Dobermann Discussions

oh wow, Ruby is lovely i hope she finds a foster/new home soon

Good advice you have given. I wrote similar in my pups booklet. Can't help with ruby though i am afraid i have had one of my pups returned due to no fault of his own, bringing my total to 8 dogs!! 5 of those are 5 months old so iam kept rather busy with the training and the cleaning up!!!

I don't envy you with all those, we have 5 at the moment and that is 3 too many!

Aww rubys gorgeous.
asking about height My female dobie is 27 1/2 inches to her shoulders.

Fortunately we advertised Ruby for the previous owner and have managed to sell her to a great home where they have an acre of garden. She is doing very well, and the new owners are well off and she has constant attention.

We gave the money to the previous owner as she was in dire straights and had a tooth abcess that requires treatment. It was probably brought on by all the stress and trouble she was having.

Our 5 year old bitch is nearer 25 and a quarter inches (currently 25-27" ), It used to be 24-26" standard I think and this I believe is the American recognised height, there is a tendency for the bitches to be taller than this over recent years with influence seemly coming from Europe. I saw one young bitch out walking that was way above Willow in height and only 18 months old, she looked slender and long legged, definately not breed standard in my eyes.

Your bitch is a little bit on the tall side, but when we have shown Chillie I have yet to see a judge get a ruler out!! He was been beaten in shows by Dogs that are clearly bigger and will undoubtably go over the height when they are fully grown. Whether they will up the height again remains to be seen.

They seem to be moving the goalposts when it comes to breed standards. Its not for me to comment where judges alliances lie, but it does make me wonder......

My female dobe is nearly 28.5 inches to her shoulders She was tiny and below the breed standard until she got spayed and then just started growing. Although she's a real stunner and we don't show her so it doesn't matter.

Absolutely gorgeous dogs- love dobies, 1 of my faves. Can't understand the 'aggressive,' tag they get. never met one that tried to scare me away yet. They've just leant on me or put their nose between my legs(I know it sounds a bit dodgy- don't mean it like that) and been really sweet. Oh, actually I once met one that ran around me and barked a bit. But it was just mucking about.
Has your older one got a bit of a bad dock? I'm not getting into ant- docking, just noticed its a bit pink.

Hi Skyespirit! As far as my experience with our Lola goes, you are right on the button! Not only does she not have an aggressive bone in her body, but to this day (now 18 months old), if another dog displays a hint of aggression towards her, she just decks and submits.

We've had a few problems with other dogs in the neighbourhood, as we live in Co. Leitrim, in a very rural part of Ireland, and most people who have dogs make no effort to keep them in, and so many of them regard the stretch of road in front of "their" house as "their" territory, and tend to attack Lola as we try to pass with the bike, completely minding our own business.

One of the worst culprits is a dog who lives about 100 yds up the road from us, who the owner is aware is aggressive towards other dogs, and so keeps tied up most of the time, which is about the worst thing he could do, as this just increases the frustration levels, and therefore the tendency towards aggression. People around here think fences are for livestock, and have no other function. Grr.

Whenever we approached and he wasn't tied, he would tear up and launch straight at Lola, terrifying her, inflicting the odd nasty bite, and only avoiding causing bad biking accidents because I soon started dismounting, approaching "his" place on foot, and chasing him off myself, as I did know him before I had Lola, and he had been a nice dog to deal with when there was no "threatening" newcomer involved.

I got advice form a friend of mine though, got a can of Pet Corrector air-jet spray, desensitised Lola to it, using her favourite treats and toys, up to a point where I can spray it towards hostile dogs who approach us, without freaking her out, and the effect has been quite dramatic, most noticeably on the local dog.

The first time, he came as if to attack us, as usual, whereupon I gave quite a gentle squirt on the aerosol. He stopped dead for an instant, and then raced on the attack once more. I squirted again, and he stopped dead again, and then drew back very slowly, allowing us to pass. The next 2 times were fairly similar, although he was more hesitant on the approach each time. The 4th time, he approached us more warily, and retreated as I showed him the can. He now takes care when strangers approach while he is loose.

He creeps up his driveway, and as soon as he sees it is Lola and me, and from here it gets a little weird for me: usually if there is another dog approaching, with or without owner, he would start to growl and prepare for an ambush, but now he actually opens his mouth to pant, wags his tail a little, and only then retreats back down his driveway, and settles in his shed!

I'm sorta wondering, has he thoroughly acknowledged we have got the better of him, and wants to appease us, or is he really smart, and is just biding his time, waiting til we let our guard down again lol!

I'm hoping to be the proud owner of a 1 year old rescue Doberman soon so this thread has made for interesting reading.

Obviously, him being a rescued stray, nobody knows anything of his pedigree so i'm a little worried about the health problems I may be faced with! My Uncle had a Dobe who suddenly died of a heartattack whilst out walking so I was already aware of their heart problems.

This lad was definately a "clown" when we got him out of his kennel! He also didnt appear to be phased by anything we encountered so i'm hoping he'll be of a sound temperament. I guess time will tell on that one though.

Hi Leanne and welcome to the world of Dobermann ownership.

I think the easiest way for you to get to grips with all the health issues is for you to go on HealthDobes and it will give you more help than you will ever hopefully need.

I've always had rescue Dobes ranging from 3 months old to 7 years old and at the moment I've got the 4 loonies plus Skye the rottie, so if you need any help with yours just PM me and I will give you as much help as I can. Just remember that you must never give him an inch, because if you do it will become a mile tomorrow.

Since taking a look at him and putting our name down (still waiting to hear from the dog warden about a home check) i've been doing some researching. Just about everything says you must be firm and consistent and I guess with a dog that perhaps isnt viewed favourably by most people, it's even more important to have a well behaved dog.

I've already got 2 dogs that would take the mickey if given half a chance but i'm not the kind of person who likes to give them an inch anyway. However, I will be especially mindful if we do end up getting the new addition!

Thanks for the offer of advice Colin. We'll be going to introduce our 2 existing dogs to him on Saturday so i'll take some pictures.

Here's my little poopa (Lena) -- and she's a cutie pie too. I love Dobies and have owned them all my life. They are the greatest dogs -- I'm hooked on the breed.

My Lena is looking for a Valentine and she would love it if a Dobie stopped by our blog to enter in her 'Be My Valentine' Contest.

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Something you should be aware of when doing this introduction on Saturday is to allow him to approach your dogs whilst on their leads to start off with., because that way you are able to control your dogs and the kennel handle can deal with the Dobe.

On to many occasions have I seen two dogs introduced off lead and for the first couple of minutes things were fine, but then within a heart beat all hell breaks out. So please just be very careful especially as Dobe can turn very quickly.

I thought long before replying to this but feel its appropriate to do so. Firstly I want to say very well done for wanting to take on a rescue dog, of any breed. I must say that I am astounded that any rescue would rehome a male Dobermann with other males, particularly a youngster. Male Dobes often do not tolerate other males, they can and do, but you will not find a reputable breeder or Dobermann welfare organisation that would consider rehoming 2 males together.

I had a male Dobe, plus I had a female Jack Russell, and 2 mongrels, both male. I had no problem with them, untill the Dobe was reaching maturity, then he became dominant and pushy with the other dogs, then came along a rescue Dobe, another male, rescued by myself, kept chained as a guard dog for 3yrs and had Wobblers syndrome, a common disease of the Dobe. The two Dobes would of killed eachother, and I MEAN KILLED! Both of them were fine with the other dogs, but not eachother and never were.

I mention this as GSP/GWP's have very similar temperaments to Dobes, bouncey, pushy, in your face types and I wanted to warn you of a possible temperament conflict. This is my opinion only, but between 2 of my best friends they have 11 Dobermanns, and one of them has bred and showed them for 30yrs and neither would ever sell a male into a home where there were similar types or breeds.

Just be aware of possible problems, fore warned is fore armed, best of luck, I hope it works out for you.
Dawn.

Hi good for you. You certainly have the lively dogs to keep up with him. Wishing you well with the new dog. Would love to see some pics when you get him.

Hmmm, certainly some food for thought there Dawn. My GWPx is very in your face and OTT though my BC is the complete opposite. I guess all I can do is try and acquaint my dogs with the Dobe as much as possible before it gets to the stage where he's ready to move in with us. I'll be watching body language like a hawk and if I see something I dont like, then we'll have a rethink.

On a slight tangent but still connected, we had a look at another dog which deffo had Rotti in it. When it came out of the pen it was scent marking everywhere and when other dogs went past the cage, it acted quite aggressively. I knew this particular dog wouldnt fit in with our pack because he was evidently a dominant type and I think would have taken over and caused conflict. I didnt see anything which alarmed me initially about the Dobe though.

All introductions will be on lead anyway, there's no way i'd agree to any of them being let off as I think it's very important for dogs to be introduced in a controlled manner.
Would castration be a possible solution to the problems highlighted by Dawn?

Jed is neutered but Flynn isnt yet as I want him to finish physically growing but will be once he reaches between 12-18 months. As yet, this Dobe isnt neutered but he would be a priority. I do recall reading that they dont get along well with other pets...

Hi just read Dawn's post and yes I agree with her and I should know as I had to split up a few fights last year between my three males. All of which were at the time were entire and all of which we keep separate from each other. One of the fights was between 2 six month old males, and well you have never seen anything like it. I kept 2 male Akitas together until their deaths from old age, which I was told was nothing short of a miracle, until then I had never given castration a thought! These were puppies but they fought like adults and as I was alone in the middle of a field it was a nightmare splitting them up. At that age they can weight quite a bit, they were split from then on. A year later each one had a fight with their father at separate times entirely my fault in an attempt to walk them together. Morgan gave me a false sense of security that he would be ok and before you knew it there was a fight. He rendered his son unconscious in one of them which was the only reason I could get him off of him. Since he weighs 90lbs and his son not far off it. Since then we (my daughter and I) have been very careful the doors have extra locks on them and we don't have visitors unsupervised in case of mistakes. The young males will also fight their male siblings if they meet them, even if they have been castrated. Yet will play quite happily with any entire males of any other breed. This is why I didn't say anything. I guess they could have a problem with high energy breeds like weimaraners and such, the only ones I know are castrated. I am surprised your new dog is allowed to go to a new home entire. Although contrary to belief not all dogs homes are that responsible. Battersea Dogs home let them go as they are and give them vouchers towards the cost of the operation. I know of several people who have got dogs of other breeds from rescues and Battersea who I have talked out of breeding from their dogs.
Admittedly I used to think that the other dobe owners at shows were being overcautious but not any more. Even if they are good at two years old with other dogs they can still change at 3 years.
If i was going to have a dog neutered I would do it at a year or under as once they have matured they change character a little and although Morgan who was done at three, has become more affectionate he still has the male habit of scent marking as it is now an established habit.
I have come across some people who have managed to keep male dobermanns together but they have been neutered and kept in line in the pack order. Just tread carefully and be cautious and hopefully you will be ok. If they appear to get on still watch them and don't leave them alone for a few months until you are sure. A breeder friend always said to me be careful about three dogs together as when a fight breaks out the other can sometimes step in and gang up on the looser.
I do hope everything goes well for you but listen to the advice of people who know the breed as they always turn out to know better as I have found out the hard way!!! Despite that and all the trouble they cause me they are still the breed for me!!

From experience I have had with fostering a male Dobie, Dougal, it does tend to tally with what has been said on here, tbh. He got along beautifully with my own female, but as soon as the rescue I was fostering for tried to home him in a home-checked home with another male (a boxer), problems started.

He eventually ended up rehomed very happily with another female Dobie. Pretty much the home he would have had with us, except that he couldn't handle farm animals around him without going crazy, and they are all around us, and also that we are awaiting permission for an extension to our house, which would make life impossible with any dog with issues like this.

Our Lola Dobie girl fits in beautifully with our life, exercises well both on and off lead, and loves being with us, tends to submit to other dogs, but always wants them to play with her. Because so many of the dogs in our area are dog-aggressive, it has been difficult to gain her dog-socialisation time.

The couple of dogs we have been able to do this with in a way that she enjoys, apart from our Dougal foster, who is long gone, but had a similar style to the dogs I am about to mention, are a young lab and an even younger lab x, and these encounters have been rare, as her friends live around 100 miles away in Donegal. Naturally she has therefore developed a rather bullying way of dealing with non-aggressive dogs, head-butting them, mouthing them, trying to make them play whether they want to or not.

She enjoys having friends to visit for a few weeks, but seems always glad to have her home and her peeps back to herself when they leave. Dougal, who was with us for about 3 months, definitely seemed to far overstay his welcome.

It's not that she misbehaves in any major way when they are here, just seems to lose her concentration more and more the longer they stay, and once they go, she seems to gradually relax and pay more attention to us, making us realise how much stress the visitors have placed on her.

It could well be a shortcoming in us, I'm not sure, but as far as I'm concerned, our home must be first and foremost for Lola, so to do her the most justice, I think I will not be offering her home up, either for fostering or homing another dog, as long as we have Lola (hopefully at least another 10 years or so. She will be 2 in May.)

She copes well with our 3 ferrets, and any others we take in for fostering, is happy enough for us to look after our relatives' dogs for limited periods, just I think if she isn't as comfortable with having other dogs in the equation permanently, or semi-permanently, I think that should be her prerogative. We chose to offer her our home, she seems to be generally very happy here, and dog-wise we believe she must come first. We want our home to be the happiest she could have.

Thanks for the advice people, I have to say i'm starting to worry now. I'll feel bad if we take our name off the reserve as I feel now we've done it, we owe it to him to see it through unless there is a very good reason but at the end of the day, the 2 dogs we have are priority.

Maybe it is asking for trouble to have 3 males in the same household, perhaps we need a little girly (if anything) to balance it out.

TBH, I never enquired if he had been neutered but he certainly looked entire!

Leanne I've got 2 dobie males (both neutered) who live happily together, and have over the year had many males that have got on, but like I said in my last post you really have to make sure you let all the dogs know that you are in charge.