Hi From Australia - Need experts advise!

Don't forget this is a baby. 10 weeks is a baby baby. He's only been away from his mama and litter mates what, maybe two weeks.

I would personally be very very afraid to leave a 10 week old puppy outside. Not sure what animals you have there but I have large birds, bobcats, coyotes, etc. Course I live in the country, not city. I actually walk outside with my puppies at that age. They are never alone. At 4 months I let Taylor out with the two older dogs but definitely not when she was so small.

Dobermans are not meant to be left outside and to leave a 10 week old outside is scary to me. I'd rather puppy proof the garage (remove all hazardous items) and place a crate inside with the door open so he can come and go into his crate. Or, do this in the kitchen with a hard surface floor. Course I'm an over-the-top worry wort when it comes to a puppy.

You could also place his crate near your bed at night.

I let my puppy sleep in the bed with me. Now you know all my bad awful habits. No wonder my girl is so rotten.

Please post some photos.

KC/Linda

Oh I forgot about drop bears!!!!!!!
....but they prefer human brains so probably not an issue.


ETA ...or maybe it could be an issue....
http://kangaroojase.hubpages.com/hub/How-To-Survive-A-Drop-Bear-Attack-An-Essential-Guide-On-Australias-Most-Dangerous-Marsupial

Welcome to the forum! In addition to the velcro nature of Dobermans you have also got a puppy who displays great determination, another awesome Doberman trait. This persistence can be a pain when they are young and you want some "down time", HOWEVER, the same persistence will be invaluable when you are training your puppy because Dobermans can easily focus upon and stick with a training task.

Cures for "persistence overload" are below. Right now your puppy is a "sponge" just dying to soak up new things so start training several times/day for a few minutes each time. In 3 weeks or less you will have a wonderfully behaved puppy!! Google "kikopup" + "dog training" and you will see excellent demonstrations of positive reinforcement dog training.

1) Plan for your puppy to get plenty of free play time outside chasing balls, throw toys, frisbee; play tag and other silly games with your puppy. Allow him to snoot around for extended periods of time.

2) Crate training - it is IMPERATIVE that you do this!

3) Teach your puppy how to independently play with toys both in and out of the crate.

4) Teach "Go to your mat" as soon as possible and use it all the time for brief periods of quiet time - have frozen kongs and bones for pup to chew while on his mat (videos for teaching this are on youtube). Make the sessions very short and rewarding (with the chew items) at first, then gradually increase the time.

5) Have FUN with your training! This will build a great relationship between you. Laugh and play with him a lot. You don't have to provide long hours of intense focus, instead, provide lots of short burst of focused attention from you, then ignore him for a short time while he is in his crate or on his mat with a chew toy. This will help him to learn to be independent. Good luck!

If he has such severe separation anxiety you may still want to consider crating when you can't keep an eye on him for a couple reasons. Dogs have been known to chew/dig through drywall when left to their own devices and you WILL be shocked at the things your dog will find to eat when left alone. I know my laundry room would be heaven for a puppy looking to get into mischief. An obstruction surgery can cost over $5,000 and dobes are known for eating things like socks and having to have surgery.

Plus a crate can become their safe place: think of it as a den not a crate.

In regards to the jumping, make sure you are not rewarding it. I had Whiskey broken of it in 3 weeks by ignoring him totally if he was jumping up. Turn around and walk away. NEVER reward the behavior with a response. Even a NO is a reward because some attention is better then none. Start now and it will be much easier to break him of that habit. I never touch my pup unless he has all 4 feet firmly planted on the ground

With all that said, welcome to DT and congrats on your new bundle of joy!