Zeus my 6 month Doberman housebreaking and weight questions

[PSullivan7]

Hi,
My name is Patricia and I got my boy Zeus in May of this year. He was born on St. Paddy's day 2021 and is now 6 months old. He is my first Doberman and first puppy. I've rescued about 6 dogs over the past 20 years but mostly Rat terriers that were a few years old. Zeus is a fully registered Doberman and I have his geneology/family tree going back to the 1980's on both sides and testing reports on both parents for some genetic diseases. Zeus is an extremely social dog with people, neighbors, and other dogs at the park. He's a very loving and a sweet boy with a little bit of a naughty side. I haven't seen any of the aggressive traits that some people have said he may exhibit because of his breed.

The concerns I have about Zeus is that he is 52 pounds but already 6 months. There are some puppies around the same age at the community park we go to that are huge compared to Zeus. Those Dobermans have completely different temperaments as well. One hides and won't leave his owners side and the others are more aloof and not interested in people. Zeus is like a Cruise Director going to everyone for a pet and an introduction and playing with all the dogs.

I'm also curious about a lot of black on the top of his paws. He's a lot darker than other Dobermans I see. Also he has battled a UTI since i've had him and housebreaking has been tough. We're finally getting him down to one accident a day instead of 6 or 7. Zeus has peed on my own bed 5 or 6 times since I've had him so you can imagine the stress. I have a Jack Russell and chihuahua at home and never have had the kind of issues with housebreaking with them and those are two notoriously hard breeds to housebreak but I also rescued them and got them when they were already a few years old.

I have attached some photos for you to see the coloring and his weight and shape. Let me know your thoughts on his weight, his markings, and housebreaking struggles.

 

[Ravenbird]

Welcome from New Mexico! There is a pinned thread in the Puppy section on weights where many people have posted weights & ages. It really varies, and the main thing is if your pup looks good: not too fat and not too skinny. Hard to see without a standing up photo. Some are darker than others - mostly seems to come from European lines, but some breeders are trying to breed pure black and it goes against standard. Since you have the pedigree is it more Euro than American lines? If he's this super friendly at this age, he probably will not have a hard temperament. Re: housebreaking: First of all, I would not allow him on any furniture until at least a year old and fully understands that it's a privilege not a right. Purposely peeing on your bed (not leaking while asleep due to UTI) is an ultimate no-no. He seems well adjusted and sweet, so may have edged in a harmless way innocent way that he rules the household. This might get transferred to the training section for more comments and suggestions, but what you have at 6 months puppyhood will soon become a powerful obnoxious teenager, so take any behavior that you don't like now and begin working on it. I really do want you to feel welcome here - it's a friendly group and we want to help!

 

[JanS]

Welcome from Minnesota!

I don't think that's a bad weight for his age and some dogs are bred to be way too big for the breed standard so don't feel like you should compare to them. Males also take a lot longer to mature so he might wind up being on the larger side of the standard.

I'm also curious about a lot of black on the top of his paws. He's a lot darker than other Dobermans I see.

That's not uncommon and they're called pencil marks on the feet. I personally don't like markings that are too light or washed out on a Doberman so I think he's handsome.

 

[Ukesox]

Hi Patricia
Welcome from the U.K. & congratulations, you have a handsome boy there & his current sociabiliy is a blessing.
You might well find that once he’s matured he’ll still be fine with people & other dogs but just become a bit more aloof & chilled around them.

At 6 months he still has a lot of growing to do. Providing he’s on an appropriate diet I wouldn’t be worrying yet & besides,fully grown, he might end up towards the lower end of the breed standard which is around 75lbs…absolutely nothing wrong with that…and there’s still plenty of time for him to pack on weight.

Regarding the indoor “accidents”....if your down from 6-7 per day to 1 it sounds like progress to me. Success is likely to be just around the corner. At 6 months he is still very young for a Dobie.
The only suggestion I can add that’s not been covered on earlier threads on this subject, is to restrict his access around the house. None of our puppies would have been allowed beyond the kitchen, within the house, while they were at the stage Zeus is at. (If 100% supervised possibly into the diner as well). It’s a big ask for a young pup to understand “going outside” to toilet if it’s got more than a restricted area inside. Also, if kept in one room you’ve got a much better chance of seeing the signs ahead of the accident & putting him out & then being able to praise him for toiletting in the right place. As he gets better in this respect so he gets access to another room & so on until he’s totally trustworthy.
Keep at it, he sounds like a great natured doberman

 

[CRDobe]

I love his markings. And weight wise, from what I can see without a standing shot, he looks good.

 

[Jess]

Hi,
My name is Patricia and I got my boy Zeus in May of this year. He was born on St. Paddy's day 2021 and is now 6 months old. He is my first Doberman and first puppy. I've rescued about 6 dogs over the past 20 years but mostly Rat terriers that were a few years old. Zeus is a fully registered Doberman and I have his geneology/family tree going back to the 1980's on both sides and testing reports on both parents for some genetic diseases. Zeus is an extremely social dog with people, neighbors, and other dogs at the park. He's a very loving and a sweet boy with a little bit of a naughty side. I haven't seen any of the aggressive traits that some people have said he may exhibit because of his breed.

The concerns I have about Zeus is that he is 52 pounds but already 6 months. There are some puppies around the same age at the community park we go to that are huge compared to Zeus. Those Dobermans have completely different temperaments as well. One hides and won't leave his owners side and the others are more aloof and not interested in people. Zeus is like a Cruise Director going to everyone for a pet and an introduction and playing with all the dogs.

I'm also curious about a lot of black on the top of his paws. He's a lot darker than other Dobermans I see. Also he has battled a UTI since i've had him and housebreaking has been tough. We're finally getting him down to one accident a day instead of 6 or 7. Zeus has peed on my own bed 5 or 6 times since I've had him so you can imagine the stress. I have a Jack Russell and chihuahua at home and never have had the kind of issues with housebreaking with them and those are two notoriously hard breeds to housebreak but I also rescued them and got them when they were already a few years old.

I have attached some photos for you to see the coloring and his weight and shape. Let me know your thoughts on his weight, his markings, and housebreaking struggles.

Zeus is a handsome boy his marking and color make me think he could be half European his weight looks right for that age. Sounds like he’s marking his territory more than accidents.

 

[Oh Little Oji]

Hey!

I'd be happy if I were you.

I personally love the darkness to the chest markings, and the black markings on the paws. I thought the markings on the top of the paws were called thumbprints, and the black markings on the top of the toes were the pencil marks. I could be wrong. Seems to me the higher amount of black may be a feature from some Euro heritage. You have good pedigree info., so it should be easy to know.

His big, confident personality is awesome!

I personally love and go for cropped ears, and that would make Zeus the total package for me.

Keep a keen eye out for him to start to be prone to more serious fight-like playing with the other dogs, and once he hits physical maturity, it could turn to real fights.

That bodyweight is fine, really.

Oh, shoot. This isa one of those cases where I just realized this is an older thread. Oh well!