Bruce is a cutie. Congratulations! Get plenty of rest. Very exciting time. It does not look as though your breeder is starting nail care. I would advise you start immediately when he comes home. better yet, have it done when they crop his ears. They can grind them way down while under anesthesia. This will prevent sharp nails scratching at stitches and risk popping a stitch. The breeder should have at least trimmed them before either way. I do my puppy every week, sometimes twice a week. They grow very quickly, so you don't want to be wrestling a 40 pound 4 month old trying to get it under control. Doberman nails should be kept short. Just start slow and give lots of treats. I started letting him just be around it on and rewarded any interest. Then held the Dremel and touched the back of my hand to his body so he could feel vibrations. Touch to the toenail for a second after that and reward etc. until you can trim the nails.
I highly advise starting impulse control work from the word go. Along with building engagement. For impulse control, no going out the door until you say okay. No coming out of crate until you say okay. No treat until he will stay still and let you bring it to him. For Engagement figure out what he loves best, then make yourself an integral part of it. If he loves food, hand feed a meal everyday. you can train with part of it. I like to play the name game. If you have a hallway in your home split a meal and sit at one end with a partner or child at the other end. Call puppies name very happily and when he runs to you, say yes and give a few kibbles. Then the other person does the same thing and he will ping pong back and forth. This is a wonderful way to teach his name, but also to start early on building a rock solid recall. Be patient if he doesn't go right away. He will get it eventually. If he loves tug, get on the ground and tug with him often. This will super charge the speed at which you bond and make him eager to be with you and please you.
Crate training is a very important part of owning a high drive puppy in my opinion. They will fight sleep, and when they are over-tired they get bitey and unruly. An enforced 30 to 40 minute nap works wonders for a puppy's disposition. They will cry at first. You must wait it out. After a couple weeks you may wonder when they will ever stop whining after going in the crate, but one day it will just click. Then puppy will voluntarily nap in crate with the door open. This was my experience anyways. If you cave and take them out when they are crying, you are letting them train you and it takes even longer to get them to settle in.
Socialization starts immediately. Let puppy walk on different surfaces, like a trash bag, a blanket, a cushion. Whatever you can think of for them to experience. YouTube videos playing quietly with different noises will help desensitize sounds. Before puppy has all their vaccines I recommend going in the car to a shopping center and cracking the window. Let them watch and smell all the people. Bonus points if you find a shopping strip with a pet store and you see dogs coming and going. Once the poppy is settled in and has most vaccines you can go to a dog friendly store like Home Depot with a small mat or puppy bed and walk around with puppy in the cart. Anything you can expose puppy to is great. People on bikes, a person using a walker, children, lawn mower, broom, vacuum.
The last most important thing I can offer is working on an off-switch. Many dogs do not come with the ability to settle down and do nothing, especially working breeds. It is very mentally taxing on them at first. Impulse control will help set you up for success. The magic mat game is wonderful. I will link it below along with a leave it game that is great for impulse control. Those two games can be played at home with just a little kibble and a mat, dog bed, or towel. Another great activity is called sit on the dog. Google it. You basically put them on a leash and start a counter when they settle. Just a couple minutes at first and reward. Work the time up as puppy gets better. All of this will take time. Do not get discouraged. It is a work in progress. Some days he will dazzle you and you will wonder how you got so lucky. Then somedays you will wonder what you're doing wrong. Then it will just click, and you realize you had it all along.
Leave it game
Magic mat game
caninelearningacademy.com
This one is great because you can then take the mat with you to a cafe or where ever and puppy will know what is expected and lay down on it. You may have to keep resetting him, but after only 2 training sessions I took mine to puppy class and my boy was on it 70% of the class.
Last piece of advice. Take a million pictures. They change so quickly.
I highly advise starting impulse control work from the word go. Along with building engagement. For impulse control, no going out the door until you say okay. No coming out of crate until you say okay. No treat until he will stay still and let you bring it to him. For Engagement figure out what he loves best, then make yourself an integral part of it. If he loves food, hand feed a meal everyday. you can train with part of it. I like to play the name game. If you have a hallway in your home split a meal and sit at one end with a partner or child at the other end. Call puppies name very happily and when he runs to you, say yes and give a few kibbles. Then the other person does the same thing and he will ping pong back and forth. This is a wonderful way to teach his name, but also to start early on building a rock solid recall. Be patient if he doesn't go right away. He will get it eventually. If he loves tug, get on the ground and tug with him often. This will super charge the speed at which you bond and make him eager to be with you and please you.
Crate training is a very important part of owning a high drive puppy in my opinion. They will fight sleep, and when they are over-tired they get bitey and unruly. An enforced 30 to 40 minute nap works wonders for a puppy's disposition. They will cry at first. You must wait it out. After a couple weeks you may wonder when they will ever stop whining after going in the crate, but one day it will just click. Then puppy will voluntarily nap in crate with the door open. This was my experience anyways. If you cave and take them out when they are crying, you are letting them train you and it takes even longer to get them to settle in.
Socialization starts immediately. Let puppy walk on different surfaces, like a trash bag, a blanket, a cushion. Whatever you can think of for them to experience. YouTube videos playing quietly with different noises will help desensitize sounds. Before puppy has all their vaccines I recommend going in the car to a shopping center and cracking the window. Let them watch and smell all the people. Bonus points if you find a shopping strip with a pet store and you see dogs coming and going. Once the poppy is settled in and has most vaccines you can go to a dog friendly store like Home Depot with a small mat or puppy bed and walk around with puppy in the cart. Anything you can expose puppy to is great. People on bikes, a person using a walker, children, lawn mower, broom, vacuum.
The last most important thing I can offer is working on an off-switch. Many dogs do not come with the ability to settle down and do nothing, especially working breeds. It is very mentally taxing on them at first. Impulse control will help set you up for success. The magic mat game is wonderful. I will link it below along with a leave it game that is great for impulse control. Those two games can be played at home with just a little kibble and a mat, dog bed, or towel. Another great activity is called sit on the dog. Google it. You basically put them on a leash and start a counter when they settle. Just a couple minutes at first and reward. Work the time up as puppy gets better. All of this will take time. Do not get discouraged. It is a work in progress. Some days he will dazzle you and you will wonder how you got so lucky. Then somedays you will wonder what you're doing wrong. Then it will just click, and you realize you had it all along.
Leave it game
Magic mat game
The Power of Teaching your Dog to Settle on The Magic Mat
Often puppies and dogs can get really excited when they go to new places or meet new people or dogs and they can find it difficult to be calm well mannered canine companions.This can lead to the dogs doing unwanted behaviors, like barking, jumping up, pulling and not listening to you.It's...
caninelearningacademy.com
This one is great because you can then take the mat with you to a cafe or where ever and puppy will know what is expected and lay down on it. You may have to keep resetting him, but after only 2 training sessions I took mine to puppy class and my boy was on it 70% of the class.
Last piece of advice. Take a million pictures. They change so quickly.
