SearchCan a Doberman realistically be owned by a working man/family?
I am 17, my family owns two Lurchers which are fine together when left at home (6:45am-3:00pm 4 days a week) but obviously thats different. When I eventually move out and start working my way up in the world would I ever be able to get a Doberman (or 2) and be able to leave it alone for 7 hours a day (with a dog walker for 1 hour in between of course), or is it simply not possible? I would never dream of getting a dog which would be depressed due to my absence. I know this sounds like a stupid kid posting a stupid question but I have dreamt of one day owning a Doberman for as long as I can remember. I just don't want to wait until I retire. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank You
Cameron
I got my first Dobie (Windy a black female and my avatar) in 1982 when she was 4 months old and the original purchasers could not handle such a large dog. Windy initially stayed outside all day during the day, with water, shade and a dog house. I would put her out in the morning and bring her in the house in the evening. For the first two years it was just me and her, until I brought Hans (a red male) into the picture as an 8 week old puppy. At that point they were in the house full time. I did have some chewing problems because I did not crate them during the day, a mistake I took care of with later dogs.
I had no one to come in at mid day and confined them to the kitchen. I had a few problems early on with bathroom, but once we got Hans house trained, he was a good one. Of my current two Dobies, Princess (red female) is the first one for whom I was home all day (I retired at the end of July, 2008) and she is 18 months old, but Red (red male) who is 7 years old and all the ones in the last 20 years have been crate trained and have stayed in their crates during the day.
During the day currently, I am in the house, and the Dobies are outside playing and tusseling with each other when the weather is good. They will let me know they want in, will come in, get a drink, and then back outside again.
In my mind, the evening schedule and weekend is more important. They will accommodate themselves to your schedule, but they will need some quality time. If you are in an urban setting, then they will require walking in the morning before you leave and in the evening when you get home. I have the advantage of having four acres and a fenced in area in the back to keep them safe. (Life can be tough on country dogs allowed to run free).
The dobie by nature is very attached to the human, but in their core are still a pack animal and understand that Alpha sometimes goes off on his own without them.
Well Cameron333,
I am a brand new mommy of a 9 week old red doberman puppy, and that's what me and my boyfriend do with Kratos(our puppy). I work mornings from 7 a.m.-3p.m. and he works nights from 10 p.m.-7 a.m. I rush to work in the morning so I don't have time to walk him and feed him in the morning. My boyfriend gets home though around 7:30 in the morning and takes Kratos for a walk then feeds him. After that, my boyfriend goes to sleep for a few hours, well basically until I get home. I get home in the afternoon and let him inside from the backyard and feed him again. We let him stay inside, play, and sleep until around 6:00 in the afternoon. At that time, my boyfriend has already gone back to sleep for work, and I take Kratos our for a good half hour/hour run. Then we come back home and I feed him once more: let him outside to relieve himself, back inside for some more playtime, and then back outside for bed at around 8:00. He's still learning but he's adjusted and he already know when it's time to go for our good walks. So I think it's possible as long as you give him a good walk in the morning, and afternoon, and in the time your gone make sure you have plenty of fun and exciting toys!
That's all I got!
Dobieluvr
Thanks for the advice guys, much appreciated. Points taken, I think what I will do to help the dog is:
Hire a Dog Walker (introduced from an early age obviously)
Leave the Radio on
Give him a new chew every day to keep him busy
Any more tips to add to this would be appreciated. The fact I know I can one day get a Doberman without being cruel makes me seriously happy, something more to look forward too :)
I think that's so cool that you are so young and trying to figure this all out before you get the dog. That is something most grown ups don't even take into account before getting a dog, and then the dog suffers. You know, I was thinking too, that maybe for your first doberman, maybe you could look at a doberman rescue place and get a dog that was already a few years old, used to being alone during the day and already accustomed to being the routine of someone going to work and coming home later. Just a thought. I have dealt with a few doberman rescue places here in FL recently, and they are getting calls literally every other day with people having to rehome their dogs, mostly due to forclosure, losing their job and having to move, and there are all these dogs in rescue. It's so sad! I know that I have a 2 year old female doberman, and I wear her out every morning, she gets a long walk and then gets a little time chasing squirrels in the back yard and then that girl is a little couch potato for most of the day. I think dogs get used to sleeping all day while we are at work or out and as long as they are getting exercise in the morning and plenty at night, I think they adjust to that period of time during the day that we leave them. And that would be so much easier for an adult dog than a puppy. I think it would be really hard for a puppy to adapt to being left alone all day whereas an adult dog, I think most of them would be fine with it. My girl is 2, and a rescue, but I have had her since she was 12 weeks old, and that puppy time is rough, like having a baby. You are going to be a great dobe owner one day, figuring all of this stuff out before hand, that is so great that you are doing that, so responsible.
Hello Cameron,
From what I've read/heard about Dobermans (I am getting my first Doberman puppy in less than a week) these dogs are very uncomfortable being left alone for long periods of time - it can prompt destructive behaviors.
I think it might be possible so long as you walk the dog before you leave in the morning and after you come back at night - the dog walker will be a necessity! If you intend to get a puppy and not an adult, you would have to devote at least 1-2 weeks of your time to accustoming him/her to your home and routines..but for someone who would be working full time, I think an adult would be more appropriate since a puppy does initially require an enormous amount of your time and attention. I don't have half as much experience as the majority of the members on this board but researching the Doberman breed and dog-upbringing in general was basically my sole occupation for the last several months to best prepare for my puppy!
Hope this was helpful!