oweng

Hi. I'm not sure if it's already late correcting my dobe's behavior. He's now 9 months old. Some things that I don't like about him is that, before I even take him out from his kennel, I already get a dirty paw prints on my shirt. i.e., he jumps on me whenever I come close to him. Another is that, he licks whatever part of my body he can reach. I also don't like his behavior of dragging me wherever he wants to go. Because of that, I have to change his leash 3x.

I have a friend who has a GSD which I really like its behavior. I tried walking with my friend with his dog in our place. What I noticed about that dog is that, he rarely barks. That GSD even ignored dogs barking at him. He only got mad when the dogs got too close from him. and Even if you pet him all the time, he won't lick even a small part of your body. That dog also didn't drag me even once when i tried to walk him. With that attitude, I will surely save more money from buying leashes. And he never jumps on my friend everytime he'll be taken out of his kennel.

Just to give you an idea of what I want my dobe to act like, that GSD has most of the behaviors that I like. Unfortunately, my friend won't be able to help me since he was not the one who trained that dog. If it's possible, I want my dobe to act that way. Please help me make the first step in training my dobe. Thanks in advance.

jaxadam

Well, a GSD is a lot different from a Dobe, and all of the GSD's we've owned have always had similar behavior.

Dobes can be pretty jumpy up until a year or so old. Sometimes longer. They will get over this.

Our dobes don't bark very much at all, if ever, unless they are doing their deal. I think it's just a dog thing. Some dogs bark more than others. Every dog has a different personality, and you can't really do much about that, other than positively enforce the good behaviors.

Untrained dobes tend to pull on a leash, especially males that are not fixed. At 9 months old, there are a lot of things you can do to correct your dogs behavior and turn him into a well mannered young boy. You still have plenty of time, but he may not ever turn out to be the GSD protege you want him to be.

MtnDobies

Welll... first I'd have to comment that a Dobe and GSD are like comparing apples to oranges. I've raised and trained Dobes, Rotts and Shepherds, all have their own "quirks". If possible, you might try to find a reputable trainer in your area, oftentimes PetSmart has some decent people for general discipline training like jumping, walking properly on the leash, etc.

I don't know about anyone else, but one very well renowned trainer whose methods are highly publicized on the natgeo channel is Cesar Milan. He is well known for handling the "red zone" dogs (of which Dobermans CAN be if impproperly trained/handled). Try Googling Cesar Milan and see what you think. Personally, his methods are similar to the ones I've used for many many years so when he came on the scene with his "exercise, discipline, affection", "rules, boundaries and limitations" theory and method, I wanted to hug him! He's very good, but this is just my personal opinion.

Good luck with the training. Dobes are very smart, quick studies. In some circles they're known as the "dog with the human brain", and I'd agree with that. I've been outsmarted by a Doberman more times than I care to admit!

Gina

sebsyd

Lots and lots of treats, lots and lots of patience, lots and lots of time spent, lots and lots of love. All of these will help in training your puppy. You didn't mention the age of the GSD, is he older and therefore more mature than your puppy??
To help with the jumping out of the crate, get him into a sit position BEFORE you let him out of the crate. Tell him easy or no jump but be consistent with the wording you use and treat and praise him when he does it properly. Jumping on a person can be handled by loudly saying "ouch" or another word and then just turning and ignoring him. It is called shunning and that is what is done between puppies in a litter when one doesn't like what the other is doing. It teaches the pup that jumping is not acceptable. Pulling on the leash is harder (at least I have found it so). Start with a treat in your left hand and the leash held in your right hand. Have him do a sit next to you, treat him, start to walk, when he pulls stop and start all over. Check the "search" on our toolbar for obedience training. There is great advice there. Good luck. It will take some time, lot of patience and good treats to properly train your puppy.

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"He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your Doberman. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion."

ripper.qc

as for jumping it is an obediance problem as pulling on the leash good training school a lot of time patiance and watch cesar milan he is awsome ...

and for liking you there is nothing to do he does like you and respect you as a pack leader ..
thats the way dogs shows it ... they pet the pack leader .... and dobes are very close in relationship with their owner ... hihihi ...

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voodoolizard

totally agree with the cesar milan watching.. i have had many ideas from him.

just remeber 9 months is very young.

it is all correctable with time and training.

Never pet him unless he is sitting, they cant jump from sitting very well.

tell him sit pet him let him out of his crate, if he jumps a good karate block will stop him hitting your shirt !!
say " Down or no jump" when he does jump, make it clear its not accceptable !!

the pulling will not get better unless you train, its really difficult, zeus is 15 months and only now getting the hang of walking nicely !! and only some of the time, but we still work on it every day !!
get a prong or a choaker .
if he barks at other dogs he needs again to be told sit, make him stay till the other dog has passed telling him " quiet" etc what ever wrod you choose !!

but most of all pick something from all the wonderfull ideas you will get on here and be consistant and things will get better with age and training !!

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Zeus,Missy & Clare

2RescuedDobies

Welcome to the world of Dobies. A Dobie will out think a GSD every day of the week and twice on Sundays It is NEVER too late to correct undesirable behavior. 9 months is not too late. Your dog has to understand what you expect of it. I would practice the nothing in life is free principal, take lots of walks where you give the dog treats for not pulling, don't try to correct all the behaviors at once. Many Dobies mature at age 3. Keep it light keep it fun, but be firm.

ellenm

oweng-
I would highly recommend that you need to get to a basic obedience class with your dog, just for basic manners training. You will learn how to correct your dog under supervision and it will help you tons in the long run!
9 months is NOT too late at all to train your dog.

alwayshadpets

Definetly, they are never too old to train. You will never regret it. It is the best money you will ever spend and you will wonder why you did not do it sooner.

Lexxsmom

I think that all of those behavior problems can be fixed with consistancy and training. Lexx just turned a year old and he still exhibits a lot of those behaviors but we work on them everyday!

1.First off he has to "down" before he is allowed out of his crate.
2. if he jumps, i completely ignore him, I don't speak to him, i don't correct him and i don't look at him. Sooner rather than later he's sitting with his nubby wiggling waiting for mommy to pet him nicely
3. pulling on the lead. there are a lot of threads on this, everyone uses different techniques to train this behavior. Is your dog intact or neutered? This will make a big difference.
-I recommend an obedience class or working with a qualified trainer before using ANY training equipment, collars or new techniques that you are not familiar with. Trying to do something yourself could end up doing more harm than good if you are unsure of what you are doing.

goodluck! and don't worry... you'll have the dog of our dreams some day ( except he'll never be a GSD...)

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Leanne and Lexx


Dragon Slaying Dobermans Incorporated, member #001, President.
" I don't need to sit for the cookie, I hunt dragons all day dammit!"
Lexxington's blog: http://lexxslife.blogspot.com/