The doberman may benefit from more exercise, running, trotting than the GSDs. Some young dobermans are really physical specimens, full of beans.

Ain't that the truth. Lots and lots of energy. It runs around the yard with two of the shepherds in a game of tag or follow the leader almost endlessly.

The issue is that the dog must be a companion or therapy dog for a person who really can't be 'fighting' a dog under routine circumstances, like climbing stairs, or sitting in a meeting or class. So some how I've got to try to get the dog to understand the difference between working and playing.

And he will have to be able to sustain prolonged downs. It seems a real challenge given its behavior but we'll see. A prolonged down won't seem like a game to this dog but it will have to be trained.

Playing will be the reward for demonstrating 'discipline' but with the Doberman's level of exuberance, it is gonna be an interesting process.

It likes to retrieve so we'll use that as an initial reward focal point.

In passing, I think I'd have selected a different breed for the need of the individual.

Do you get to have a pretty reasonable length of time with him, Mike?

Good morning Connie. - 2 F. but no wind or new snow. Coffee tastes good, and warms the hands.

Do I have a reasonable length of time with him? I doubt it but it is what it is. Perhaps another month and a half.

We are in the midst of working on long sits and long downs. The calm stair climbing on lead is going pretty good.

He's young and exuberant and has the attention span of a gnat at times.

Pretty much I focus on on lead behavior which has to do with solid walking, long sitting, long downs, easy stairs, eating on command, zero jumping up or lead jerking.

Then too, while he gets along with the other dogs he occasionally initiates unwanted dominant behavior. A no no.

A challenge. He is a good dog, and maybe I'm expecting things to fall in place too quickly. I gave him two weeks to get acclimated to his new surroundings and the other dogs without too much training but that changed yesterday. He is on a short leash figuratively and literally. Play times. Work times. Boundaries. Behaviors. Some good results.

I did figure out that a flat collar, choker, gentle leader, the tools used heretofore by former trainers are useless training aids with this guy at this time. And he trained others to give treats for marginal behavior compliance.

He is gnawing a nylabone at my feet. And we've been working on casual sit and down while proximate to try to imitate likely scenarios he will have to work in. So, in a little while we'll go outside and he can run and play until he gets cold.

Time is on my side, maybe.

Sounds pretty good!

I read this earlier today while I was liking the hot coffee mug, too. :-)



The occasional initiation of dominant behavior toward other dogs .... are you thinking the new owner(s) may also need a bit of training about that?

Good morning Connie,

A heat wave. 9 F.

Yes. The owner needs to read the dog and anticipate its likely behavior. Like a lot of young males, this one is suicidal in that it tried the dominance thing on my highest drive female. He had a rude awakening. No damage except to his doggie ego. He has much better manners, now.

The owner underwent some surgery and can't manage the dog during her recuperation. So I volunteered to take the dog in for a few months.

It is imperative, in my opinion, that the dog be conditioned to not jerk or yank or otherwise torque the owner, when it is working or any time for that matter. The owner is going to school and the dog will accompany her and must be able to sit or down during class. And the dog must be able to navigate a campus, stairs, hallways, etc. and not get agitated or reactive. A lot to ask from a young dog, and especially this young male Doberman.

The owner was working with the dog in a training environment prior to her surgery.

Fortunately, I'm only going to work on the immediate proximate training, and not the full therapy dog stuff.

He is starting to sit and down more on the first command but he's a long way from an immediate sit or down much less a long stay. I'm going to leave out the down stay or the sit stay approach in favor of a sit with stay built in and the same for down. I'll work on stay as a command to have the dog remain where it is, like in the kitchen, etc.

Stairs are going pretty good. When we first met, I watched the dog painfully torque the owner when going up the stairs and that has to change. The dog has to walk beside the owner regardless of floor or stairs without jerking or lunging. And this guy wants to launch at the bottom and top of stairs.

This is more of a casual recap vent than a post. The owner has to be more tuned into the dog and much less concerned with how others might view her, the dog and its behavior. I under stand her concerns.

And I am a curmudgeon.

Sun's out. Time for play.

It seems to me that this might be a bad match.

Seems like the owner needs a quieter, calmer, more serious dog instead of a bouncy playboy.

Betty,

The Doberman would not have been my pick for the user.

However, it may be working with this dog is a challenge that is part of the owner's therapy. I don't know.

It is kind of problematic that the dog is not suited for the cold weather we have been experiencing. I don't have a blanket or jacket for the dog and it decidedly does not like to prance around too long in the snow. So lots of outdoor play is limited and that leaves excess energy that I could ordinarily address.

It is what it is. And it is a nice dog that is not a GSD.

That is hard. I do lots of think-y training with moving (indoors) in terrible weather.

What size is he, Mike? I may have a sweater to fit.

It's like the top one here:

http://smile.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_3_11?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=dog+sweaters+for+large+dogs&sprefix=dog+sweater%2Caps%2C208

Easily mailed. Shoot me a PM if you think it would fit.

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

I do lots of think-y training with moving (indoors) in terrible weather.

I do, too, and I have found, with my own Dobermans, exercising their brains can often wear them out as much as physical exercise. Of course, a one-year-old of any breed is going to be full of energy that will still require physical exercise, but brain exercise should at least help make a dent.

I like to do a couple of ten or fifteen-minute training sessions (with lots of marker rewards!) utilizing a lot of different maneuvers in addition to boring old sits and downs. Are you familiar with the sport of rally? The rally exercises (except for the jumps, of course) can all easily be practiced in a small indoor space. They are varied and interesting, and really make a dog think (the handler, too!). I may also throw in a game of fetch down the hallway, or Find It!, or silly tricks.

My dogs can be pestering the heck out of me on a cold winter day, but if we do one of these sessions, they will usually settle down for a nap for an hour or two afterwards.

I don't know what the owner's limitations are, but maybe these kinds of exercises are things she or he could learn to do on their own when they get the dog back. I sure hope things will work out for them!