Help With Testy Dobie Pup

[DwayneTheDobie]

Gosh thanks everyone for the helpful tips. I’ve honestly never owned such a willfull dog before. I’ve even rehabilitated an aggressive 3 year old Alsatian who was literally trained to attack without warning and I couldn’t let him out of my sight I had to re train and socialise him, he ended up being the best dog I’ve ever had RIP. I also rescued 2 adult Rottweilers one of which had anxiety but this is something else! We have made progress. Sadly, I can not give my Dwayne an inch, no, a millimetre! I love couch cuddles but have had to ban them as when I would say no he would start the F you barking in my grace, so I can’t have the close interaction time with him I also want because when he can’t have come up for eg we have a guest over he can’t come on the couch he will bark at them at me at anyone in a full on tantrum because he can’t have his way, so the total ban hammer came down! No more coach time at all, always on your own bed now, Shame. I decided against using e or prong collars, I appreciate they work for some but they’re not my thing. Instead I took away the one thing he wants most, to be with me and the pack. If he barks he gets a firm NO! Then escorted out the room and shut out until he calms, then allowed back in, if he barks again a firm NO and out he goes. This ‘alone’ time seems to do the trick he hates it! Luckily this behaviour doesn’t happen in public unless he sees another dog he gets over excited and yelp/barks as a play welcome but needless to say that scares the living crap out of whatever mini fluff ball he wants to play with, (not many big dog owners in the UK) so I adopted the same approach, correction NO! Then turn and walk away from the other dog. Only when he isn’t barking and is calm I reward by re-approaching the other dog! This is less effective because by the time he’s barked the other dog owners have usually scooped up their dog and bolted before I can do the work but I’ve been borrowing friends with older calmer dogs to try and work with so hopefully we’ll get there! It’s certainly very trying though, I just hope in maybe another 12 months he’s 15 now that we’ll be through the Dobie teens and I’ll have that bomb proof, calm and solid Dobie I dreamed of!

 

[Ukesox]

Ive got nothing against the correct use of e or prong collars myself but the legal situation in the U.K. is confusing.From what I can see the use of E collars was banned in Wales in 2010 but is currently still legal in England, Scotland & N Ireland awaiting a final decision on draft legislation presented in 2018 which if passed will see their (& probably ”choke” & ”prong” collars too) banned.

 

[jazzies mum]

Ive got nothing against the correct use of e or prong collars myself but the legal situation in the U.K. is confusing.From what I can see the use of E collars was banned in Wales in 2010 but is currently still legal in England, Scotland & N Ireland awaiting a final decision on draft legislation presented in 2018 which if passed will see their (& probably ”choke” & ”prong” collars too) banned.

Yes. A very similar situation here in Australia. All the states will probably have different regulations so very confusing.

 

[Josette]

He sounds like a typical high drive Dobe and you are in the midst of terrible teens when they really want to push boundaries.

You can train TO DO most anything with treats & rewards, however it rarely works in teaching them NOT TO DO something. As you say, it becomes a very fine line what the reward is for & these smart dog start thinking how if they <do anything to get told "no"> they will get a treat for stopping. I suggest a very firm no with the demand barking and backtalk at this age, if he continues then he should be sent to his crate or bed and placed on a down-stay. I was very reluctant to use my crate as "punishment" when mine was a puppy, but when they are this age and know commands and understand they are pushing you, I think they understand that you have just had enough and you won't allow them to continue bad behavior.

That's good clarification for me of when it isn't inappropriate to use crating as what some might consider punishment.

 

[WANTED]

Hi all,

I’m new here and stumbled across this wonderful webpage whilst looking for advice.

I have a male chocolate Doberman puppy he’s 13 months old now and I’m having a particular issue with attention barking and I’ve tried lots of different things to correct it and he’s not responding. It seems normal training methods are not always successfull with the Dobie, he’s very smart and can seriously push his boundaries. I taught him ‘quiet’ and yes, he’ll stop but soon learnt if he barks, is quiet, he gets a treat, so it actually was counter productive, I tried leaving a loooong gap between command, to action to treat to stop that immediate connection but he’s too smart!

He’s been great with every aspect of his training, he’s obedient when out and his recall is spot on, he has all his basic commands, walks in heal etc… but… he has started barking at me and others when he wants something he knows he can’t have, for e.g. he’s not allowed on my bed and has his own bed but barks at me when I won’t allow him up, really anytime he’s told no he will either listen or he won’t, it’s a bit odd, sometimes he’ll listen right away and that’s the end of it, but more often recently he’ll just bark and he won’t stop! Getting louder abs more frustrated the more I try and stop him.

I’ve tried to correct the behaviour with:
Distraction
Eye contact until he stops
Removing him from the room until he’s calm
Leaving the room myself
Ignoring it completely (this made him so mad he nipped my toes)

I NEVER give in though and let him have what he wants, but it’s a daily challenge and it’s exhausting!

This has always been an issue but is getting worse, any tips greatly appreciated.

Just to add, he’s walked daily for anything from 1-3 hours mostly off leash running about as we are rural, I also have a doggy back pack he wears to give him a role and I add very light weights to it to make him work harder to tire g him out more, (don’t worry I mean very light I know you don’t want too much weight before 18 months old), we are on a small farm so he’s out and about doing jobs with me a lot too, I spend at least 30 minutes training in 10 minute sittings throughout the day, I also make time to play with him too, we also do training on our walks, heal, stay, recall, quick down etc… we play fetch or tug he has a toy box which he has to ask me for toys from so they’re not all over the place to keep them I retesting, I also use puzzle toys and he gets 2 chews a day, so he’s well stimulated, I learnt that very quickly with the Dobie! He also has 2 beds in the house both are huge and comfy! With his own blankets.

Good looking pup. First, he's still a puppy (Doberman) and males tend to mature closer to 3 yrs and they continually test because they're smart and think. Second, which I'm sure is controversial and here's a little background. I now have a 26-month-old girl, my 3rd Dobie and have done all her training, on/off leash, a little nose work and standard obedience. However, sometimes she thinks she's in charge and if I correct her she still will ignore me, not being Dobie like and just staring at you thinking if she will or will not do it but just be stubborn and ignore me. That said I then raise my voice and YELL at her she almost immediately responds , walks away sulks for a bit and returns in a few min. Some say Euro's respond better to a raised voice mine does but only required/done rarely. Just my experience.