First dobie pup

reddiesil08 · 07-02-2008, 12:38 PM

Hey I just got my pup well i posted in the new members a few of my ?s but i just noticed something about our boy diesil his front left paw sits a little bowed he was bought from a pet shop i wanted to know is this normal? i have 2 smaller breed dobies , but this is my first large breed is there any thing to know and if you all have any tips on house training and etc. thanks

**JenTN** · 07-02-2008, 12:51 PM

I would take him to a knowledgeable vet ASAP. With him having come from a pet store, there is a good possiblity of an injury and/or congenital defect. These pet store puppies usually come from horrible conditions in puppymills, then are shipped like chickens to the stores, and then put in little cages and usually are tranquilized til sold. They often have a hard time with housebreaking too because they usually have been taught to live in their own waste. I would get a vet, then find a reputable trainer when the puppy is up to date on shots. And please reconsider ever buying from a pet store in the future. The best place to get a puppy is from a reputable breeder, breed rescue, or shelter. Buying puppies from petstores just puts money in their pockets to keep buying from puppymills, which keeps the puppymills in busineess. Puppies deserve much better than this.

Read through the old threads on here and the educational archive to find out all kinds of advice for the care/training/health of dobermans.

ETA: I'm sorry I meant to say welcome from Tennessee

reddiesil08 · 07-02-2008, 01:16 PM

thank you i will. I agree with you. The reason i got him was for that he looked so lonely and so cute and when i picked him he peeed on my the gave me a kiss with this look that was like take me so couldnt say no and 1 was dying for the large breed even since i had gotten the med size 1.

Update: I called the vet that the pet shop gave to go 2 on sat afternoon i will take him.

**JenTN** · 07-02-2008, 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reddiesil08

thank you i will. I agree with you. The reason i got him was for that he looked so lonely and so cute and when i picked him he peeed on my the gave me a kiss with this look that was like take me so couldnt say no and 1 was dying for the large breed even since i had gotten the med size 1.

Please, please also understand that a Doberman is in no way the same breed as a Miniature Pinscher. They have completely different personalities and requirements.

**Megs** · 07-02-2008, 01:40 PM

Welcome to the forum, rediesil08. This is a great place to get more information on your new puppy.

Just to set things straight though, there is only one sized breed of Doberman. There are no small breed and large breed Dobes, although there can be some variation in their heights and weights, depending on the lines. "Miniature Pinschers," German Pinschers, and even Manchester Terriers may look a bit like a small Doberman, but these are all unique breeds.

I'm not sure what you mean about his front left paw sitting a little bit bowed. If it looks different from his right one, then it's probably a minor deformity, or maybe an injury. Which doesn't really surprise me, if you bought him from a pet store. Pet store puppies, in most cases come from puppy mills, be it directly or indirectly through a broker. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but a pet store is pretty much the worst possible place to buy a puppy. You have your puppy already though, so you can't do anything about this now, except give him all the love he needs and raise him into a fine Doberboy! But you'll know for next time (and there will probably be a next time...) to search out a reputable breeder and never again support puppy sales in pet shops. You should take your pup to a vet for a check up ASAP to make sure he's in good health.

As for housebreaking, a crate is an ABSOLUTE MUST. If you don't have one, go out and buy one. Today! It needs to be big enough for your puppy to stand up, turn around, and lay down comfortably. I just bought the 31" high crate right off the bat, along with a divider to make it smaller until he needed more space. Or you can buy a small crate and upgrade later, it's your choice.

Train your puppy to accept the crate as his very own safe place. He should sleep in there at night, and also anytime you can't supervise him, you should put him in his crate. Leave the door open so he wanders in on his own. Praise him lots when he does, and give him treats. You can even feed him his meals in there, so he associates the crate with good things. Whenever he wakes up, take him out of his crate and outside to his "potty area" immediately. He should go right away. Praise, Praise Praise when he does, and reward him with some supervised playtime inside the house, outside of the crate. If he doesn't go after a few minutes, put him back in his crate, wait 15 minutes and try again. When he does go, praise and reward with some inside supervised playtime. He's probably quite young... 12 weeks or less? So he'll need to go out always right after he wakes up, after meals (1-2hrs following a meal, he'll probably need to poop), and he'll probably want to pee every 60-90 minutes. He can probably hold it for up to 2 hours if he's quite young, maybe 3-4 if he's 12 weeks or older, and successful crate training will teach him to hold it and not eliminate in his crate. Just be sure to give him LOTS of opportunities throughout the day to go outside, and praise him when he does. A puppy 8 weeks old and older should be able to sleep through the night without needing a trip outside. Take up water about 2 hrs before bedtime to help with this. But sometimes he may still need a relief trip outside in the middle of the night.

If he has an accident in the house, shuffle him outside quickly if you catch him in the act and tell him "GO OUTSIDE" or whatever you want your "Time to pee" phrase to be.... if you find an accident in the house, he's certainly already forgotten about it, so don't come crashing down on him too hard. Always keep things positive.

Check out the "Educational Archives" for more information on crate training as well as a whole lot of great information on raising a healthy, happy Doberman. Good luck with your puppy

reddiesil08 · 07-02-2008, 02:36 PM

ok good advice but he will go where ever even in the cage i dont get it? now when i took him outside for 30 min he didnt go but when he got inside he went how to i break of the crate problem. thanks

Quote:

Originally Posted by Megs

Welcome to the forum, rediesil08. This is a great place to get more information on your new puppy.

Just to set things straight though, there is only one sized breed of Doberman. There are no small breed and large breed Dobes, although there can be some variation in their heights and weights, depending on the lines. "Miniature Pinschers," German Pinschers, and even Manchester Terriers may look a bit like a small Doberman, but these are all unique breeds.

I'm not sure what you mean about his front left paw sitting a little bit bowed. If it looks different from his right one, then it's probably a minor deformity, or maybe an injury. Which doesn't really surprise me, if you bought him from a pet store. Pet store puppies, in most cases come from puppy mills, be it directly or indirectly through a broker. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but a pet store is pretty much the worst possible place to buy a puppy. You have your puppy already though, so you can't do anything about this now, except give him all the love he needs and raise him into a fine Doberboy! But you'll know for next time (and there will probably be a next time...) to search out a reputable breeder and never again support puppy sales in pet shops. You should take your pup to a vet for a check up ASAP to make sure he's in good health.

As for housebreaking, a crate is an ABSOLUTE MUST. If you don't have one, go out and buy one. Today! It needs to be big enough for your puppy to stand up, turn around, and lay down comfortably. I just bought the 31" high crate right off the bat, along with a divider to make it smaller until he needed more space. Or you can buy a small crate and upgrade later, it's your choice.

Train your puppy to accept the crate as his very own safe place. He should sleep in there at night, and also anytime you can't supervise him, you should put him in his crate. Leave the door open so he wanders in on his own. Praise him lots when he does, and give him treats. You can even feed him his meals in there, so he associates the crate with good things. Whenever he wakes up, take him out of his crate and outside to his "potty area" immediately. He should go right away. Praise, Praise Praise when he does, and reward him with some supervised playtime inside the house, outside of the crate. If he doesn't go after a few minutes, put him back in his crate, wait 15 minutes and try again. When he does go, praise and reward with some inside supervised playtime. He's probably quite young... 12 weeks or less? So he'll need to go out always right after he wakes up, after meals (1-2hrs following a meal, he'll probably need to poop), and he'll probably want to pee every 60-90 minutes. He can probably hold it for up to 2 hours if he's quite young, maybe 3-4 if he's 12 weeks or older, and successful crate training will teach him to hold it and not eliminate in his crate. Just be sure to give him LOTS of opportunities throughout the day to go outside, and praise him when he does. A puppy 8 weeks old and older should be able to sleep through the night without needing a trip outside. Take up water about 2 hrs before bedtime to help with this. But sometimes he may still need a relief trip outside in the middle of the night.

If he has an accident in the house, shuffle him outside quickly if you catch him in the act and tell him "GO OUTSIDE" or whatever you want your "Time to pee" phrase to be.... if you find an accident in the house, he's certainly already forgotten about it, so don't come crashing down on him too hard. Always keep things positive.

Check out the "Educational Archives" for more information on crate training as well as a whole lot of great information on raising a healthy, happy Doberman. Good luck with your puppy

**JenTN** · 07-02-2008, 02:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reddiesil08

ok good advice but he will go where ever even in the cage i dont get it? now when i took him outside for 30 min he didnt go but when he got inside he went how to i break of the crate problem. thanks

I would seek advice from a professional trainer, if I were you. I have heard that it can be very, very hard to crate/potty train a pet store puppy because they have been taught to lie in their own feces and urine. They also have not been taught to "keep the den clean" by their mother like a pup from a good breeder would.

**dobermansrule** · 07-02-2008, 02:51 PM

I don't know if you should be thanked for 'rescuing' the poor dog from the pet shop, or lectured. I'm assuming he's purepred (how would you know from a pet shop) doberman pinscher? Where are you and what pet shop is selling purebred dobermans... [as I shake my head]. You realize by buying from them you support the puppy mill industry.

Be that as it may, you are in the boat you are in and you want help. You've come to the right place. Like the Verizon cell phone commercials, you have DT behind to make sure you keep the dog and he doesn't up in the pound or rescue.

**JenTN** · 07-02-2008, 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dobiesrule

I don't know if you should be thanked for 'rescuing' the poor dog from the pet shop, or lectured. I'm assuming he's purepred (how would you know from a pet shop) doberman pinscher? Where are you and what pet shop is selling purebred dobermans... [as I shake my head]. You realize by buying from them you support the puppy mill industry.

Be that as it may, you are in the boat you are in and you want help. You've come to the right place. Like the Verizon cell phone commercials, you have DT behind to make sure you keep the dog and he doesn't up in the pound or rescue.

Amen. A lot of people see it as "rescuing". Yeah, that one puppy was rescued, but what have you done for the one, two, or more that will replace it now that you have supported that pet store? A lot of people can't be told differently though. I had one lady tell me about her dog that she "thinks she got from a puppy mill". I said "oh, I got my boy from the pound". She said "Well, then, we both did a good thing". No, my $100 went to support further animal causes, her probably $400+ went to support people who basically abuse animals. I just wish people saw it that way. It's basic supply and demand- cut off the demand, there will eventually be no supply.

**Megs** · 07-02-2008, 03:24 PM

Oh, one more thing - you will need some Nature's Miracle, available at PetSmart and other pet stores, to clean up his housebreaking accidents. This stuff kills the odor. Regular household cleaners/soap & water are not efficient enough to remove all traces of odor. This is very important, or else he will likely want to go again in the same spot if he can smell it. You can use it on his bedding too, prior to washing it in the laundry, if he soils that.

Although he probably had no choice in the pet store/puppy mill, it is your puppy's instinct to not want to soil his sleeping area, so be consistent with the crate, clean up all inside messes thoroughly with the Nature's Miracle, and encourage him to use a specific area outside by praising him for going there, and taking him to the same spot each time. He'll get it eventually, but you'll have to be very patient with him.

I hope this helps.. but it sounds like you are going to be very very busy for the next couple of weeks.