[Tessie Coleman]

My doberman puppies 7 and 8 months old have started pawing the back of my legs as we go outside or walk down the hall. They do it frequently and do it pretty hard. Any ideas as to why they are doing it? It will almost knock me down at times because they seem to be aiming for behind the knees. I had a sitter stay with them for the holidays while I traveled and they did it to her also. She didnt expect it and it made her fall. I am now trying to break the habit by saying no and stopping each time. Would like to know why they are doing it so I would have a better take on how to break them.

 

[TxDobieLady]

Alice has "slapped" everything since she was a puppy my face, my legs, my hands i dont know why they do it but I dont mind it i think its pretty cute

 

[OliviaB]

Gunner paws me all the time. He'll sit and gently paw me on the leg...especially while I'm cooking I've never discouraged it because he does it gently and it's adorable.

 

[Gemma Mom]

Gemma likes to do this when I'm getting dressed in the morning-always when my legs are naked. It hurts and is annoying. I just turn around and establish my "morning space" never in a mean/angry way.

 

[vivienne00]

Yoda will do this to get attention and I will tell him to go and sit down. I stand at my computer to work and in winter I wear boots in the house - big floppy boots.

If I ignore him, he will face me and put his front legs inside the boots with my feet under his paws. It sure stops me from moving around.

Basically, you need to make your dogs walk at your side - not in front and not behind. I walk over the dogs in front and I stop suddenly on the dogs behind because I don't want them there - they should be beside me or someplace else. I don't like getting tripped up or knocked over particularly.

When I had 4 dogs, I hated trying to get out the backdoor because I could get surrounded by a sea of dogs, and they go slow when they are in front, just to make sure they are going in the right direction. That's when I said 'enough' and made sure they are not on my path.

 

[OldDrumDobes]

Dobermans are EXTREMELY hands or paws on! My dogs normally have a foot on you at all times. If your sitting there is a paw on my knee over and over, till they get what they want. They of course understand stop and enough, but I understand they constantly want interaction from me!

My doberman puppies 7 and 8 months old have started pawing the back of my legs as we go outside or walk down the hall. They do it frequently and do it pretty hard. Any ideas as to why they are doing it? It will almost knock me down at times because they seem to be aiming for behind the knees. I had a sitter stay with them for the holidays while I traveled and they did it to her also. She didnt expect it and it made her fall. I am now trying to break the habit by saying no and stopping each time. Would like to know why they are doing it so I would have a better take on how to break them.

Going down the hall though and having them hit the back of your leg, sounds more like play. And trying to get you to play with them! When they do it I'd offer them a toy. With the two of them being so close in age, if one does it the other will surely see and do it too! Good Luck

 

[TheStig]

Must be a trait, my bot digs his meat hooks into me if I'm not paying him attention or he wants something. I try to pay attention to what it is he wants so I can recognize the pattern. Most often it is for food or to go outside. other times I think he must have eaten some mushrooms from the back yard and is just being a turd dumpling.

 

[KevinK]

You can teach your dog that sit is a good way to get what he/she wants. Once your dog knows that sitting calmly is an effective way of getting what he wants, the other negative behaviors will stop. I expect a dog to sit calmly for everything, before I toss a ball, before a round of tug, before going outside, before getting a treat, etc. After your dog gets it, instead of pawing your leg, they will come up, and look at you and sit.

 

[brw1982]

Fiona is and always has been so damn pushy with personal space. All Dobermans crave to be in your space but plenty of them just want to be affectionately near their person, like Tali when she lays her head on my lap and stares at me or leans into me or sits on my feet...but Fiona invades personal space with the heart of a linebacker...punching, stepping on me, and body slamming at every opportunity.

She used to be really bad about crashing into my legs from behind, punching my legs while I walked, and even biting my heels to get my attention. I found that immediately invading her space put a stop to it. So when she would punch my legs while I was walking, I'd turn and walk into her (not harsh enough to hurt her but enough that she got the point). If she was doing it from behind, I'd immediately back into her. Every. Single. Time.

This is also how I got her to stop jumping up on me - I'd just step into her and say "OFF" when she jumped. And I always praised her for walking politely with me, or approaching me but just wiggling and not jumping. She also loves to hold hands so she gets praised for offering me her paw politely rather than punching me to get my attention.

I can't imagine trying to deal with two Dobe pups/adolescents at once. Good luck. LOL

 

[Gemma Mom]

It's a huge red flag. It's like #1 sign that your pups will give birth to 6 legged gremlin like creatures that eat your face off. The only safe alternative is to get your pets altered (fixed) asap.

 

[sam&macksmom]

YES! I agree!

to reference the thread this statement was based upon: http://www.dobermantalk.com/doberman-related-chat/61765-dobermans-playing-rough.html

It's a huge red flag. It's like #1 sign that your pups will give birth to 6 legged gremlin like creatures that eat your face off. The only safe alternative is to get your pets altered (fixed) asap.

 

[Adara]

My doberman puppies 7 and 8 months old have started pawing the back of my legs as we go outside or walk down the hall. They do it frequently and do it pretty hard. Any ideas as to why they are doing it? It will almost knock me down at times because they seem to be aiming for behind the knees. I had a sitter stay with them for the holidays while I traveled and they did it to her also. She didnt expect it and it made her fall. I am now trying to break the habit by saying no and stopping each time. Would like to know why they are doing it so I would have a better take on how to break them.

Walk funny, walk silly, don't walk in a straight lie and "kick up" your feet behind you. Do NOT kick them, but walk in an exaggerated manner. They will learn to avoid your feet. With puppies that run in front of me, I shuffle towards them. With puppies that walk on my heels or paw me in back, I kick my feet up.

 

[Herb2relax]

Kyrah doesnt do that. She nose pokes me in the back of the knee especially when I first come home from being out.

 

[River]

Griffin doesn't do it either, because I taught him not to. He's going to be around my niece a lot, and pawing kids for attention is definitely out. I like consistent rules, and I made it a blanket one for no pawing to get attention.

So instead he stares at me. And then staaaaaaaares some more. If I don't get the hint, he starts with the groaning, and finally a high pitched whine. He whines like a champion. That high pitched eeeeeeee dog noise that the Hyperbole and Half blogger wrote about? Exactly that. It's a good thing I love that dog! He is very well behaved, I should mention. He's a great dog.

 

[DeeHaleem]

My girl does this too. Her big clumsy feet are always all over me.

Someone suggested to offer them a toy. I wouldn't recommend this as they will learn that if they paw at you, you'll play with them. The best thing is to ignore them to ensure that u don't reinforce this behavior in anyway.

Don't tell them off, don't look at them, don't talk to them. They'll eventually stop doing it if it doesn't get your attention.

Remember any attention is good attention to a puppy!

Hope this helps!

 

[TeachersPet]

My Reno is very much spacially retarded, and attempts to invade mine constantly. He'll sometimes do the nose in my back or legs when we're walking through a doorway together. What it tells me is I need to do some refresher work with him regarding space, and respecting mine. Stopping suddenly so that he walks into me (something he hadn't planned on doing) or randomly beginning to back up into him so he needs to dance out of the way are very effective and clear messages for him. Realizing that his human can walk in weird ways and can randomly stop and reverse into him without warning, gives him a good understanding of why it's important for him to give me some space and to respect it.