doberman forum

[K9 Obedience]

 I have now upped the meat content of my Dobes diet and cut down on the dry kibble. The difference in a few weeks is amazing. He has put on weight and his coat is wonderful. In fact, just for a bit of fun and nothing serious, My daughter entered him for  a dog show and he won three firsts, and was voted, "the dog the judge would most like to take home." He was the centre of attention and everyone was taking photographs of him, which being a Dobe, he loved all the attention. I buy frozen blocks of raw tripe and chicken. The "wind" problem is not as bad as it was when he had the dried kibble, even though I was spending a fortune on the quality brands. We had all the dogs on "Nutros" whic is meant to be one of the best but they all suffered with smelly breath, and more worringly their teeth became stained a nasty brown colour. I can only conclude that all brands of dry dog food seem pretty much the same, though the more expensive ones do say that the meat content in them is of human quality!

dog lover

[Dog Training]

 
Great! They must work well together to get the better of a bird! Nice to see their instincts well intact though, i am constantly amazed how often i see this is not the case these days, well done. These Dobes are so soppy and loving, that they can be MISUNDERSTOOD so easily and treated like a goldfish. Of course we love them, but must love them as DOBES (guarding dogs) and not as pet rabbits or gerbils!! You obviously have the balance right there. Nice to see and increasingly rare over here, that's for sure. Shall we have a contest to guess their names?!!
Boys did you say? Let's seee........Apollo and Zeus? Troy and Tizer??

[K9 Obedience]

The sad thing is that members of the public do not view the Doberman as anything but nasty and aggressive. I believe this is more down to the appearance rather than reputation. Luckily for me, my Dobe has his ears and tail so mostly people see him as, "cute" Due to the size of the dog I do encounter some people that walk the other way or that can't wait to tell me that I have a dangerous dog and it should be on leash. If children are around I do attach his leash but NOT because my dobe is dangerous as they would believe but because of his size he can seem intimidating to a small child. I often make a point of putting him through his, "tricks" pleased to hear the children laughing and asking me to get him to do more. He is such a goon that he loves to fool around and show off.

  dog lover.

[Dog Training]

i have worked with and known literally going on for a hundred dobes, and i have never met one which was 'nasty' as far as it really wanted to hurt someone. All the seemingly dangerous ones i have met were not AGRESSIVE, they were exceptionally PROTECTIVE and there is a world of difference. Protective shows REASON to the actions, which means a) they can be changed through training and b) they are due to human training or accidental training.
Aggression in dogs is so rare i wish people would just stop using the word, yes there are one or two, but not many dogs out there which just want to attack for no reason. Usually it is through having been subject to attacks from humans in early stages of life.
Dobes are soppy, even when they snarl and chomp!!! They never scare me any more, i know you would only have to show them you are a friend of their owners and every one of them woudl jump on my lap and ask me to stroke their belly!!!
Wonderful creatures

[K9 Obedience]

Absolutly true. The Dobe just adores human companionship. All dogs will be happy to lie at their owners feet but a Dobe like mine has to have contact with me. He lies with his paws either side of my legs as though he is holding onto me. He follows me everywhere and will get up from a deep sleep if I leave the room to accompany me. I have other dogs but none of them are so needy as the Dobe. If anyone approaches the property the collies race around barking noisely, the Dobe just stands and sniffs the air, his body stiff and slightly quivering. If the stranger rings the bell, the Dobe comes to my side to walk with me to the gate. He only relaxes when he is satisfied that there is no danger. I haven't taught him to do this, it is just his protective nature, yet he is such a soppy goon the rest of the time.

[Dog Training]

"a razor sharp soppy goon" just what makes dogs man's best friend i suppose!
Great to hear too. All they ask is for a home and food and a slightly canine aware owner, and they give you their life. What a trade off.
Dogs eh, couldn't imagine life without em.

[K9 Obedience]

I have had many dogs, including collies and gsd's but never have I had a dog like this Dobe of mine. The bond is so strong that it is as though we are joined as one. He needs to be near me all the time, and will wake from a deep sleep if I have left him for a few minutes. He will come to find me and when he does he flops at my feet and goes back to sleep. Other Dobe owners have also experienced this unique trait of the Dobe needing physical contact with their owners. It is all part of the wonderful guarding instincts the Dobe has for his family.

dog lover.

[Dog Training]

yeah but everything has its down sides, and come on OWN UP, how often does your Dobe stand on your damn feet!!
That annoys me a 6 in the morning before i got shoes on!!

[K9 Obedience]

When out walking he has this incrediable way of getting behind me and catching one of my feet causing me to stumble and miss a step, or he manages to knock the back of my knees and cause my leg to go dead. I swear he is laughing at me!!!
  dog lover

[Dog Training]

he is, but then who wouldn't after seeing you at 0600 with your dog walking clothes on!!

[K9 Obedience]

Now the nights are drawing in and the mornings are getting cold and dark, I have returned to using a torch when walking round the lakes. Shadow, (my dopey dobe) kept trying to take the torch from my hand so I got a cheap smaller one for him. He does give other early morning walkers a fright as he appears out of the darkness of the bushes with his torch. He actually holds it in the correct position so as to shine the light in front of him. Wierd I know, but a good laugh.....

dog lover.

[Big Dog]

Now the nights are drawing in and the mornings are getting cold and dark, I have returned to using a torch when walking round the lakes. Shadow, (my dopey dobe) kept trying to take the torch from my hand so I got a cheap smaller one for him. He does give other early morning walkers a fright as he appears out of the darkness of the bushes with his torch. He actually holds it in the correct position so as to shine the light in front of him. Wierd I know, but a good laugh.....

dog lover.

LOL!

How about a head mounted torch like the hikers and cyclists use? With the straps? He'll look like a cantoring cyclist running around the lake shore.

And where, may I ask, is your avatar with Shadow's mug shot?

  

[K9 Obedience]

 Steady on Big Dog...You will be having me purchasing a pair of those doggy googles for Shadow next......

I woould love to post some pics of Shadow but do not know how. Yes I know you have explained this procedure before but the trouble is that when someone is totally comfortable with modern technology, they fail to realise just how difficult it is for us lesser mortals. So if you were to say to me for instance: Click, copy, paste, or: Send to, upload, and transfer.... I just run off to get a cup of tea, and then phone my son to cry.. HELP.

[Big Dog]

I want you and all visitors to have and easy and stress free experience using the gallery... so, I even created a simple, step-by-step set of instructions:

http://dogexplorer.com/dog/index.php/topic,64.0.html

Now those are for the gallery. And you do want Shadow in the Doberman Picture Gallery, doncha? 

Now the Avatar issue is a little more complicated. First we need to learn if you know how to make the images the right size for uploading. It is not a shape issue, but a file size issue.

Please let me know if you can manage this step or if your son can help out:

Fourth, prepare your pictures for upload. Here is an important detail: Please be sure your pictures are saved as either jpg (or jpeg), gif, png or bmp files, AND that their size, per file, is no greater than 100 kb. That’s big enough for a clean picture that's 6 inches in the long dimension at 72 dpi (which is the setting you should use).

Again, that's for the Gallery. If we can get you comfy there we can move on to the Avatar (or maybe I can modify one of your uploads for you if you wish).

Ask any question you want - I'm here to help.

Okay?

 

[K9 Obedience]

Many thanks Big Dog for your clear and simple instructions.......I think I will first have a cup of tea.  Ha Ha.

Dog Lover.