Lclesceri

I have a brand new Dobbie puppy named Athena, she is almost three months old. I am a first time owner of a Doberman though my husband has had a few Min Pins in his life and his mother has had several Dobermans. I know I need to feed Athena 3-4 cups of food a day and only portions of that ammount 3-5 times a day. I'm just not sure as to how much and what exercises I need to do with her and what would be a good way and time to start training her....
Any tips, suggestions and references would be appreciated.

falnfenix

food amounts differ depending on the brand you're feeding, and we only fed 3x daily until our pup was 6 months old, then moved him to twice a day. why are you feeding up to 5 times daily?

for training, have you looked into puppy classes near you? this will put you on a good path for basic obedience, and will help you socialize the dog properly.

and we need photos!

AlyssaN

I second the only feeding 3 times a day until 6 months. Actually, I think I was at five months but with snacks in the middle such as carrots and filled kongs.

I also second the contacting a trainer. Some people find dobermen to be a little more difficult to train, this will give you an edge.

As for exercise, it is a little more difficult. The growth plates of this size breed generally only close around 18 - 24 months. Until then, you cannot do any running or jumping or anything you may deem hard on the limbs. Walks are alright, as long as they do not exceed more than 5 minutes for every month. Being that he is only 3 months, he should only go out for 15 minutes at one time.

You can also play fetch, but watch for signs of fatigue and do not continually throw the ball. Many people say that their puppies are happy doing hard exercise such as running and playing fetch, but we have to remember that these are people pleasing dogs who are happy doing stuff for you, even if it hurts.

The flirt pole is another way to get good exercise - using the forum search you should be able to find plenty of good information on how to use it properly.

You'll find that your puppy still will have way too much energy. Mental stimulation and toys that reward with treats such as the Kong Wobbler can be life savers. Teaching tricks such as leave it (will power) and roll over (exhausting) work wonders!

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Lclesceri

I am currently feeding her Pruina Puppy Chow and I feed her about 1/2 to 2/3 of a cup each time as recommended by one of the local vets. I do play with her at times. It is kind of hard to play during the day sometimes because I have a four month old daughter, but I do play with Athena after my husband gets home from work.We are kind of tight on the finances due to unexpected bills, does anyone know of a place that does free or cheap training classes??
By the way I am uploading pictures of my beautiful puppy to my photo Gallery.

falnfenix

ahh, yeah, on a high corn food (meaning lots of filler, minimal nutrition) you would feed more. you might want to try to get her on a higher quality food. it'll keep her healthier in the long run and it can end up being better on your wallet.

if you're unable to afford obedience classes right now, check out Kikkopup on youtube: Dog Training - YouTube

she has a lot of very useful tips. work on exhausting her mind as well as getting her physical exercise. she'll be much happier and so will you.

Rosemary

You might want to look into feeding her a better food. While countless generations of dogs have been raised, and done well on, Puppy Chow, there are much better foods out there. This is a good place to start comparing foods. Dog Food Reviews and Ratings | Dog Food Advisor

As for the training, you can start looking for a training club here. American Kennel Club - Club Search and Directory and American Kennel Club - Club Search and Directory

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Lclesceri

I found a website that is a link on this site that gives free classes on training Doberman puppies. the website is www.trainpetdog.com/Doberman
does anyone have any thoughts or reviews as far as this website?? It talks about Potty training and teaching them not to jump on people and socialization...

falnfenix

i get a 404:Forbidden message on that link.

Lclesceri

that's interesting.... let me check it out...

PatchworkRobot

These videos, as well as the advice that you've gotten in this thread, are all great.

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Lclesceri

i just tried the link also. Maybe I typed it in wrong or something...

Lclesceri

Is it possible to make my pup's ears stand up on their own without cropping?? my husband and I have her ears coned or "posted" they have been like this for two weeks now. I took Athena's ears out of the posts to change them out and her ears are kind of standing up on their own. they stand for a bit before they start to flop... any thoughts??

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workingk9s

A puppy that has standing ears that aren't cropped is going to look quite strange. There was a thread at some point on here with a pic of an adult that way and it wasn't pretty at least to me.

If she is almost 3 months the window for cropping is closing fast. If you are going to do it, do it fast and make sure you have a VERY knowledgeable vet do the crop. Poorly cropped ears are something that you will have to look at for the next 10 years hopefully.

Or, leave her natural. I like the look of natural Dobermans.

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pdubois64

I am reading one of the best training books I've ever come across called:

The Power of Positive Dog Training by Pat Miller. It's fairly cheap on Amazon:

The Power of Positive Dog Training: Pat Miller: 9780470241844: Amazon.com: Books

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Dillon:b.2/19/09 d.9/28/12 "The best walks in life are always the briefest"

Lclesceri

does anyone have any pictures of any dobermans with uncropped standing ears?? and does anyone know how long it takes??
pdubois64- do you know if they have the book in the itunes store??

AlyssaN

As per requested, here is an old DT thread.

Doberman with ears uncropped that stand

It looks like those ears may be cropped already, though. It could just be the angle.

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Lclesceri

as far as Athena's ears not being cropped and posting or coning them my husband and I are using 5/8 inch backer rod which is a kind of soft but sturdy "foam" type tube that resembles a hose without a hollowed out middle section. we have kind of formed her ears to the backer rod so that they seem narrower and kind of look cropped.... I'm still not sure as to how it will turn out in the end but so far she looks good with her ears like this... when I change out the posts again I will take pictures and post them on here for all of you to see.

Beaumont67

Our dober girl Kelly, is ~4.5 months old now:
We feed 4 portions = 6:00 am. / 12 noon / 6 pm / 10:00 at night.
Using "all-life stages" (ALS) kibble...holistic/organic brands rated 4-5 STAR (nothing less) ---->> puppies get 1.5x adult quantity...by pet weight.
Dry Dog Food Reviews | Dog Food Advisor

TRAINING starts on Day1...recognizing your voice / building the bond / and learning the family expectations (w/consistency from all).

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------------Kelly & (Amy - RIP @ 11.7 y/o)

Lclesceri

as far as getting Athena's ears cropped there is a well known vet here in clarksville that does crops on Dobbies. Because Athena is under 40 pounds the cropping would cost 245$ which is a lot less than the 370$ if she was over 40 pounds... I want to get her ears cropped so that her ears will stand properly... but my husband and i are struggling on the decision because of finances... I know we can pay for it on this up coming paycheck on the 15th but he isnt so sure

DobieGal15

Are you sure those ears aren't already cropped? And if finances are a concern, perhaps getting this dog wasn't the best decision? Dobies are both an expensive and somewhat unhealthy breed.

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workingk9s

If you aren't going to crop her ears, please don't tape them up. It is going to be not attractive in the long run and will be unnecessary and uncomfortable for the pup.

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Tay_Fam

The depth of knowledge on this site amazes me. I didn't even know this was possible! The pictures were even more amazing.

Lclesceri

Her ears were not cropped already. We are not struggling financially at all. My husband is just always concerned about finances. We had a big discussion about getting her ears cropped or not and came to the decision that we are going to get them done. The only thing that needs to be done first is Athena's shots need to be updated. Does anyone know how to register Athena as a Doberman with AKC??

Asmit

You said money was tight in 3 other posts? Seriously, did you look at that link of the adult dog without cropped ears? Possibly the most visually unattractive thing I've ever seen on a doberman. Why anyone would purposely do that is beyond my comprehension.

Considering the 4 month old daughter, the fact that you do not want to spend money on your new puppy, and the fact that you can only do training if it's "free" leads to another issue. If your dog ends up in rescue, and you have made her poor ears stand like that without cropping, it would be much much harder to rehome her.

As far as your AKC question, any half decent breeder would be able to tell you that. If she came with papers, you have to send in the paperwork to AKC. If she didn't come with papers, then you can not do anything about it now.

DobieGal15

Her ears look very short in your picture, just saying.
As far as training, you should really get her into puppy classes, even though they are not free, you will be very thankful if you do and unhappy with your naughty, energetic doberman if she isn't properly trained. The most important info you can get is exercise, exercise, exercise (physically and mentally) but there are limitations yo the physical part since she is a growing baby. Dobermans are not easy and are not like other breeds you may be used to, they require a lot of time.

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