It really depends on the dog as far as answering a lot of your questions. Is the dog in a foster home? If so, I'd ask about personality, activity level, etc.

When I rescued Hades, I was specifically looking for a dog who would be compatible with my older dog who is very laid back. I went to see a lot of dogs! Hades was described as very laid back. He loves going for a walk or to the park but after an hour he's ready to go home. He would do fine in an apartment as long as he was taken out.

I also think most dogs can do fine left alone for 8 hours. At least mine can. Once you get them on a schedule they can adjust to holding it. Just be prepared for the dog to be super excited when you get home and want to play and exercise since its most likely been laying around all day waiting for you.


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My question: Why are your toy dogs no longer with you?

Answer to your question, no you are not ready for a large working breed. 3-4X week exercise doesn't even cut it. Wait till your living situation, and lifestyle changes that will accommodate a large, high prey drive, working dog.

 

Relationship broke up, and my significant other got the dogs.

Would a small doberman mix still be considered a large working dog breed? There are also doberman mixes that are between 30-50 lbs - for example, there is a doberman-shar pei mix who is quite small. I figure the smaller the dog, the more ability I would have to exercise them at their max (since it would require more effort given the same distance compared to a large dog). I'm surprised that 3-4 times a week of jogging or running isn't enough exercise. But you own dobermans, so you would know, not me! I could imagine that a full-fledged 80+ lb doberman could probably out-exercise me

 

I think an older mix would be good for you. They will be able to stay alone longer, and can go running/jogging sooner (as long as they are over 18 months or so is the general rule). The size will vary, and can depend on what they are mixed with. Apartment life is fine for most dogs, as long as you are dedicated to keeping up with getting them plenty of exercise.

Rescues can have mixes, and try Petfinder. Just don't buy one!

 

I have my eye on two ones right now. One is a female, and is ~50lbs, 3-years old. Microchipped, vaccinated, spayed, etc. and the 'cost' is $75. Very cute, and the rescue said her disposition is really, really friendly. But I have not met her yet.

The other is adorable, labeled as a 'doberman mix' (but they honestly don't know if she is half-half or what - because she is so small), and is about 6 months - 1 year old, and weighs about 20lbs or so. Spayed, vaccinated, microchipped etc., but the adoption fee is $275. To me, 20lbs at almost 1 year is a little smaller than I would like, but she is absolutely adorable.

 

Make very sure that your apartment complex does not ban mixes before you bring them home. Most of the apartments around here ban specific breeds, and any mixes that include those breeds. If it looks obviously Doberman, even if it's a mix, you can get evicted. Dobermans are an incredibly difficult breed to rent with, simply because of breed bans. Pit bulls and Rotties have it worse, generally, but Dobes and Dobe mixes are close.

Healthwise, it depends. Mixed breeds are not immune to health problems, especially if the breeds in the mix are heavily prone to health issues. Hybrid vigor is a myth. Yes, you can have genetically healthier mutts because there's a more diverse gene pool. However, if both of the parents have health issues, the puppies can then inherit those health problems.

You are taking a chance on the health of a rescue dog. Dobermans can be a very unhealthy breed, and come with health issues. With pet insurance, or putting money aside for the dog's vet costs every month, you can mitigate it. And it's not even genetic issues that cause problems. There's accidents too. Your perfectly healthy dog can decide to pull some shenanigans and break a tooth, resulting in a $700 vet bill, three months after you adopt him (hi, Griffin, yes that's you, you're magical!), or get in a fight with an off leash dog to the tune of $500 (good job, Logan), or eat your housemate's weight loss pills and then a leather couch in one sitting (Jackson the terrier, not my dog thank goodness because that sofa was expensive, and yes you can induce vomiting with hydrogen peroxide and a vet's directions).

However, with adopting an older rescue dog, you're getting a dog who's likely housebroken, grown up, no puppy shenanigans, and who will bond very closely with you.

The length of time a dog can be left alone is debated. 9 hours is the top limit, and I have a dog walker on call in case I have an emergency and will be gone longer than that. My Dobe has free run of the house.

I've lived with Dobermans in apartments before. You have to be extra committed to exercising the dog, and it sounds like you are, but you will need to do more than just 3-4 times a week. For a young, energetic dog, you're looking for at least two walks a day, plus all of the things that you listed. I ran Logan daily for at least an hour, and he wasn't the most energetic driven example of a Doberman by a long shot. In an apartment, you can maybe get away with skipping a day if you're sick, but you'll need to be out there walking your dog the vast majority of the days. Dobes are an active, intelligent breed and won't do well being home for 9 hours unless they get adequate exercise and training.

 

Wow, thank you very much for this info.

The vibe that I am getting is that I probably will not be the *best* owner for a full-fledged doberman. Looking at my schedule and myself honestly, I'm not sure I could do 6 or 7-days a week with two 1-hour walks. I guess the question now is whether a smaller doberman mix would require equal exercise.

 

1.) If an apartment complex has a restriction on certain breeds, it usually includes any mix of those breeds as well. Sometimes you can get by with the ol' "mutt" good college try, but you may want to double check the policy to be on the safe side. Since your looking for a mix, are you planning on rescuing?

2.) I would crate train in your situation. Proper crate training is important. I have never used a crate, so hopefully others can chime in here.

3.) With a mix, I think it's difficult to say. Dobermans are a very high energy breed in general. You want to be careful about running them when they are still young (around 18-24 months and under). Dobermans need both mental and physical exercise. In addition to being a high energy breed, they are a very intelligent breed. The amount of exercise is going to be much more than what you mentioned.

I think someone living in an apartment can make it work. I believe there are some on here that live in an apartment, and make it work.

As far as size goes, again, it'll be difficult to predict with a mix. I think there's someone on here who has a mix and the dog is around the 55lb weight to the best of my knowledge (it's a really pretty dog too).

As far as a companion dog goes....OH YES! They will want to be with you all of the time! They're aren't called "velcro dogs" for nothing! The bond with a Doberman is difficult to put into words. It's truly amazing!

Again, I think it's difficult to predict with a mix dog.

Keep us updated!

 

1) All of the places I've looked at for dogs are termed 'rescues', but some of them have high adoption fees ($275) while others are low ($75). I have no interest in buying from a breeder; I would like to get a dog who doesn't have a home right now.

2) I can do crate training. One of the two dogs I previously had was very well crate trained. In fact, when I eventually *wanted* her to sleep on the bed at night, she was so well crate trained, she outright refused!

Thanks for the reply!!

 

I have 2 Dobermans, and just to give an example. My Male would be considered "laid-back" for a Dobe. My Female is higher energy, but she is also younger. Wheeler is almost 4-1/2 years old and Lola is 13 months.

My dogs go to the beach and run off leash for an hour every morning and again every evening (Monday-Friday). On Saturday and Sunday, they go for their morning run on the beach and then in the afternoon/early evening go for a 3 mile walk with us. In addition, I work/train both dogs (individually) for about 30 minutes 6-7 days a week. The also both go to training class twice a week, and Lola goes to Daycare 3 times a week and Wheeler does 30 minutes on the treadmill 3 times a week.

Now, if Lola misses any of these exercise opportunities, she will drive you crazy looking for an outlet for her pent up energy. I do keep a flirt pole on hand to expend some of her energy, at times.

Wheeler can miss an entire day and he is fine, but the next day if you don't get him out to exercise, there is no peace.

Now, my dogs are purebred and you are talking about mixes. A GSD is also a high energy dog, I would think a Dobe/GSD mix is going to require 1-2 hours of exercise daily. Shar-pei's also require a considerable amount of exercise. Truth be told all dogs, regardless of breed and energy level need to get out and get some exercise daily. A short romp in the morning before you go to work and a longer romp in the evening when you get home, would be the minimum for any dog, IMO.

You might want to consider waiting until you are in a better position to have a dog. Or, consider Daycare 3x a week and then you provide exercise the other 4 days. Or, go with a small Toy breed, that can do quite well with a walk around the block a couple of times a day.

 

Wheeler can miss an entire day and he is fine, but the next day if you don't get him out to exercise, there is no peace.

That's exactly Hades. I can get a day off but the next day he is positively annoying unless I take him out. Sometimes it's to the park for off leash running and sometimes it's a walk with obedience training and maybe a trip to the pet store.

I'd still say check with the fosters or rescue people on the dogs you're considering and see what their energy level is.

I have a border collie mix and he is the laziest dog alive. Always has been. He loves going for walks and doing the obstacles at the park but when were home he loves lying around. His favorite activity when i had him in an apartment was laying on the balcony and watching the boats go by (i lived on the intracoastal in FL) Border collies are extremely high energy dogs but he did not get that gene. So it depends on the individual dog.


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I had a doberman in an apartment and it was a LOT of work. I managed to get away with it because I focus on training my dogs to be good in crowds and "real life" situations and events, so if I was going to be out literally all day running errands or training he was with me the whole day.

A typical "all day" day was one that
began at 8am with a 2 hour walk
a 1 hours offleash play session
a 2 hour session of bouncing between playing and training
lunch
walking into the city (30 minutes walk- out for however long it took) to run errands in my very dog-accepting neighborhood, accompanying me to the library, bookstore, bank, post office, bus station, courthouse, anywhere that doesn't sell food really and a couple mom&pop shops that did
supper
walking to the dog park (1hr) after dark when everyone else has gone home so he could buzz around a large fenced area offleash and roll in the grass and do dog stuff
walking back home at the end of all this (1hr) and playing some more in the house, or if I was really tired giving him a nice raw knuckle to chew on
At about 11 at night he would "ask" to be allowed on the bed and cuddle with me until I fell asleep.

These were days where he really shined, he liked having something to "do" and having a "job" and because he was a rescue that had not had much real-life exposure like this and I expect my dogs to act properly when out in public, he LOVED knowing that he was expected to do something and performed to the best of his abilities. Honestly I think that if we could have had those days every day he would not have complained.

We did this 1 or 2 days per week depending on how often I had off work (guaranteed 1 day). All other days he got at least 2 30min potty walks, 2 1hr exercise walks, and at least 30mins-1hr of offleash time for playing/training. Days that I had class I would come home on my lunch break to let him out of his crate for a quick pee and some relaxing during my meal. Any days that I had any free time were spent out and about with him.

Keep in mind that I have no yard, so being "out" all the time was necessary at that point. Aside from that though the constant walks and training really strengthened the bond between us and we were both well-exercised and content with our lot.

Now without him I feel very restless without a "reason" to be so active and out and about all the time. I'm generally a very active person anyway but trust me now that I've experienced balancing all that work on my own I can tell you that it's not just "take him for a walk 2-3 times a week", it's a daily commitment, especially in an apartment where you likely won't have a yard.

Even with all of this physical and mental stimulation he still had enough energy to greet me by launching himself off the steps and into my knees/pelvis. Still did zoomies when excited inside, still acted like a cannonball going down the steps, still sprang up and pranced as soon as he saw me pick up the leash, and still needed something to "do" in the house. He would settle, eventually, if he realized I wasn't going to pay attention to him just because he made wookie noises (that luckily my neighbors don't mind!)... but I can't imagine what he would have been like only going for a jog a few times a week.

 

six years into owning a doberman, I would never do it in an apartment setting. It's enough work as it is in a house with a tiny yard. But that's just me.

 

I'm with you, DR. I would not want to do a Doberman without a yard. Actually, I wouldn't really want to do any dog without a yard. But that's me.

 

I wouldn't have a dog without a yard either.. but they don't get "real" exercise in the yard.. its more for my own potty convenience..

Sometimes,hearing people talk, I feel like I don't have a dobe at all, or perhaps dogs will take the exercise they get and be happy with it.

I only walk my 10 month old once a day for about 30 minutes (longer sometimes, but once round the park off leash, is standard) and that's pretty much it. Sometimes, I don't go at all (rarely).

We also train, conformation, agility or obedience classes (2 of those per week depending on the schedule) but other than that, and the big dog park once a week, that's all he gets.

And he's crated on weekdays while I'm at work.. its not like he exercises in the house, so not certain how an apartment situation would differ...

ETA: he also goes to daycare sometimes, but not as often now that he's older.

 

Sometimes,hearing people talk, I feel like I don't have a dobe at all, or perhaps dogs will take the exercise they get and be happy with it.

I only walk my 10 month old once a day for about 30 minutes (longer sometimes, but once round the park off leash, is standard) and that's pretty much it. Sometimes, I don't go at all (rarely).

Just had to say, it's not the norm, but my dogs are not too different than yours. Richter is almost nine months old, and does just fine with one walk a day and playing with Shanoa in the yard/house. We walk somewhere between 1-2 miles. He also has training two nights a week. He's more than willing to go for as long as I want to, and on the rare occasions I send him to daycare he has no problem playing for four hours, but he also has no problems hanging out and watching a movie. I consider him a dream puppy Shanoa is also great at chilling out, but she's 4, so she's had time to learn how to settle more. Richter is just naturally good at it!

 

Even though I know from experience that you can raise, keep and enjoy a Doberman in an apartment situation (because I've done it) it requires a whole lot of determination to do it right so that the dog doesn't end up as I've seen other dogs end up crated most of its life.

And I'm going to drop a bombshell in here and tell you that a lot of times the folks who are dealing with "rescue" dogs who have mixed breeds often don't have a clue what the combination of breeds might be. To insert a note of reality here--for the most part Dobe crosses are large dogs and tend to look like Dobermans no matter what the other breed is. I would be very surprised to find a Shepherd X Dobe who was only 55 lbs. You've got two large breeds and that doesn't usually create a dog smaller than either of the parents. If someone has something that is around 20 pounds at 6 months or more I'd bet that it wasn't a Dobe X.

Genetics just plain doesn't work that way.

I'd truly recommend trying a medium sized dog of another breed--one that isn't so hard to find rentals with. If you are trying to end up with something in the 50 lb range bear in mind that you are likely to find yourself looking at a second generation cross (Dobe X ? for the first generation and ? X ? for the second generation). It starts getting very iffy as to what the dog will look like, act like if it even retains some of the hallmarks that many people really like in Dobermans.

Good luck--but I'd wait if I was doing the apartment thing. (When I did it the first and second time I was young and had way more time and energy than I have today.)

 

Have you thought of adopting. Greyhound? They have the athletic look of a Doberman but don't have the drive to be super high energy. They can be quite large, but an older retired race greyhound would be happy jogging beside you any day you want, and would gladly take a space beside you on the couch for a movie marathon.

 

I have a dobe/lab/shepherd mix. She's a bit of a handful in the sense that she is easily bored, but she's very good-natured -- not a mean bone in her body, as they say.

Her exercise requirements aren't as high as with pure-bred dobermans, but she still needs about 60 minutes of speed-walking per day, along with periodic play or training sessions throughout the day at home, in order to be properly relaxed come bed time.

 

Off topic but she's gorgeous.

On topic, Kahlua has lived in an apartment, but she also had daycare and I had lots of mental stimulation toys, plus free running out in a field. She can be calm, but not often. Harley, my mix of whatever he is could care less about if he has a yard and just goes out, does his business and comes back inside to lounge around. Maverick is new, so I'm not sure about him yet. I imagine he will be at doggy daycare a lot when we move back to FL.

 

Day care or a dog walker would be a workable option for you... day care is our saving grace when my husband and I both work 10 hour days concurrently.