Uncontrollable Doberman pup

[Rosie's]

Seeking advise from breeders, handlers, owners of the breed to share some insight to helping our rescue correct what we see is wild, unruly behaviors due to the breeders being lenient on teaching boundaries, manners, and expectations. Reasoning for their actions was because they didn't plan to keep the pup. Now we have a 6 month old pup that is just learning what a collar, leash, routine, and obedience is. The pup wails and yaps with any work we try and do, when we interact with another animal, just when we walk by. She is walked 2 times a day for about 1/2 mile each (we have sub zero weather lately), she has gym time to run and interact with other dogs, even then she wails and yaps non-stop. It's like she has so much energy that she doesn't know what to do but be CONSTANTLY vocal. If I were to compare her to a human, I would group her into having extreme ADHD. Shoot, within the first 5 minutes of arriving to her foster home she was up on all 4 walking on the kitchen counters. We have had other Dobies come through from 4 wks old to a few years but none have been like this. We have her on CBD but there is little results with that. Our vet suggested Trazadone for short term until she basically gets a clue but there is no definitive answer that the therapy will be successful.
We are use to difficult cases that normally, if sent to a shelter, the animal would more than likely be put down. No there is absolutely no bite history nor does she even exhibit such threats. Any advise or suggestions to try to get through to this pup would be great. No she isn't fixed yet, our vet is back logged but she is planned for March spay. Our vet said it is a flip of a coin whether or not the spay will take some of the excessive hyper activity away.
Thank you in advance for any help or words of advise.

 

[MichiH]

I would suggest starting with a trainer if that’s an option for you. She is still young and definitely needs obedience and consistency. She is not the boss and must learn she is not the boss from you setting boundaries and holding her accountable.

If a trainer is not an option, there are tons of resources on here and online for training.

I would suggest no medication/CBD, she is a working breed and needs to be worked. Walking isn’t going to cut it, it’s a great add on, but she needs obedience, games, food games to start with. Mentally exhaust her and over time you will see what best suits her and what she enjoys and thrives with.

As for spaying it won’t change her behavior, she is young and a working breed. Also, make sure you look into spaying early as opposed to waiting until 18 months- 24 months.

Crate training is a must and a good place to start also. She can go in there for her night sleeping, naps, and when she and you need a break. Make it fun make her, make her want to go into her crate.

I know it is exhausting, but time in with her will make her into a wonderful dog. My girl was challenging, and I questioned myself and what had I done many times. Lots of obedience, training, setting boundaries, and consistency and she’s the best ever now at 16 months.

Good luck and it will get better with work put into her.

 

[JanS]

Welcome from Minnesota!

I agree with everything said above and she is getting into that age where this breed will challenge you to see who's boss. As stated, lots of mental exercise does a world of good to tire them out and having a structured schedule also helps.

she has gym time to run and interact with other dogs

She doesn't need to run and interact with other dogs and that can sometimes make it worse. She needs to look up to you and respect you and learn to ignore the other dogs and pay attention to you above all else.

I would suggest no medication/CBD, she is a working breed and needs to be worked

I agree with this as well. That's just going to temporarily mask the underlying problems, but not fix them. That said, I will give our male CBD before car rides since he gets really car sick and that helps a lot for that.

As for spaying it won’t change her behavior, she is young and a working breed. Also, make sure you look into spaying early as opposed to waiting until 18 months- 24 months.

This is exactly right. They do not recommend spay or neuter in this breed until they are at least 18 - 24 months. It won't change their behavior and it will mess with their correct growth.

 

[Ddski5]

So she is Mach 1 hair on fire all the time because that’s all she knows. Run, wail, screech all the time, just go go go…she does not know how to turn off. Ideally, turning off is taught at a younger age but you have her at 6months which is prime time for overly rambunctious behavior.

You have to start at the basics and teach obedience and discipline. I would start the NILIF method (nothing in life is free). Lots and lots of patience and hard work on your part.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner is hand fed from your pocket or pouch. Have her on a 3ft short leash from the time you take her out of the crate. Sit in a chair and have her next to you- she will pull, whine and go crazy. Talk to her calmly and when she settles the reward her with a verbal “yes” and give her a little breakfast. Do this over and over. She must settle though. Incorporate basic obedience with her hunger and reward for food. She turns off- you reward her. She looks at you in the eye- reward her. She sits- reward her.

Over and over and over again.

She will relate to calming down and other obedience with the reward of being fed.

It’s an all day every day thing you have to do. Stay consistent, persistent and patient. You can do this- it just takes time and energy.

And you have to crate her. I don’t care if she whines and goes crazy- she must have down time and so do you.

Good luck.

 

[Ddski5]

I would suggest starting with a trainer if that’s an option for you. She is still young and definitely needs obedience and consistency. She is not the boss and must learn she is not the boss from you setting boundaries and holding her accountable.

If a trainer is not an option, there are tons of resources on here and online for training.

I would suggest no medication/CBD, she is a working breed and needs to be worked. Walking isn’t going to cut it, it’s a great add on, but she needs obedience, games, food games to start with. Mentally exhaust her and over time you will see what best suits her and what she enjoys and thrives with.

As for spaying it won’t change her behavior, she is young and a working breed. Also, make sure you look into spaying early as opposed to waiting until 18 months- 24 months.

Crate training is a must and a good place to start also. She can go in there for her night sleeping, naps, and when she and you need a break. Make it fun make her, make her want to go into her crate.

I know it is exhausting, but time in with her will make her into a wonderful dog. My girl was challenging, and I questioned myself and what had I done many times. Lots of obedience, training, setting boundaries, and consistency and she’s the best ever now at 16 months.

Good luck and it will get better with work put into her.

Yes, as I recall your pup was pretty challenging…you did a great job with her.

 

[MichiH]

Yes, as I recall your pup was pretty challenging…you did a great job with her.

And I thank you all for your help, support, and advice! I never forgot what you said - one day she would grow into my bff with hard work put into her. You were right. She is seriously the best dog and I love her dearly. Thank you so much!

 

[Ravenbird]

Agree 100% of everything said. Best of luck, stay on this forum, start by reading these behavior and training threads - at the very least, you'll know you aren't alone!

 

[MyBuddy]

So she is Mach 1 hair on fire all the time because that’s all she knows. Run, wail, screech all the time, just go go go…she does not know how to turn off. Ideally, turning off is taught at a younger age but you have her at 6months which is prime time for overly rambunctious behavior.

You have to start at the basics and teach obedience and discipline. I would start the NILIF method (nothing in life is free). Lots and lots of patience and hard work on your part.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner is hand fed from your pocket or pouch. Have her on a 3ft short leash from the time you take her out of the crate. Sit in a chair and have her next to you- she will pull, whine and go crazy. Talk to her calmly and when she settles the reward her with a verbal “yes” and give her a little breakfast. Do this over and over. She must settle though. Incorporate basic obedience with her hunger and reward for food. She turns off- you reward her. She looks at you in the eye- reward her. She sits- reward her.

Over and over and over again.

She will relate to calming down and other obedience with the reward of being fed.

It’s an all day every day thing you have to do. Stay consistent, persistent and patient. You can do this- it just takes time and energy.

And you have to crate her. I don’t care if she whines and goes crazy- she must have down time and so do you.

Good luck.

This
It's just about everything that I was going to say. Especially, NILF ( Nothing in Life is Free. ) That's what I would be starting with for sure. She has to work for everything.

She sounds like a spoiled child that has been allowed to run rampant. Reminds me a bit of the Helen Keller movie with Patty Duke,, The Miracle Worker. (Love that movie!) Getting her way all the time. It's time to put the foot down. It will be a constant job on your part. But not unlike having a puppy starting at 9 weeks old. You just will have a little more resistance since she's had her way for so long.

But it can be done. Calm and assertive on your part. And a lot of patience. And a lot of repeating Reward at the right time and keep her focused in you.

And yes, crate her. Has she been trained at all? If not, start out with short intervals and the only let her out when she's been quiet. Increasing the time as you go.

like she has so much energy that she doesn't know what to do but be CONSTANTLY vocal

I would be teaching her, "Quiet". It will take some time but I would be having her sit and focus on me, repeat the command 'quiet' and when she is, say yes! and give her a treat. Give her a high value treat and she should pick up on that really quick.

Shoot, within the first 5 minutes of arriving to her foster home she was up on all 4 walking on the kitchen counters

Oh my goodness! That's amazing. That's going to be a job trying to teach her to keep all four on the ground. That's worse than putting two paws on the counter LOL I don't know if I've ever seen a doberman do that. You are going to have to have eyes in the back of your head to retrain that. That is a big no no.

 

[MyBuddy]

Walking isn’t going to cut it, it’s a great add on, but she needs obedience, games, food games to start with. Mentally exhaust her and over time you will see what best suits her and what she enjoys and thrives with.

I agree with this. She needs to be mentally challenged. Give her something to think about in order to get a reward. Make her work for everything. Even my 10-month-old Doberman works for every treat. She has to give me something, anything, even if it's just to sit with eyes on my eyes, calm and focused. Browse our forum for ideas and games. Making it fun and she will learn to play along!

 

[JanS]

I don't know if I've ever seen a doberman do that.

My friends Dobermann from Serbia did that if they left the house. She even went as far as breaking into the upper cabinets to find herself a treat. They tried to crate her but she busted out of quite a few of them that other dogs couldn't.

 

[Rosie's]

Seeking advise from breeders, handlers, owners of the breed to share some insight to helping our rescue correct what we see is wild, unruly behaviors due to the breeders being lenient on teaching boundaries, manners, and expectations. Reasoning for their actions was because they didn't plan to keep the pup. Now we have a 6 month old pup that is just learning what a collar, leash, routine, and obedience is. The pup wails and yaps with any work we try and do, when we interact with another animal, just when we walk by. She is walked 2 times a day for about 1/2 mile each (we have sub zero weather lately), she has gym time to run and interact with other dogs, even then she wails and yaps non-stop. It's like she has so much energy that she doesn't know what to do but be CONSTANTLY vocal. If I were to compare her to a human, I would group her into having extreme ADHD. Shoot, within the first 5 minutes of arriving to her foster home she was up on all 4 walking on the kitchen counters. We have had other Dobies come through from 4 wks old to a few years but none have been like this. We have her on CBD but there is little results with that. Our vet suggested Trazadone for short term until she basically gets a clue but there is no definitive answer that the therapy will be successful.
We are use to difficult cases that normally, if sent to a shelter, the animal would more than likely be put down. No there is absolutely no bite history nor does she even exhibit such threats. Any advise or suggestions to try to get through to this pup would be great. No she isn't fixed yet, our vet is back logged but she is planned for March spay. Our vet said it is a flip of a coin whether or not the spay will take some of the excessive hyper activity away.
Thank you in advance for any help

 

[Rosie's]

As stated we are a rescue. We take in dogs that normally wouldn't make it to the floor due to behaviors. We work with them to give manners, boundaries and expectations. We know that stimulation is vital, reward for even the smallest steps forward in progress and realize that the animal will fall backwards again, but to be patient because those set backs will be fewer and the animal will move forward without falls.
We are currently limited on outdoor stimulation due to extreme weather (as stated in original post). Hard do do more than 1/2 mile in -15° with wind-chill -30°, kind hard on a Dobie, even if bundled up. She is with a trainer that has trained scent dogs, service dogs, general obedience and behaviors issues. Our rescue's behaviorist and our vet and been the ones to suggest CBD to help knock her down just a notch to start grasping what is being taught, it isn't meant to be a permanent fix. Her mind is racing so face she can't even focus on just to look at the handler for 30 seconds. She wails 23 out of 24 hrs of the day. Vet exam shows no reason anatomiclaly or physically for it. Behaviorist believes it is anxiety rooted based on running with a pack before coming to rescue and given no boundaries and the breeders of the litter did little to interact with pups not intended to keep. In their words "...they didn't want to get close to them...knowing they will find new homes...they didn't want to become attached..."
We know she needs stimulations, rewarded/praised for positive responses, needs exercise daily to help tire her out some. As a rescue, we don't have the luxury to waiting 18-24 months for spay. She will be around 9-10 months old, a lot more than majority of rescues/shelters fixing at 8wks old.
We appreciate the words of advise and will take it into consideration as we work with our vet

 

[JanS]

Are you around northern MN? Just asking since I don't know many other places around -30, which is what it was here in northern MN this morning too.

 

[Rosie's]

Are you around northern MN? Just asking since I don't know many other places around -30, which is what it was here in northern MN this morning too.

Yes

 

[JanS]

I know Doberman Rescue Minnesota does great with them.

 

[Rosie's]

Appreciate the help. Will contact them for advise. Not looking to transfer over yet but will see what insight they can share

 

[Ravenbird]

Her mind is racing so face she can't even focus on just to look at the handler for 30 seconds. She wails 23 out of 24 hrs of the day. Vet exam shows no reason anatomiclaly or physically for it. Behaviorist believes it is anxiety rooted based on running with a pack before coming to rescue and given no boundaries and the breeders of the litter did little to interact with pups not intended to keep.

This sounds like genetic instability which could possibly be managed with tons of work by knowledgable, experienced foster home, but would be pretty difficult to find an appropriate forever home to prevent regressing. A friend of mine was involved working (volunteering) with the HSUS of a hoarder with over 100 dogs - all free roaming as a pack(s?) inside and outside the house, interbreeding, zero training or boundaries with the human, feces & urine all over the house.... some were euthanized due to behaviors and physical conditions, but many of them were adopted out later with no issues at all. The behavior you describe really is over the top for simply missing out on early puppy training.

I'm always impressed by and admire the effort that rescues go to to rehab some of the animals they take in. My hat is off to you for all you do.

 

[DRob1705]

So she is Mach 1 hair on fire all the time because that’s all she knows. Run, wail, screech all the time, just go go go…she does not know how to turn off. Ideally, turning off is taught at a younger age but you have her at 6months which is prime time for overly rambunctious behavior.

You have to start at the basics and teach obedience and discipline. I would start the NILIF method (nothing in life is free). Lots and lots of patience and hard work on your part.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner is hand fed from your pocket or pouch. Have her on a 3ft short leash from the time you take her out of the crate. Sit in a chair and have her next to you- she will pull, whine and go crazy. Talk to her calmly and when she settles the reward her with a verbal “yes” and give her a little breakfast. Do this over and over. She must settle though. Incorporate basic obedience with her hunger and reward for food. She turns off- you reward her. She looks at you in the eye- reward her. She sits- reward her.

Over and over and over again.

She will relate to calming down and other obedience with the reward of being fed.

It’s an all day every day thing you have to do. Stay consistent, persistent and patient. You can do this- it just takes time and energy.

And you have to crate her. I don’t care if she whines and goes crazy- she must have down time and so do you.

Good luck.

This right here. I am currently working on my girl and this approach worked on my boy