Not feeling pain and which sports are fun?

[DN2017]

Okay this may sound weird, as does the title of this topic, but it looks like Ace doesn't feel pain. He doesn't hurt himself in a way that I actually think that he doesn't feel pain at all, but I've seen him fall, bump his head and do other stuff that would've knocked the wind out of another dog and he doesn't even seem to notice. His behaviour doesn't change when he "hurts himself". He just seems to be EXTREMELY tough. I swang (is that a word?) my arm towards him yesterday and he accidentally ran into it, full force, with his FACE. I could hardly move my arm for 10 minutes and he just carried on with his playing. My arm is quite bruised now. How is this in your Dobies? Are they all like this?

He is also really insensitive (more like unreactive or careless?) to noise (fireworks/vacuumcleaner/doors slamming), people screaming, gunshot sounds from the tv or me or my partner getting angry at him and he does not want to let go of his blanket or tug toy when he gets a hold of it. He is also really active and courageous (I haven't found anything he is scared of) and he likes training, I can tell by his focus (in and around the house, outside when he sees another dog, is a different story but he's only 6 months). He seems to have a good drive and seems to be a good candidate for protection training but being cropped, he's not allowed at any clubs here in the Netherlands. I've researched this but I can't find any clubs that would allow us training there unfortunately. Anything else that might please him instead, knowing how his character is? I think obedience training would be fun but they way he's listening now, that doesn't seem within reach, like, ever. The bananas in his ears are off the charts when I don't have food on me or when we're in the perimeter of other dogs.

We do follow puppy class now.

 

[Doberman Gang]

Sounds pretty normal for a puppy that age. Good solid temperament, obedience training is a great idea. Too bad you have that crop and dock issue, people are idiots when it comes to that.

 

[strykerdobe]

That's great.
Puppies can go through a few fear stages some say up to 1 1/2yrs old.
This is why its so important for socialization by taking them everywhere you can.

Wow not even allowed at any Clubs! Maybe private sessions at home???

 

[DN2017]

That's great.
Puppies can go through a few fear stages some say up to 1 1/2yrs old.
This is why its so important for socialization by taking them everywhere you can.

Wow not even allowed at any Clubs! Maybe private sessions at home???

I do my best to take him everywhere, he loves being in new places. The only problem is that he is so enthousiastic about other people and dogs that he can't contain himself (I don't expect him to at this age but it does make it difficult). If someone wants to pet him I ask them to wait until he sits before they do, that works well, until they touch him and then he jumps on the person. They continue to pet him then so the effect of having to wait until he sits, is gone. I'm thinking about not letting strangers pet him anymore but I also think it's good for him to come in contact with different kinds of people (dominant, shy, sweet, big, small etc) and letting them pet him is making him accept the contact at an age where he is still quite impressionable. I hope it makes him accept different people petting him when he's grown, ofcourse I will always say no when it doesn't feel good to me and I will say no 90% percent of the time when he's grown because I don't want to put him in bad situations. But if he is grown and is in a situation with lets say, a dominant person and he doesn't like it, at least he's been there before. You know? Is this a good idea or should I stop people from petting him already?

Private sessions are a good idea!

 

[WILD ACE]

he sounds very much like my ACE, he is 6 1/2 months and loves people loves to learn nothing seems to freak him out noise wise any more he loves to learn new things and we cant keep him still at all ( maybe its the name ) hahaha i do not take him to town on my own he is a huge handful always wants to be up on people and other dogs just loves to play. so to go into a pet store and get the things im looking for, i need my husband to just hold onto him or he drags me in 20 different directions and i get nothing i went there for. he has weekly play dates to run and romp with other dogs. the only one to keep him calm and grounded seems to be our older mini doxie he by all means rules the roost at our house. ace eats after him gets toys after him he lets ace know when he can be on the bed, couch in the chair. we are looking for puppy classes to get him started in just a bit worried he will not be able to focus in a group setting with other people and dogs.the only treat training i do is when we learn something new for the first day.after that he just seems to retain what he has learned and from that day its only the good boy and loves to have his back rubbed when he does a good boy..i live in mn and have not found a place were not allowed for crop and dock ( yet ) all my dobes have been cropped and docked. but we have had a hard time finding anyone to crop years anymore so we had to travel a bit to get it done .

 

[LifeofRubie]

I do my best to take him everywhere, he loves being in new places. The only problem is that he is so enthousiastic about other people and dogs that he can't contain himself (I don't expect him to at this age but it does make it difficult). If someone wants to pet him I ask them to wait until he sits before they do, that works well, until they touch him and then he jumps on the person. They continue to pet him then so the effect of having to wait until he sits, is gone. I'm thinking about not letting strangers pet him anymore but I also think it's good for him to come in contact with different kinds of people (dominant, shy, sweet, big, small etc) and letting them pet him is making him accept the contact at an age where he is still quite impressionable. I hope it makes him accept different people petting him when he's grown, ofcourse I will always say no when it doesn't feel good to me and I will say no 90% percent of the time when he's grown because I don't want to put him in bad situations. But if he is grown and is in a situation with lets say, a dominant person and he doesn't like it, at least he's been there before. You know? Is this a good idea or should I stop people from petting him already?

Private sessions are a good idea!

I *used* to think that socialization meant that Rubie had to meet everyone all the time BUT what we've been working on more in the last year is her basically ignoring anything going on around her and focusing on us. If your boy is food motivated (which it sounds like he is!), I would plan on taking him somewhere public (we go to a local brewery pretty often - for the dog, I swear ) and anytime he looks at you, treat and praise, treat and praise. Make him sit if someone wants to pet and treat; you might even continue to treat while he's being pet as long as he's in a sit. We use "watch me" as the cue. As with any training session, plan on it being short and leave on a good note - I would even start working on the "watch me" or whatever your cue word is at home and work on his leash manners. We just got Rubie a "DO NOT PET," "IN TRANING" vest because yes, we do not want everyone and anyone just assuming that because she's in public, she wants/needs to be approached.

I've not had to do this myself but I believe you can tether your dog at home, walk outside of his reach able area, and work on making him sit and stay seated while you approach to pet him - the tether mimicking someone holding the leash in this scenario. If he jumps, step back and out of his reachable area. Lot's of praise if he remains seated. Again, keeping it short for the first few sessions until he get's the hang of it.

If he ENJOYS being approached by strangers, being calm is the way to get his reward (being pet). He is still a puppy so it will take time but a 6 month old puppy jumping up on people is a lot different than a full grown Dobe jumping up on someone so good to nip it in the bud! Good luck!!

 

[Kaiser2016]

I do my best to take him everywhere, he loves being in new places. The only problem is that he is so enthousiastic about other people and dogs that he can't contain himself (I don't expect him to at this age but it does make it difficult). If someone wants to pet him I ask them to wait until he sits before they do, that works well, until they touch him and then he jumps on the person. They continue to pet him then so the effect of having to wait until he sits, is gone. I'm thinking about not letting strangers pet him anymore but I also think it's good for him to come in contact with different kinds of people (dominant, shy, sweet, big, small etc) and letting them pet him is making him accept the contact at an age where he is still quite impressionable. I hope it makes him accept different people petting him when he's grown, ofcourse I will always say no when it doesn't feel good to me and I will say no 90% percent of the time when he's grown because I don't want to put him in bad situations. But if he is grown and is in a situation with lets say, a dominant person and he doesn't like it, at least he's been there before. You know? Is this a good idea or should I stop people from petting him already?

Private sessions are a good idea!

I think it depends on what your goal is for your dog. If you want to be able to take him around a lot of people then I like the idea of continuing to do that. It's what we did and continue to do, but I agree with @LifeofRubie about socialization vs socializing and getting them to focus on you. Great that he sits before meeting ppl, I would add that you should say a command to authorize it as well. We say 'Be Friends'.

 

[Kaiser2016]

I actually think that he doesn't feel pain at all, but I've seen him fall, bump his head and do other stuff that would've knocked the wind out of another dog and he doesn't even seem to notice. His behaviour doesn't change when he "hurts himself". He just seems to be EXTREMELY tough. I swang (is that a word?) my arm towards him yesterday and he accidentally ran into it, full force, with his FACE. I could hardly move my arm for 10 minutes and he just carried on with his playing. My arm is quite bruised now. How is this in your Dobies? Are they all like this?

He is also really insensitive (more like unreactive or careless?) to noise (fireworks/vacuumcleaner/doors slamming), people screaming, gunshot sounds from the tv or me or my partner getting angry at him and he does not want to let go of his blanket or tug toy when he gets a hold of it. He is also really active and courageous (I haven't found anything he is scared of) and he likes training, I can tell by his focus (in and around the house, outside when he sees another dog, is a different story but he's only 6 months

Stoic, smart, and fearless. You have yourself a Doberman! We call Kaiser a dinosaur head. I think their heads can take a lot and they also do not show pain easily which means you've got to watch for signs of injury. I'd try teaching him some manners around your body. We use a few different commands for this: Gentle (for taking treats, meeting small pets/kids), Careful (like walking over ice), and Slow to help control his enthusiasm. We found we were at highest risk of him hitting us at doorways so we introduced door manners. You always go in and out first, it's also good for keeping yourself in the Alpha position.

Re the noises, Kaiser only reacts to dogs barking on a TV not in the same room as him If I'm watching a barking dog on my phone while standing next to him, he doesn't usually bark but he becomes alert.

 

[Oh Little Oji]

You always go in and out first, it's also good for keeping yourself in the Alpha position.

A very important tenet. Now, I don't do this with all doorways in the home, but major/significant ones. Definitely the doors that lead into/out of the house. Also do this with gates into/out of your yard. Not only teaches pack order, but virtually eliminates the problem of dogs charging out of the house/yard.

 

[Oh Little Oji]

Yes, a typical Doberman (and a lot of dogs) will show a lack of pain sensitivity to blows to the head (like them bonking their head on stuff). A breed such as ours, which was designed to be a bodyguard, should have supreme pain tolerance. I don't care how much people want to promote them being sweethearts and snugglebugs. This is one reason I am so disillusioned with how extra sensitive Oji seems to be to nail trimming. Bonks to the head though? Tough as nails.

 

[DN2017]

We definitely work tresholds and doorways. One of the first things we taught him, at all doorways and thesholds in the house. He's pretty good at it now. Leaving the house through the front door, he waits at the doorway until I'm outside and tell him to come. When the back door is open he walks in and out as he pleases but when I call for him and he comes running really fast, I can just say "wait" and he will promptly stop at the doorway until I tell him to come in. It's one of few things that's going really well.

 

[Kaiser2016]

This is one reason I am so disillusioned with how extra sensitive Oji seems to be to nail trimming. Bonks to the head though? Tough as nails.

We went through a phase like this with the cat where she would play up with one paw for nail trims. She would pull that paw away consistently and the session would end. Then we took her to the vet thinking she must have pain. He throughly examined the paw and said it was fine but it may be her playing us. That news did not go down well. Little manipulator. Next nail session, we did all her nails and she didn't care. It's like she was faking it and knew that we had figured it out. Also, for us to know she wasnt injured, we were not so delicate with her. They read us way more than we might think.

 

[Kaiser2016]

so to go into a pet store and get the things im looking for, i need my husband to just hold onto him or he drags me in 20 different directions and i get nothing i went there for.

...we are looking for puppy classes to get him started in just a bit worried he will not be able to focus in a group setting with other people and dogs.

I used to have the same issue with him wanting to meet people so I had to take my hb along. He spent all day with him so he was way more under control with him. With multiple owners, it's important to build the bond alone with them. Start small like in your yard. I played with Kaiser in the yard, handled the training for not barking when the neighbors were out, etc. Now pet stores are our thing and I also do his Rally class with him. No hb. The transition is pretty amazing to watch.

Puppy class will actually help him build focus but not at first Our first class was mayhem but he quickly figured out that the classes were work time not fun time. All training time now gets the command "training" so he knows when to get serious...some of the time haha. We still have our donkey days though. Being a boy, they mature way slower

 

[Brioddy]

I've had some of my dogs put holes in the wall and bang their heads so hard on furniture it made ME feel like I had a concussion, but they wouldn't even bat an eye and continue playing like nothing! I've always had pit bulls and their pain tolerance is through the roof, but my bull headed dobe mutt didn't have any issues either. Hard heads, in more ways than one!