Hello all. I posted this on another section but without any replies. Maybe I can get some help here. My wife suprised me with our first dobermann while I was away on a trip. They were together for a little more than a month when I got back, and I've been home now for about 2 weeks. He's 5 months old, and he's doing great overall. I'm still learning about the doberman breed, and I'm no expert in training, but I'm doing my best, and he's picking up great. My wife starting hooking him up to the outside line, and he would relieve himself in the yard. I take him for walks and exercise 2x a day (about noon and 6pm), but he never relieves himself during those walks. He always waits until he gets back so he can go in the yard. He never wants to "expand" his territory. Is this common with dobes? He's comfortable with his surroundings, and sometimes I find myself standing around waiting for him to go at least once. Oh it's also weird because even when I have him on his harness/leash, he won't go in the yard at all. I have to tie him to the line first. How can I break this? Also, how can I maximize his growth with his feeding/exercise program? Oh, and what should I do on rainy days with him? I want to play with him in the house, but I don't want him to think that it's ok to play inside all the time. He's 5 months old, and I don't want to instill any bad habits. Any help would be great!

Thank you so much for the info. I will continue to hold him with the leash until he goes. I didn't realize I was using the line wrong, my wife started it before I came home, and I never thought twice about it. Maybe I can leash him, and take where he normally relieves himself. I can then change the line to the backyard, and show him it's the play area. What do you think?

Once again, thanks for the tips. It's all been very helpful. Well, here we are 2 days later, and he's gotten used to the leash while relieving himself in the front yard. I guess it was just a matter of time before he got comfortable with it. That solved one part, hopefully he'll figure out that it's ok to do it during his walks.