New Doberman Puppy! + Puppy Q's

[ChickenWisperer]

Now introducing Hope, the 3 month old Doberman!​

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I have been missing Muffin so bad lately, and feeling guilty about the thought of another dog coming into my life, even though I felt the need for the love that comes along with a dog.

I brought her home at 3 months - she was taken out of what appeared to be a hoarding/past BYB situation. Bad tail dock aparently, no shots. None of the animals were properly cared for, and she was being kept outside! The nerve. Her parents were also kept in a separate lot outside with no toys and probably hardly ever any love - the male was starving for it, the female was so nervous, probably due to lack of socialization and too much energy to care. It was so sad. If the male hadn't been nuetered, and both for sale as a "bonded pair", I wouldn't have brought her home. But I'm so glad I did... I have become so attached to her in just 4 short days.

She follows me around the house, is always underfoot, is getting so good at potty training, and when she sleeps with me at night she snuggles as close as she can get. It just kills me when she wags that little nub as hard as she can! She has done a total reversal in just a few short days and is a precious girl. Owning a dobie is all that people claimed it to be, so far. I can't wait to watch her grow up... she will be a big dog. As I type this, she has her head laying on my arm, sprawled out on the couch... love bug, much?


A few questions for the many dog people we have on the forum - her tail was apparently not docked right at the beginning, the end of it is a scab. Is there anything I can do to help that heal up? It's not hurting her but it does apparently itch.

Any tips on how to get her to not be mouthy with our fleshy parts? I've been firmly saying no, and then pushing her/her muzzle away and if she treats it like a game I say it louder and point my finger in her general direction and stop playing.

And sometimes, she tends to get hot and pant/in her sleep, even though it's not actually hot (about 72-4 in the house). Is this just because she's hot natured? It's been 12 years since I had a pup. Lol, totally forgot what it feels like to worry about EVERYTHING and worry about her ALL the time! I can't wait to get her in for the first checkup and get her the first shots. Too bad I'll have to find a new vet first.​

 

[hokankai]

Congrats on the pup! She's beautiful and is very lucky to have found you.

The mouthing is probably due to a lack of manners being taught when she was younger. I'd start off by yelping whenever she mouths too hard to teach her some bite inhibition. She's going to be mouthy for awhile though as that's a very normal puppy behavior, the key is to teach her when it's too hard and too much. If she's mouthing inappropriately while you're playing or just sitting with her, yelp/squeak/whatever high-pitched sound you can make and stop playing. If she continues, get up and turn your back to her for a couple seconds. If she continues when you sit back down, get up and walk away for a moment. She'll quickly learn how much is too much and that if she pushes the limit then she doesn't get to play with you and loses your attention.

As for the panting, I'd attribute that to the stress of being in a new environment and normal behavior. Some dogs do weird things, and perhaps she is getting a little warm at some point in the night. Her panting is just like you sweating in your sleep, so I wouldn't be worried.

I would watch the tip of her tail and if it is red, warm, swollen, or weepy take her into the vet for some antibiotic. If she isn't leaving it alone you'll need to put her in a cone to keep it from getting worse. Wrapping it will be pointless because she'll just pull it off if she can. I'd just keep it clean and keep an eye on it. Itching is actually a sign of healing

 

[drumstick diva]

I don't know anything about dobes but, used to raise and show Cockers. If a pup is getting mouthy, instead of pushing them away - she thinks its a game, tell her NO firnly and give her something she can mouth - like a safe dog toy. Give it a name like ball or bone or whatever so when she acts like she is going to moputh you say "go get the ball," and praise her when she does so. Dogs don't have hands so they test everything with their mouth. By pushing her away - she is mor eager to do it and play the game.

If it isn't hot in your climate, you might want to take her temperature and see if she does have a fever. It's been aged since I had dogs but I think a normal tempt is like 100.5 ( you could check on google) She may be coming down with something since she didn't have shots and maybe others with her were ill. Hope looks to be a beautiful girl - be sure and socialize her well so she will accept your family and friends. The large protection breeds especially need to be socialized because while most pups are friendly to strangers, as they get near a year old or so, they become more protective of family or owner and wary of everyone else. Obedience classes are always a smart thing also. Wish you the best of luck with her.

 

[dainerra]

normal dog temp is around 102. I know because I just came from the vet yesterday

for the mouthing - yes, redirect. Puppies play with their mouths; they don't have hands! As she is reaching out to grab you or even just getting ramped up, stick a toy in her mouth. Play with her a little bit.
If she is really insistent, yes walking away is going to be the best strategy. She will quickly learn that over-excitement means no more playtime with mom. Pushing her away, grabbing her muzzle, and the like will only make her more excited. Again, that is how dogs PLAY. So when you do that she will think that you are enjoying the fun.

Obedience class is a good idea. Even if you've trained 1000 dogs, every dog is different. Plus, the distractions of other dogs in the class will teach both of you to work outside the quiet of home. Plus, it's always good just to get them out in public as much as possible. Many people follow the "100 things, 100 days" guideline. That just means that you expose the dog to a different sight/noise/person/smell every day.

And, especially for large breeds, you want them to be accepting of strangers. Yes, even if you do want them to be a watchdog. You want your dog to be calm and accepting of friendly people and it makes the "bad guys" that much more obvious in their behavior to the dog. Plus, no one wants a dog that barks at every person they see. Except burglars. They know that the neighbors will ignore a dog that is always barking and never realize that this time the warning is real. Kind of like the boy who cried wolf!!

 

[Oregon Blues]

She is gorgeous.

With a strong protective dog like a Doberman, you want bite inhibition hard wired into her brain. So allow her to mouth and if the biting gets too hard, you yelp like a hurt puppy.

She should jump back, look surprised, and then come back at you with a grin, chewing even more, but with greatly reduced pressure. Allow it until it hurts and then yelp again. She will adjust her bite pressure until she can play without hurting you. She will have to adjust her bite pressure for each individual member of your family. This is how the mama dog and litter mates teach bite inhibition and the dog understands it easily.

Give her other things to chew but take the time to teach her bite inhibition. If ever she is awoken by a child falling on her and bites as an instinctive reaction, she will pull her punches and not bite hard. Without even thought, her bite inhibition will be so hard wired into her brain that it is the default setting. I've have owned and raised German Shepherds and consider the bite inhibition training to be the most valuable thing I can teach my puppies. A fully unihibited bite from a German Shepherd or Dobermann is strong enough to break human bones and tear huge chinks of flesh. Any dog that bites that hard is going to end up put down at some point or another. Teaching bite inhibition is the best thing I can do for my pups to protect them for life.

By the way, I do not allow that hard wrestling, tossing the pup around, and encouraging it to bite like I often see children and childish adult males engage in with their puppies.

 

[ChickenWisperer]

Thank you everyone!

Her tail isn't hot/etc, just scabby. I've been trying the yelp thing and it's working quite well so far!

I am putting extreme importance on her socialization, be assured. She's going to all kinds of places and socializing with all kinds of people/dogs/animals now that she's got her first shots and she's done SO well. It's so sad, in Rural King there was a family that was shoo'd away from our cart once the kids saw her. "No, I don't want you being around that Doberman" were the exact words of the father. What shameful ignorance, she's a lovely and very friendly pup and many Dobermans are nothing but big babies in loving responsible homes. What, did he think the puppy was going to come flying at him from the shopping cart?!

I do plan on taking obedience classes as well once I found some in my area, which shouldn't be too hard. She appears to be pretty darn smart, I can't wait to get some quality time to start training her.

 

[dainerra]

how many sets of shots has she had? It can take a few weeks until she actually has any immunity from them but at 4 months old her breeder SHOULD have already given her at least 2 sets if not the final one as well.

Don't be surprised at the bad comments that you might hear. Just realize that THEY are the ones missing out. When Rayden was a pup, I actually had a woman pull her daughter away from him so hard that she yanked the poor kid off the ground She then proceeded to start screaming that I shouldn't have that vicious creature in public and that I was going to get someone bitten if not killed. She made quite a scene. We were sitting on a bench in front of wal-mart (because you can't beat wal-mart for seeing a lot of "different" people ) Of course, by now the little girl is crying too because she is scared to death so people were probably expecting there to be blood and body parts littering the parking lot. A guy came up started cuddling and Rayden and laughed saying "yep, that's a real bloodthirsty animal right there..." It broke the tension and made me feel better! Here's a pic of the evil dog taken the afternoon this happened. As you can tell he LOVED to eat small children for breakfast

 

[ChickenWisperer]

I would hesitate to call those people breeders. More like idiots who thought they got a good idea.

Aww! How cute. I wish Dobie's came in a long haired variety. Even still, I absolutely love the little girl and can't wait to start working with her on some obedience. She just got her first shot tonight so no hot and heavy dog socialization/training classes until she's had a while.

What about jumping up on us? She's got this morbid fascination with hair. I really don't mind her gently putting her paw up to get our attention, but not pawing around the facial area. I've never had to deal with that before.

 

[hokankai]

I'd just redirect her with a toy or something. That just sounds like a quirky puppy thing, hahaha. That and turning your back to her when she jumps up on you.

 

[dainerra]

What about jumping up on us? She's got this morbid fascination with hair. I really don't mind her gently putting her paw up to get our attention, but not pawing around the facial area. I've never had to deal with that before.

pawing at their dam's face is how puppies solict love and attention. Remember, anything that you don't want her to do when she is full-grown, don't let her start now. I'd keep a toy or treat to use as lures handy at all times. Anytime she starts pawing for attention, have her "sit" using the lure to teach her. THEN pet her once she is sitting. If she gets up and rowdy, stop the petting and have her "sit" again, luring her into position if necessary. It won't take her long to figure out the proper way to seek attention.
Also, if you get her used to always sitting to greet people, you will never have a problem with her jumping up when people come in the door!