Adopting two Dobes - any pitfalls? Questions

Hiya,

There are a pair of Dobes in rescue at the moment, been there awhile, a male who is 8 and a female who is 4, they must be rehomed as a pair.

I have taken to them but have never owned a Dobe before, am willing to take the pair but was wondering am I going to be setting myself up to fail by taking the two together, is there anything I should know?

I have a 12 year old crossbreed at home and two children 8 & 6

I'm a Rotti gal myself and have never fancied owning a Dobe until now lol, I haven't put the request in yet as I thought I would grab a bit of advice first. It doesn't say much about them apart from they came in as a pair and should leave as one so there is only one adoption fee for the pair. They were thrown away and saved from the pound, the fella is 8 I can't bear to think he will never find his forever home

*bump*

I can't offer any advice as have never owned a Dobermann, but just wanted to give your post a bump

I would be more interested in where they came from and what kind of temperaments they have rather than the breed. My Husband has had dobes most of his adult life and all have been different. Our last dobe was a female working dog. My son, who was four at the time, could drag her round by her ears and she would put up with him but outside at work she was extremely defensive. I certainly wouldn't be put off by having a dobe, I love them, but as with all dogs, it depends on their temperament and what kind of upbringing they have had.

I would also be careful about putting them with your other dog, whose territory it is, as sooner or later they will probably fight, especially if it is 2 dogs.

This is the only info that is with them at the moment
08-08-11 Cleopatra is about 4 years old and Anthony is about 8 years old. They are both really lovely Dobermans who were thrown away and ended up in the pound. They are best friends and possibly father and daughter. No one claimed them, of course, and no one wanted them. We have taken them in the hope some kind soul out there may adopt the pair. They are sweet dogs that really didn't deserved the treatment their last owner has inflicted on them by throwing them out without a care of what their fate would be.

If you know they have good temperaments than i couldn't recommend a better breed to have, but I may be bias!!

I haven't met them and its a fair old drive to turn round and come home without them so am looking to find out as much as I can about them from their foster and the breed in general before we put in the form

Yes it's really hit or miss (breeding, temperment, history). I considered having one but my parents REFUSED to ever let one in their house. When I was a child a neighbor Doby jumped our fenced in yard and attacked our English Setter... opened up his stomach and nearly killed him.

I second that
My dobe is 11 1/2 now and she has been a joy since day one.

I know that is not a lot of help in your decision as only you and your family can make that, but I have to say that they are wonderful dogs.

They are a great breed but i would contact the rescue and find out a bit more info like how they are with other dogs and children etc first. Hope they find a great home together.

It depends on the dogs, you and your dog too, of course they can live with other dogs of either sex. I currently have 3 Dobermanns, a staffie, a terrier and a pug, there are 3 males and 3 females. Earlier in the year because kennels were bursting at the seams I also had 2 male Dobermanns as fosters in addition to all the others. It's never recommended to have 2 male Dobermanns together but needs must in times of crisis and it worked well here and I had no problems but I am used to dealing with dogs with issues and multiple dogs too.

They are very good looking dogs ..

Don't know much about them, but I'm curious to know how things turned out.

thats a bit scaremongering to be honest.

its not a given the new dog will ned up fighting exisitng dogs due to territoriality.

if all dogs concerned are dog friendly, then the problem need not arise.

and that comes down to the individual dog personality
so, for that reason, i would not take on any dogs without letting them meet my existing dog first in a neutral area.
and ditto with all your family including your children.

what rescue is it?

Not all dogs are territorially. It depends on the individual dog. I have two dogs one is extremely territorially and the other couldn’t care less if another dog is brought into the house.

ETA - As Krusewalker has said best that you meet the two dogs with your dog and children on neutral ground.

I have 5 dogs - almost always had multiple dogs and never had any trouble with dogs being territorial. And we frequently have friends with their own dogs visiting.
A friend with the same sort of setup takes holiday boarders and she`s never had problems either.
So I`m wondering if this territorial thing is true or something to do with socialisation / habituation. (The dogs involved range from GSDs to Giant Schnauzers so we are talking about guarding breeds btw)
Mind you, it`s my house. The dogs have never made a mortgage payment in their lives.
How about a trial run (with the dogs I mean).

well said claire

trials have 2 issues though:
sometimes the dog wont show its true colours until after 2 weeks and then its harder to send them back to kennels if dog or humans have got attached.

and if dog still owned by rescue their could be an issue of legal liability.
some rescues get round this by putting put person under insurance as fosterers

these dogs seem have no history.
have they been assessed by rescue?
who is the rescue.

one or two meetings with whole family including own dog is always advised

They are on the many tears website and currently fostered, so info on their temprements and how they interact with other dogs is probably available from the fosterer. Why not submit a preliminary enquiry asking for more information, if they're already fostered with other dogs and kids then a lot of your questions would be answered.

I know the couple who are fostering them and they are living with - 2 other dobes (i neutered male/1 spayed female) and a neutered cross breed

They sound like they have settled in well and are respectful of the other dogs (move away from beds if glowered at etc) The male was recently neutered so has been feeling abit bewildered on top of being in a new pack

I think a male Dobe with bits is a whole diff kettle of fish (or maybe its just ma boy! ) Girls and neutered boys hes devine. Boys with bits (that come above elbow height) get lots of verbal snot spit n flaring teeth.

So given what I ve heard so far as long as you are the boss and your girl doesnt hate them think it sounds promising

Id contact the rescue for sure.

You are right, I don't think they have any history as they were poundies. I'm not 100% sure but I think they are currently under assessment.

It's good to know that someone knows the couple and that they actually live with other dogs, my bitch is brill she hasn't a care in the world with dogs coming in and out of the house as we also foster.

I now have another problem though, my other half has said if we adopt these two then we cannot foster anymore as three dogs in our home will fill it , he is right our house isn't exactly big but I am really enjoying fostering... now i'm in a right pickle