The first Doberman I had experience with was actually more my mothers dog, though he did really like me. I was second fiddle. A guy whom my father worked with needed to rehome his sons dog. His son had wanted the dog, had gone through the tedium of wrapping & posting the dogs ears. The ears stood perfectly! It sounds like it's much easier than it actually is!
Then, his son lost interest in the dog through no fault of the dog. He stopped paying attention to him, even forgetting to feed him. He had left the dog chained to a tree in the back yard.
This is so neglectfully cruel to treat any dog this way.
For a Doberman?
It's worse than physical abuse or death.
Most Dobermans are very intelligent, keenly aware of their surroundings. Most are very tuned in to the moods, health, any other circumstance of their pack as well as certain people in their pack.
The guy was doing something so kind & compassionate for his sons sake, also for this magnificent dog.
The boy had named the dog Hitler. A beautiful male Doberman with rust & red coat coloring. When my father brought the dog to our home, my mother accepted the dog, renamed him as Hickory.
Hickory really was such a great dog. He deserved an owner or family who loved him, cared for him, appreciated him.
Hickory found that in our family. He was loved, played with, fed well, appreciated.
That was the start of my love for this magnificent breed.
Have had 3 other Dobermans since then, all were great dogs.
PJ is the first AKC Doberman I have owned. He is now 17 mos.
I brought PJ home when he was 10 weeks in age. So little. Just 11 lbs. I drove to Wichita, Kansas to get him with the excitement building. I had a small bed for him to cuddle in, on the front passenger's seat beside me. Though he did eventually fall asleep in the bed, he spent most of the trip on my lap. So small, he fit perfectly, the steering wheel & seat were in their original position.
The breeders have such a great reputation. A husband & wife team. As the husband opened the front door, Serena, PJs mother, ran out to the front yard. She was play panting, did a couple of victory laps around the driveway before she obediently went back inside.
The wife was holding PJ on her lap when I walked in. She was stroking his back, lightly skritching behind his ears & head. He was so relaxed, snoring lightly. The breeders keep their dogs in a family home environment. In the living room of their home. Sectioned off by a large pen. It was nice to meet his 11 littermates, his mother and his father. All of them were just beautiful, the puppies were very sweet.
No, I wouldn't have taken all of them, though I could afford it.
Dobermans are a lot of dog!
They are high energy, keenly aware of what happens around them. They need a lot of attention, training, exercise, mental stimulation, a job if you have one for them - even better!
(PJ likes to take ripped cardboard, put it in the recycling for me.)
Taking 2 weeks off of work, froze my gym membership for 3 months. Giving PJ 1 week to adjust to his new home before we began training together. First, potty training which he picked up within 24 hours. 2 days after that we began basic commands.
Sit
Stay
Up
Down
In (for him to get in the car, his crate or enter a building).
Go Slow
(This is helpful so that when he became bigger, he wouldn't drag me downstairs or when entering & exiting the car. He goes where I go)
Also taught him to sit, wait for me to walk through a door before him. Dobies are a dominant breed. If they are taught right, they will wait. Otherwise, they would knock a person over to try to go first.
Then, we did the fun stuff. Party tricks!
I point my finger at him, say, "Bang", he falls over. Playing dead.
Instead of "shake" I taught him a Texas version.
"How doo"
For the other paw
"Other How Do"
Working from home, online, he barked loudly at me when he wanted or needed something. After I taught him to bark loudly when I say
"speak" or murmur softly when I tell him to whisper.
On his own, he saw the irritation on my face when he barked at me. After he learned to speak & whisper, he no longer barked at me, he murmured softly when he wanted or needed something. He figured it out, did it on his own.
He also learned which piece of furniture he could hide things under. One day I was cleaning, organizing, clearing clutter. The kitchen tools I was sure I had bought were missing along with 3 wooden spoons. He had gone into the drawer, taken the spoons, 8 of the kitchen tools, hid them under the furniture, to play with later.
As something that my prior Doberman, Sammy, had done, PJ figured out that there were tasty snacks in the fridge & how to open the door. Too smart for my own good.
Just as I had to do with Sammy, I had to chain & padlock the fridge. From the DNA testing, Sammys parents were most likely brother & sister. Sammy was still a great dog whom I loved, missed so much I dreamed about him long after he was gone.
If PJ is any indication as to the difference between backyard breeder Dobies vs AKC, PJ is very different in so many beautiful ways.
He is more healthy, more intelligent, quicker to train, more solid in his bone & muscle structure, has more attractive tooth structure.
He is more obedient, more playful, figures things out faster.
1 week.
That was all it took for me to attach to, love this dog. Although he cried in his crate, keeping me awake, it was like having a newborn baby. Finally, I began sleeping next to his crate with a pillow & blanket on a futon. He still cried, he just cried less, allowing me to get more sleep.
I knew what I was in for.
It was my fourth time around the tree.
Having taken 2 weeks off of work & froze my gym membership for 3 months.
Giving time to house train PJ & for us to adjust to each other.
It was so worth it. As it also allowed time to enjoy the exuberance of PJs puppyhood. The cuteness, the antics as his personality began to emerge. That stage is short.
Unique aspects of PJ:
He loves the words "kittykat" and "pixie". His ears perk up & he does the most adorable head tilt, then he smiles. Pixie is his friend whom he plays with regularly at the dog park. He knows her name & which car she rides in. When he sees that car pull up, his tail resembles a helo propeller.
Like many Dobermans he loves his food. Not all foods. There are some that he doesn't like. I make my own Pho at home; after one sniff he heads as far away as he can.
PJ has ticklish spots. Once I found them I had to somewhat restrain myself. He makes a "play panting" sound that is so cute! It's a sound a dog makes similar to when a human is laughing.
Best to keep from overdoing it.
Teaching PJ an inside voice & an outside voice was essential. A few places in town allow me to bring him in. PJs loud Dobie bark is enough to frighten people.
PJ sleeps outside my closed bedroom door. Recently, when he wakes in the morning, he started getting his food dish & banging on my bedroom door. As if to say, "Hey! I'm awake & hungry."
Finally, I can trust PJ to be loose in the house, uncrated both night and day. I put a bed where his crate used to be, in front of the front door, which is the main entrance to the house. Every night when I go to bed, he drags his bed over to just outside my bedroom door. Guarding me all night. I sleep with the door closed. Some people allow their pets to sleep in their bed with them.
Not me.
I have an ultra-sensitive nose. Dobies are notorious for having farts that would make ya pass out! Also, they are known as bed hogs.
Have never let animals of any sort sleep in my bed with me. Not a cat or a dog or a USMC type. Nope Nope Nope.
PJ continues to amaze me. The expressions in his eyes tells me he is constantly thinking.
I am such a lucky girl to be his emotional support human.
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