Hi, all. I promise I did search and didn't find anything, but of course if this question has already been answered, feel free to point me to the correct thread. I just bought a new one-year-old Dobe from a family who kept her as a pet and couldn't keep her due to financial concerns. This is my first Dobe and so far she is the smartest dog I have ever owned (took me ten minutes to teach "down" and ten more to teach "come", still not consistent, but she clearly understands) BUT she has incredibly high drives and TONS of energy. What sort of things can I do to give her a "job" when we're not training. We train about an hour am, an hour pm and we live with the NILIF concept. My other dogs rotate who is in kennels and who is playing in the yard, but when I let Minerva (the new Dobe) out she just sort of clings to me and looks totally pitiful when I leave her kenneled. So, if she's going to be Velcro dog, how do I keep her busy?

Maybe I don't have the correct answer, but my Dobe now goes everywhere with me. Welcome to the fact you will always be checked on, even when you go to the bathroom for the rest of your dobes life <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />.

Hi Dorothy, how long have you owned him? How many dogs do you have and what are they? Maybe the dobe is scared of the other dogs and doesn't know his place yet, just a thought,
AL

I adopted a adult male dobe 2years ago. Dobes are known as " velcro dogs " , cause they often stick to their handlers like glue. I took this dog thru an OB class which was a breeze; however the dog was a nerve bag. I think is probably why you very seldom see them in real service work like you did in the 70's 80's. Harley never fully adjusted
, but he was maganable, very defensive ( nerves ) . Good luck with your dog. Can you make her , her own run ??? Harley would chew thru a full size knuckle bone in 3 days <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

We have only had Minerva about a week. We have several other dogs (two families on a farm together=a whole buncha canines) but we usually keep the groups separated. My (and my sister's) Malamutes can be pretty dog-agressive, so they aren't allowed to socialize with other dogs except when closely supervised. My sister's sibe, and my pomeranian live in the house, with us and the Dobe. My sister's Mastiff-pei cross lives on the porch as head alarm dog (probably would bite but no formal training other than a nice solid "out) and the Great Pyrs live out with the livestock. So Minerva's pretty limited as to whom she sees regularly. I did try putting her in a private run but she was so pitiful that after 15 minutes (watching from the kitchen where she couldn't see me) I finally went and rescued her. So what sorts of things can a busy Dobe be taught? She's got LOADS of prey drive (she stays leashed all the time because otherwise we won't have a cat left) and plenty of focus (she's real hard to distract when she wants to get after the cats) but I need something to channel it into when we're not working. We've always been schutzhund people, but I'm learning about French Ring and PSA so I think we'll be doing one (or both if somehow possible) of those instead. Any suggestions for "off work" time jobs she could do?

No, sorry. my intrests lie in home PP/PSD type service dogs.

Having a Velcro dog in both my Dobe and Pembroke Welsh Corgi gets rather annoying, especially when it comes to cramming them into a tiny bathroom. I tend to leave the bathroom door open when I am at home alone for this reason (A woman who leaves the bathroom door open! Oh noooo <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />.

Both my dogs are couch potatoes so they're just happy chewing on bones, which is all Chansey (the Corgi) will do. She doesn't play with toys for some reason, but she used to when she was little. Maybe because her favorite hedgie had to be thrown away? Who knows.

Maybe see if your Dobe will play with interactive toys such as the I-Qube, I am hearing some great things about it but I haven't bought it. Chansey would probably never play with it and Hershey the Dobe would most likely destroy it within five minutes as he is famous for doing. Care-A-Lot sells it http://www.carealotpets.com There is another thing that they sell from Triple Crown called the Everlasting Treat Ball. Looks rather interesting and is made from digestible ingredients. Other than that, I'm not really sure what else your dog can do but it may keep her busy. Or it may not <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Thanks for all the help! I LOVE the everlasting treat ball and Minerva plays great with it in her bedroom. As for the comment about "serious" wroking dogs, I'm confused...the reason I'm thinking about converting to PSA is because I have been given to understand that it is a sport more designed to cater to the home PPD. Kind of a way of sharpening the dog's responses and the owners/handlers get a competitive atmosphere which makes us try harder? Can someone clarify if I'm mistaken? Thanks