SearchRe: Justice
My name is Henry and I just got my first male Doberman puppy named Justice.
He is 8 weeks old and an absolute joy. He is such a character. He has only been in his new home for 1 week and 3 days and he is already in his element.
I got him from a reputable doberman breeder who I throughly researched before hand. He has a fantastic temperament and I cant wait to start obedience classes with him.
I work from home a lot so Its an ideal setup for puppy training. My girlfriend has a 4 month old Pomeranian female puppy. They have been getting on very well. She is so the boss of him and he is so gentle with her. Wish I could upload some videos of them playing together for you guys to check out
I want to get him enrolled in classes as soon as possible but I am told I have to wait until he is at least 14 weeks old to commence any kind of intense training so in the meantime short walks to the local parks for socialization with other dogs and home training techniques will have to suffice.
I read up on almost everything there is to read out there on Doberman puppies... Ok that maybe a bit of an exaggeration but my research was extensive. But even with all that research nothing prepares you for the real thing like the real thing!
I am in the throes of puppy training and at first it was a bit of a chore! He is truly a pooping and peeing machine! I feed him 4 times a day so I guess its to be expected. Its been just over a week and Justice appears to have his toilet training locked! I have noted though the many suggestions to keep him in a crate only big enough to allow him to stand and turn. Justice's crate is actually for a full sized Doberman and he has loads of room in there but he has never once pooped or peed in there. I use the command "outside" upon letting him out and he immediately heads for the courtyard to do his thing! Do i still need to downsize his crate?
Justice is 16 LBS so I think he's gonna be a big boy. I want to know how to maximize his growth potential and avoid anything that would stunt it. I have been advised against long walks to the park and rigorous exercise until he is at least 12 months for fear of stunting growth! How true is that?
So far its been more or less smooth sailing save that he cries and whimpers when left in his crate overnight. I try to make the crate fun by giving him treats and toys and plenty of fresh water when he goes in but he just hates it and whimpering turns into full blown wailing! Poor neighbors... After a while he does settle down and accept the fact.
One last thing. I am a bit worried about how he responds to my "NO" command. I don't shout the command or make any sudden body movements though do have a naturally deep thick tone to my voice. When I give the order he immediately sits his ears flop back his tail curls downward and he blinks looking at me with those puppy eyes! I don't like that. I don't want him to be afraid of me. I want his love and respect! What to do? I have tried softening the tone but it has the same effect.
Anyway nice meeting you guys. I will be posting more photos as time progresses.
Cheers
Justice and Me
Thanks. Think I may be guilty of using the "no" command a bit too often just cos of how mischievous he is. I have started to use other methods of communicating the same message. I find he responds a lot more positively to sharp "pssstt".
I will work on softening the tone and apply your suggested technique. I think the 7 weeks leading up to his puppy classes will be sufficient time for us to properly bond before he goes of to boarding school but I will happily delay the classes if I feel we need more time together.
Thanks for the tips.
I agree with Soldier on the advice given so far. Mine are always given full size Doberman crates and I've never had a problem with it. I don't like seeing them squished inside a small crate. I try not to use the word No very often at all. You have to realize that he is a puppy and he will get into things in time they will correct themselves as they are trained. I save the No word for really important things.
One thing you may want to start teaching him and is another word for no is "Leave it". You can start by placing something on the ground while you are with him. Food in one hand that he doesn't know is there. As he starts to reach for the object you've placed on the ground you tell him leave it. As soon as he looks at you give him the treat in the other hand and tell him good leave it. Eventually you will be able to place food down a line and tell him to leave it as you are walking past and he will not even look at it.
I use leave it a lot, but all of my dogs associate it with good because they were taught if they leave it then they get something better. With my wild child 8mo old when he starts chewing on something inappropriate I will tell him to leave it and give him something appropriate to chew on such as a bone or one of his toys.
Remember the commands you use don't have to be said harshly or loudly to get the point across. Some dogs are very soft and just the raising of your voice will shut them down. It sounds as if yours may be on the softer side. You can still earn his respect and train him using regular voice commands. He will actually obey better with this than associated with fear tactics. Some women have the opposite problem their voices are so soft and quiet that the dogs wont listen and don't respect them.
"Leave it" is defintely in Sage's Obedience Vocabulary. 
Guys
this is really good advice. Justice is a sensitive dog for sure and i think he will respond well to the leave it command".
Have actually gotten Sofia to "leave it" when the crazy vacationing kids go by on their bikes.. It was the same tactic with a little treat that distracted her while they came by.. soon it didn't take a treat at all, just a soft.."leave it". Now she'll look at the bikes, look at me for the command and sit quietly while they go and be kids.
I have found that all I have to do is use body language and give the command once and wait
I don't repeat it.. I just wait.. soon she will do what's expected.
I love the name Justice.. It's very fitting for a Doberman
Good luck and welcome!
Henry,
I too like the name Justice. Of course if you ever get a second Dobie you'll have to call it Liberty.
You will be amazed at how much Justice will learn through "haome training techniques". Before starting with Freyja my experience in training a dog had been teaching my first Dobie, Brutus, to sit, down, play dead, and stay when I was a teenager. As Freyja grew I soon found that she was learning things faster than I could think of new things to teach her. It amazes me how smart our breed is.
I learned about "leave it" on this forum and it is a great command. Wish I had thought of it sooner as it has lots of applications. Freyja and I play a lot of fetch in the yard. Sometimes I like to leave a toy laying at one end of the yard, walk away from it, then send her after the toy. At first she had a tendancy to want to bring the toy back with us when we walk away from it. Now I can tell her to "leave it" as we walk away. When we get to the other end of the yard I'll tell her to "fetch it" and she'll go get it and bring it back to me. Using the "leave it" is a lot easier than having to grab a collar and lead her half way across the yard.
Have fun and enjoy Justice. May he never cease to amaze you.
Thanks to Lady Kate and Freyja's Dad. Not sure about Liberty tho....
I am amazed at how quickly Justice is picking up the leave it command. I definitely agree with you all on the diversity of this command. He has mastered his potty training in a matter of 2 weeks! He has learned to sit, stay, and we are currently working on the down command and he is barely 9 weeks old! This is a truly special breed.
He is getting used to his crate and whimpers a lot less. I am working on getting him to enter his crate on command or by tapping the crate. Not quite there yet. He runs in the opposite direction when I do that. I think he thinks its a game of some sorts. I have tried everything, bribing him with treats, toys, chews, the works. He simply wont enter at will or on command. I have to pick him up and put him in literally.
What I am impressed by is that once in he will remain inside and not ome out unless asked to even with the crate door open!
Its his first day at home alone tomorrow. 2 whole hours alone. Poor guy's gonna be confused. I will let you all know how it goes.
Hey one more thing. He makes the strangest noises in his sleep and body movements too! Its like he is dreaming of chasing rabbits! Is this normal for Dobes? I have searched for literature on the subject but to no avail.
Cheers
Sofia dreams. She makes shuddery movements and whimpers., so I gently stroke her..not enough to get her out of her sound sleep.. but enough to disturb the REM.. I have read that you should not comfort distress..but this is hard to watch. Wonder what they dream about. Don't you wish they could tell us.
I don't know that it is distress, but probably akin to us tossing and turning while sleeping. Sometimes Red will sleep quietly, and sometimes he will "rumble" and move his paws. Some say they are dreaming but of what?
Now, what is interesting is that I have never known Red to "rumble" when awake when I am around, but I know he did once. I had gone to the hospital in an emergency situation and a friend came out with one of the handlers to get Red and the Schnauzers. Ironically I was talking with that friend last night and we were discussing it. He said he asked for the handler, for if one of the Schnauzer crates opened he wanted help, because a Schnauzer can be nasty. (He used to have one).
He was not concerned about Red, and in fact had been introduced to him. (Red was in the back yard, not the house). As he was driving Red to the vet's, he said he was rumbling and licking the back of his neck. Red knew when I left in the vehicle with the flashing lights that something was wrong.
Justice's fur seems to be thinning around the back of his ears. It was the same when I got him but I thought the fur would eventually just fill out. Im in the UK so his ears are in their natural form uncropped. Is thinning of fur around the ears normal or do I need to get to the vet?
Also how much exercise is he allowed at 9 weeks old? We Don't yet go to the local parks as he only just had his second vaccination so he has been confined to the courtyard for outdoor activities. How much running is he allowed to do once we do start to get out there?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated and thanks for all the advice thus far.
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Justice is a very cool name. I'm sure many others will chime in with very useful replies. Here are my thoughts.
Stop beating yourself up. His crate is only too big if he pees & poops inside. Since that is not happening then don't fix what ain't broke. BTW, "outside" is one of my commands, too. For puppies the key is quality not quantity. Short & simple training periods. Always stop on a successful event. Maybe you are telling him "no" too much? Say "no" calmly, pause, then remove him from the situation by giving him a different focus. His ears falling back in of itself is not necessarily a negative. Seems to me Dobes do best with consistent repetition, over time. Puppy training is good but the owner/handler/alpha bond is most important in the early stages.