with sticks and balls and keeping a close eye, as you said. Thanks!!

 

[LifeofRubie]

@IslandDobeMix haha our Dobe is in the same boat. She is not at all an elegant swimmer BUT we've made it a point to make sure she is at least aware of the activity just in case. If she were to ever find herself in over her head, literally, I want to make sure she won't sink. She'll go into about chest deep and then that's good enough for her.

She's happy letting the lab retrieve things and then steals them from him on shore....

 

[Tropicalbri's]

The best way to help your dog get his “feet wet” is to have another stable dog around that loves to retrieve items thrown into the water. My girlfriend had a Flat Coated Retriever that lived in the water. I took her and my twins to a beach area and started throwing the ball for my friend’s dog. Being ball driven my two immediately starting going into the water over their heads to retrieve the balls. That was the beginning of their total love of swimming.
Water falling from the sky on the other hand, was not to their liking at all until I started training them in the rain. Now they don’t mind the rain as long as I am out there with them.

 

[Gelcoater]

The best way to help your dog get his “feet wet” is to have another stable dog around that loves to retrieve items thrown into the water. My girlfriend had a Flat Coated Retriever that lived in the water. I took her and my twins to a beach area and started throwing the ball for my friend’s dog. Being ball driven
Water falling from the sky on the other hand, was not to their liking at all until I started training them in the rain. Now they don’t mind the rain as long as I am out there with them.

This!



Daisy was around Golden Retrievers
Once she saw dogs going in willingly, and there was ball play involved too??
We had her going in willingly in a session or two.

And yes, she was a horrible swimmer, lol.
She tried.
I kept her towards the shallow end where she was doing the dog paddle but her back legs were bouncing off the bottom from hind end sink.

I think a pfd for dogs is an excellent idea for Dobermans around water.

 

[Tropicalbri's]

I think a pfd for dogs is an excellent idea for Dobermans around water.

Bogie learned quickly there is a huge difference from salt water to pool water.
He is such a strong swimmer that he is able to keep his body level. I will put life vests on when I am at certain areas because Bogie will swim forever after a bird. I have had to swim after him a few times even with the e collar on. I am glad I am a strong swimmer as well or we would both be in trouble. Bacall loves swimming but she is not one to do long swims like Bogie so as a result of that it is Bogie and I that do the long swims. We average 3-4 miles a week. It really tires you out without giving you muscle strain.

Like Daisy, once they get that joy of swimming you can’t stop them from wanting to get in the water!

Once we move to Roatan if will be like @jazzies mum with cows, goats, pigs, donkeys, horses roaming free. Got to get Bogie and Bacall trained to leave that alone.