I know I've been asking ten thousand questions since I joined here, so I figured I'd take a moment just to post a moment of hijinks with Zeus.

This was my situation this evening.







Clearly, we still need a lot of work on the "leave it" or "drop it" command! He knows when he's doing something he's not supposed to do, because he gets that mischievous look and will just stare at me when I tell him to "come". Then he skitters away when I approach to take it away. He knew he wasn't supposed to have that bottle! lol

Be careful with plastic bottle wrappers! Puppies like to chew and those come off easy.

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Our girl always gets a toy or holds moms slipper (gently in her mouth), when she come home.
- this is their way of saying, "I Love you" / or bait your into playing, with them
- she likes running around the main house, to play keep-away / while getting 110% of moms attention
- she never hurts, human belongings...we trained her as a young pup, this way
- her stuffies, don't even get destroyed
- her alligator & snake, is over 5 years old / and Kelly inherited toys from former Amy
- in our case / obstruction surgery is of zero concern / our girl was proofed between 4-5 months young
- if Kelly has to stay home alone for an hour or two / she might rest her head on moms slipper, but that's it

Hugs & Kisses to Zeus xoxoxoxoxo...he having fun in photos & expressing his unique character.
- as long as, plastic bottle is taken away, if item destroying replaces harmless holding
- every toy or picked up item, has rules attached...they can learn this quickly, given much supervised freedoms
- cute boy, and like the big paws

^^ Good little stinker there...LOL.

For "leave it" or adjust play intensity, I just loudly vocalize one command...ITCH.

Kelly even has a job, of guiding Dad to bed, after midnight / so while I shut off lights & TV, she is by my side.
- holding a toy
- she even comes into the bathroom, gently holding toy
- I pet her, and eventually her toy is dropped, when she jumps on the master bed

Photo attached - Kelly with moms shoe, before her mommy gets home from work. Here is a 100% safe experience.

Actually, you are really lucky to have a perfect opportunity to teach "drop it". A pup would much prefer a high value treat to a dumb plastic bottle. Once "drop it" is 80% or so... You can use your treats to easily teach "leave it". To this day... I can casually drop a treat in front of my boys and tell them to "leave it". They won't touch it until I release them. (Command is "free").

Now some folks aren't fond of these types of training tools with dogs. However over the years, I have become a real fan of a modified version of NILIF. Many people seem to over use this as a training tool. However used carefully, it can be really advantageous IMO.

I can prepare food without interruption. I can set food down and they will leave it alone untilI release them. I can open my car/truck door and rest assured that they will not jump out until I command them. I can leave my front door open and am secure in the knowledge that my dog will not exit unless I OK it. I can ask my boy to self crate and be assured that he will. I can take McCoy out in public and be secure knowing that he will NEVER bark without my approval.

So... Is this being too strict? Not in my mind. Setting boundaries that a dog understands is paramount in maintaining happy and healthy doggy home.

BTW. All training that I have done with McCoy has been using positive reinforcement. (Well...he occasionally gets the "daddy stare" LOL.

It is SO much fun to train a Doberman puppy! Both for you and the pup.

John
Portland OR

What a fantastic looking pup.

Thanks @4x4bike ped ! I didn't even think about teaching "drop it" at that moment. Trust me, I had opportunities today when he took my glove (twice!). I got a treat, and instead of running from me, he stood there with his mouth full of glove and eventually let it go after a few "drop it" commands.

Thanks for the compliments, everyone! I do think my little big guy is quite handsome, but I'm hugely biased, haha! He's a handful for sure, but we're working on obedience. He's learning to stay in the sit position until released. Mostly I do this when I release him from his kennel, before we go outside to potty, and coming in from pottying. I can't wait until he consistently obeys! He's a quick learner though, and I'm optimistic that he'll grown up to be an obedient dobie. <3

This is a perfect opportunity to train trades. Keep something mega high value and reserve it for trades...when he has something you don't want him to have, trade for the high value item. He doesn't get said item until you get the thing he doesn't want.

LOL... I'm really fond of BACON! Nothing motivates a pup like delicious smelly, tasty treat. Hot dogs run a close second. Actually, once the pup gets the concept of being "rewarded", a piece of kibble works well...


John
Portland OR

I know that look very well Brienne does the same thing. She's 6 months now and has gotten a little better about not picking up the thing she's not supposed to have but once she gets the item (usually my husband's socks because he leaves them where she can easily get them, sigh) she likes to play keep away. Sometimes, if it's just me at home, she'll drop the item pretty quickly. But if we are both home it's a different story. My husband and I have very different ways when it comes to training, pottying, just about everything, so that makes it a little more challenging. I'm definitely the 'bad cop' to his 'good cop'. I don't want to be but he'd let her get away with anything if I didn't.

I don't use treats to get her to drop the item, I usually just wait and stare, normally sitting on the coffee table and when she gets close I grab her collar and hold the item while saying 'drop it'. I don't pull it out of her mouth (unless it's something dangerous I don't want her to swallow then I will pry those jaws open to get it out) I just hold it until she lets go, doesn't take very long, she knows game over once I've got a hold of the item.

I always thought giving her a treat to trade for the item would encourage her to 'play the game' even more since she knew she would get a treat out of the deal. I'm I wrong in thinking that? She gets plenty of treats during the day and if we are 'training' but I feel like I'd be rewarding the bad behavior if I gave her a treat for playing keep away with socks, etc.

To treat or not to treat that is the question

LOL - Gamer - great pictures !! Good looking young man you have there ! Those pictures remind me of every Doberman we have had !

I love the last pic. -He's Froze ! Eye's on you - Thinking - Thinking your next move or his - lol I love that in them !

A few times - AND I know - this is not the right way to work with them - Only a few times remember here - But when the little boy would grab the hot pad or dish towel - He would hind behind the couch - looking around it to see where I was - I would walk in there and see him - then yell at him -- What have you got you little chit ! lol HE was off to the races - lol then would trade him out of it - with the drop it command - Boy he would fly - lol

Again - great looking puppy - enjoy !

...Ken

I know I'm in the minority here but I just don't see much wrong, with the photos / if toys not destroyed, for safety.
- in fact, I will encourage the antics of holding an approved item specifically for my involvement
- as long as the empty water bottle, wasn't taken out of a garbage can

Zeus is baiting a play response by seeking out attention from love ones, which is totally fine in moderation.
- builds bond, smarts & communication skills with pup / their way of saying, "time to play Dad"
- after a minute, say ENOUGH, when its time for the "off switch"
- and we just killed a small moment of boredom & the pup stays refreshed & happy

I've had 3 dobes over the decades, and they all quickly learned which toys are acceptable from off limit items.
- no harm done, almost the opposite / every one of our dobermans lead a good home life, being silly once in a while
- their original uniqueness & playfulness, has grown on our family, since 1977

For basic manners, including trades like this, I don't use food. I prefer a really high value toy, instead...something that requires play with me, since I know that's what the little mite wants.

Something I do at the very beginning of teaching the concept of "drop it" (I generally use some version of the trade game)....When it's a non-dangerous toy theft (and a dog's idea of what a toy is can be different from mine) I get excited with them...."Wow! Look at the cool toy you've found. Let's play!" Again, I'm not talking about something that they shouldn't have, or that they have gotten in an illicit fashion. Those might require a sort of emergency response.

But with something like that bottle, or even a shoe, carried around with glee with no signs of eating it, they get a happy voice from me. That way, the tendency a puppy might have of staying out of reach to avoid my disapproval, or of sneaking off with a forbidden object to work his will on it where no one can see him, is minimized....chances are he will do the happy puppy dance right in front of me with his new prize.

Then I'm in a better position to play the trade game. While I've got his interest in sharing his glee with me, I can flash a different wonderful thing at him instead of having to chase after him trying to get his new toy away.

I always try to avoid actually calling a dog to come to me if there is going to be an unpleasant result. If I need to put him on a leash after play, I go to him. If I need to take a dangerous object or toy away....in addition to having a "drop it" command trained in, I also teach a "wait" command....which basically means drop the object and then just hang around until I come to pick it up. Don't grab it again when I get closer. Puppy learns that if he stands and waits for me to come get whatever it is, he will get something else wonderful as a trade.

The "wait" command is wonderful if you need to stop an action in the middle, too....say a dog is out of reach across a gravel road from me. I want him back, but crossing the road could be dangerous at that particular moment, so I give him a wait command instead of calling him to me. Then I can go collect him, or call him when it is safe. If he is dashing off toward a dangerous situation, I can say "wait", and then collect him or call him or whatever is appropriate at the moment to keep him out of trouble.

If he gets tangled up in the leash in a way that requires me to help out, or if he is threatening to step on the baby while he is playing, or beside me when I walk the stroller and getting under my feet, I can say "wait"....and he will stop in whatever position he is in (so the command is different from a stay, where he is asked to sit or lie down) until I can come pull the stroller, or leash, or baby he almost stepped on, or whatever out of his way.

Mel - I LOVE this approach. Wish I would have started with that!