New Doberman Owner

[Oh Little Oji]

They handle cold temperatures fine. Now, I don't know if you know this, but Dobes don't do well as yard dogs. If its cold, they need to be active, not just kept in the yard. I see you mentioned the couch, so I guess you'll have him living inside – good.

 

[Oh Little Oji]

It won't last I had a strict no dogs on furniture rule that very quickly got broken. He's still not allowed in bed, though. He is still crated at night and even if he wasn't, I just can't handle dog hair on my face (really mild allergy) so the bed is off limits. The couches though? Forget it. Dobes are big cuddlers when they aren't tearing around being goobers.

As for winter's, he should be just fine. Worst case, there are many coat options available for everything from arctic to mild.

I've found that if you disallow furniture access from the start and are consistent about it, they accept it just fine. They don't even try. That said, my previous Dobe would every once in a while sneak up onto the couch at night. I'd come into the room and he'd just lay low and still hoping to not be noticed.

 

[Hayden]

I see you mentioned the couch, so I guess you'll have him living inside – good.

Yes he'll be an inside dog for sure. Now I do have a pool out back. Know anything about dobie's and water? My boxer wouldnt even step foot in it.

 

[Oh Little Oji]

Yes he'll be an inside dog for sure. Now I do have a pool out back. Know anything about dobie's and water? My boxer wouldnt even step foot in it.

As a rule, Dobes hate water and won't voluntarily swim. Wade maybe. Some on this forum tout examples of the opposite, but it's the exception to the rule, in my experience. That said, keep an eye on him while he's little. Hate to see an accident with the pool.

 

[Hayden]

As a rule, Dobes hate water and won't voluntarily swim. Wade maybe. Some on this forum tout examples of the opposite, but it's the exception to the rule, in my experience. That said, keep an eye on him while he's little. Hate to see an accident with the pool.

I'll definitely be keeping an eye on him all the time. I've already seen the Naughty puppy thread and its confirmed that he will never leave my sight if I can help it. I've never heard of the teenager faze for dogs so the doberteen thing cracks me up

 

[Oh Little Oji]

I'll definitely be keeping an eye on him all the time. I've already seen the Naughty puppy thread and its confirmed that he will never leave my sight if I can help it. I've never heard of the teenager faze for dogs so the doberteen thing cracks me up

If I'm honest, I have to say I hadn't heard of the Doberteens until joining this forum. I just know that dogs – especially dominant ones – will challenge the owner. I've heard some will continue to periodically challenge the owner for dominance throughout their life. But yeah, the Doberteens is a more common scenario.

 

[Drogon]

Take him out in the rain and play - assuming it sometimes rains in Texas. Dobes can be really finicky about rain but if you get them out as puppies and make it fun you can get past it - at least so far so good with my 2yr old.

 

[bomary]

I was able to get Jax totally fine with rain. We just go on our normal activities like nothing is different. Cold weather, however...man that boy just can't take it!!...maybe he's reading my misery down the leash!!...I try to "be a trooper" about it!
In the very beginning, he was having nothing to do with the rain...he would hold it...I finally just decided, "Screw it...we are going walking, playing, training, etc." and he became fine with it quickly! Like @Drogon said, just get him out there in it like it's nothing.

 

[GennyB]

from Missouri! Cute little guy but I think the breeder ius pulling your leg about him being a fawn. Definitely looks red, but lighting can do strange things, so we'll see as you post more pics of him.
As far as crate training, hopefully the breeder will have started that process. Just another thing to make the transition easier. Crates were your friend when it comes to potty training and keeping your pup safe from himself.
As far as water like anything new, just approach it with confidence and no coddling. I'm on my forth dobe and they all love(d) water. We have a pond as well as a boat and spend our spare time on the river, so water lovers are a must at our house.
For training I use a prized toy more than food. That toy is used for training only. For us, using toys keeps things more fun. Especially my male works better for playtime than food. My girl will do either at this point, she's only 6 months old and such a chow hound. We call her Miss Piggy.
Will he be cropped? If so we have wonder threads on posting that you should take a minute to read through.
with your boy and don't forget we are here to help if you have questions or problems.

 

[Oh Little Oji]

from Missouri! Cute little guy but I think the breeder ius pulling your leg about him being a fawn. Definitely looks red, but lighting can do strange things, so we'll see as you post more pics of him.
As far as crate training, hopefully the breeder will have started that process. Just another thing to make the transition easier. Crates were your friend when it comes to potty training and keeping your pup safe from himself.
As far as water like anything new, just approach it with confidence and no coddling. I'm on my forth dobe and they all love(d) water. We have a pond as well as a boat and spend our spare time on the river, so water lovers are a must at our house.
For training I use a prized toy more than food. That toy is used for training only. For us, using toys keeps things more fun. Especially my male works better for playtime than food. My girl will do either at this point, she's only 6 months old and such a chow hound. We call her Miss Piggy.
Will he be cropped? If so we have wonder threads on posting that you should take a minute to read through.
with your boy and don't forget we are here to help if you have questions or problems.

Genny, I wonder if you did some training (well, I know training is an ongoing process, as it should be) to get your Dobes to love water. Water lovers are a must at your house, so I bet you gently pushed your Dobes in that direction.

 

[Hayden]

Will he be cropped? If so we have wonder threads on posting that you should take a minute to read through.

GennyB, I'd like to crop his ears but the vet who was recommended to me by the breeder is over 2 hours away from where I live. So I'm in the process of trying to find another vet but not having any luck.

 

[GennyB]

Genny, I wonder if you did some training (well, I know training is an ongoing process, as it should be) to get your Dobes to love water. Water lovers are a must at your house, so I bet you gently pushed your Dobes in that direction.

My first two dobes were rescues that I happened to know the previous owner. I knew they had no water experience so we just made sure experiences around water were positive. Never really pushed them, just let them take it at their own speed with gentle encouragement. With Drake, he's just a natural, I swear he is really a lab dressed up like a dobie. Rumor has had no real water experience with the exception of bath time and jumping in our pond a few times. So far she seems like a natural. I guess we will see how it goes with moving water when the temps. warm up. But the girl has absolutely no fear so I don't expect any problems.

 

[GennyB]

GennyB, I'd like to crop his ears but the vet who was recommended to me by the breeder is over 2 hours away from where I live. So I'm in the process of trying to find another vet but not having any luck.

Good crop vets are getting hard to find so it is not unusual for people to have to drive an hour or two to get it done. I wouldn't rule him out yet. Try contacting a doberman club in your area for referrals.

 

[LifeofRubie]

GennyB, I'd like to crop his ears but the vet who was recommended to me by the breeder is over 2 hours away from where I live. So I'm in the process of trying to find another vet but not having any luck.

If this was the vet recommended by the breeder, I would stick with it if everything checks out (although not sure why it wouldn't be done before you pick him up?). You'll only need to make the trip a couple of times and a good crop is hard to find. Learn to post the ears yourself (TONS of guidance on here) and you'll be fine.

Rubie HOOOOWLED the entire first night we had her home and in her crate overnight but once you get past that hump, it's simple. She voluntarily goes in there now when she's ready for bed. You just have to ignore them when they're throwing a fit as any attention will teach them that howling get's them what they want.

Rubie will get chest deep in water but that about it, voluntarily. They can learn to love it, though.

 

[JanS]

I'd love suggestions for food that aren't terribly expensive as I'm not too sure what deems a good food vs a bad one.

We feed Taste of the Wild since it's a high quality food with a reasonable price tag. There are many good foods out there but they can cost a lot more for the same or similar quality.

Our dogs get raw venison from time to time as well but I don't use it for training treats since I keep the treats in my pocket and that would be messy. Perhaps if you dehydrated it, it would work better for training though.

 

[JanS]

Good crop vets are getting hard to find so it is not unusual for people to have to drive an hour or two to get it done.

If this was the vet recommended by the breeder, I would stick with it if everything checks out

I so agree here since it is hard to find a good crop vet and it will be with the dog for life so you want it right when you do it.

 

[Regalis]

This is where I wish I had pictures of the boy my mom adopted when I was a teen. His background aside, his crop was bad. One ear looked ok. But the other? Oh man. There are also just so few vets in general cropping anymore, that 2 hours is really not bad. I had debated getting Kaizers done. The two vets I could find in state that I liked the crops were an hour away and several hours away. I ended up just not cropping him since he's mixed and by that time, we knew we were going to be moving so money was tight. (Kinda kicking myself, now, I still think he'd look good with a medium crop. Oh well).

That said - if you care at all how the general public percieves your pup, cropping makes them less approachable. People are less afraid of floppy ears than standing ears. Most people will say to not let that interfere with your choice. I say it's a personal choice that only you can decide on.

 

[Regalis]

I've found that if you disallow furniture access from the start and are consistent about it, they accept it just fine. They don't even try. That said, my previous Dobe would every once in a while sneak up onto the couch at night. I'd come into the room and he'd just lay low and still hoping to not be noticed.

This is true. But I broke that rule instantly with Kaizer. He was just so tiny! I hardcore babied him even though I *knew* better. But at a measly 7 pounds he worried me a lot. Now he's not tiny and thinks the couches are his. Ah well, he's a good snuggler.

 

[Oh Little Oji]

This is where I wish I had pictures of the boy my mom adopted when I was a teen. His background aside, his crop was bad. One ear looked ok. But the other? Oh man. There are also just so few vets in general cropping anymore, that 2 hours is really not bad. I had debated getting Kaizers done. The two vets I could find in state that I liked the crops were an hour away and several hours away. I ended up just not cropping him since he's mixed and by that time, we knew we were going to be moving so money was tight. (Kinda kicking myself, now, I still think he'd look good with a medium crop. Oh well).

That said - if you care at all how the general public percieves your pup, cropping makes them less approachable. People are less afraid of floppy ears than standing ears. Most people will say to not let that interfere with your choice. I say it's a personal choice that only you can decide on.

I wonder if folks have had success with cropping and posting ears on a Rott/Dobe. I would think it might have to be a fairly short crop to be successful. I don't know though, just speculating. Does he have thick ear leather?

Approachable? I don't need no approachable! I need the opposite! Heck, you live near Detroit. You know what I mean.

 

[Regalis]

I wonder if folks have had success with cropping and posting ears on a Rott/Dobe. I would think it might have to be a fairly short crop to be successful. I don't know though, just speculating. Does he have thick ear leather?

Approachable? I don't need no approachable! I need the opposite! Heck, you live near Detroit. You know what I mean.

It's not super thick, but not as thin as a dobe. I think if I had gone a shorter crop it would have been fine with a lot of posting. His ears STILL flop back a lot, so his cartilage isn't "set". When he was really small, his ears were flipped back more than they weren't. Considering some of the bully mixes I've seen cropped with medium-short crops and their ears stood up, I think it can almost always be done if the person is persistent with posting.

And yeah, I don't tend to much care how approachable my dogs are. But I know it is important to some people. I *want* people to look at him and think twice. I'm a night time walker, so I like knowing I'm less of a target than if I had a golden or something. And just a couple years ago a young girl a town over was murdered on a popular biking/walking trail. Not particularly common this far out of the city, but it still happens and seems to be more prevalent than ever.