warval dobe

Oh, did I mention that she is small??? (the small fluffy white dog that is!)

The previous comments are all very interesting, some rational and some obviously idiotic, so I am very interested in your response... We live in a tourist rural area and every day I take our "baby" dobe for a walk down the main bitumen road. Without fail we are greeted by a small very cute looking small fluffy maltess cross terrier (I have met this dog with her owners and she is lovely ). She comes trotting out and proceeds to follow / bark / nip at / and generally harass our boy. Our bubba never responds but is obviously put off by the attention (he is not aggressive to dogs or people whatsoever / big sook that he is!). What if he did turn around one day and attack the little dog. Who is to blame? Would an incident like this make you prejudice against my chosen breed?

Dobe's are fairly watered down these days and there are very few lines that have the defence and fighting drives essential for training in working roles, but with breeds that do have defensive traits, all it takes is a breeding a bit short on nerve with a bit too much defence drive and you easily have a reactive dog who can bite. My breed are GSD's and have two of them, one of excellent temperament and one not so good, but there is no way I could demonstrate my better dog to people scared of GSD's as an example how nice they are patting him when if the same people tried to pat my not so good dog he would try and take their hand off?. Not all GSD's have a well balanced temperament as much as I love the breed, I could never condemn anyone or feel prejudice towards someone who is wary of them, not all GSD's are the result of perfect breedings or controlled and managed effectively by every owner and some unfortunately need to be met with caution sad but true. It isn’t so much that dobes working ability should be in question but more to the point German shepherds are easier to handle. German Shepherds minds are less independent in their problem solving abilities and like border collies work on principal of repetition. It is because of this reliability that GS & labs are used by various agencies. It is well proven that dobermanns have the habit of “thinking outside the box”. This is why they aren’t used as much these days in a working capacity.

If the chicken is fit for human consumption then it should be fine for your dog, bearing in mind that dogs stomachs are a lot less sensitive than ours.

Too true!

I don’t have any prejudice against any breed as such but am prejudiced against some owners who display a prejudice against my dobes Every time a new member joins our obedience club I note the majority have preconceived ideas of my breed, but after a few weeks their attitude normally change. Of course there are some people whose opinion can never be changed. The breeds in the club that do display the most problems are also generally the most popular, that being german shephards, border collies, labs, golden retreivers, and one tibetan mastiff. I would also add a number of smaller breeds (and xbreeds) that I would presume receive no training outside the weekly class. Serious though, many owners are simply should not own their chosen breed in that they don't understand or fulfill their dogs requirements.

I have this problem with two of our dogs that when puppies would scoff down chicken necks whole - very scary We fixed this by holding onto the neck until they learnt to chew properly. Normally got the hang after a few goes.

warval dobe Posted 07 June 2011 - 04:08 PM We lost our beautiful dobe girl Jazz last year because of blockage in the intestine (believe it or not it was straw!) The cost was $750 after hours call-out and that was without any surgery (she passed away minutes before. Peaches Posted 07 June 2011 - 09:31 PM Cost me $4100 to have part of a rope toy removed from my Lab at Newcastle Emergency Vets which had to be paid for straight away. I suspected a blockage and told them that. He spent one night there. On top of that was the cost of initial consultation plus a day of aftercare at local vets! Can you beleive we had to pay the Horsham vet before we could take her home to bury!

We lost our beautiful dobe girl Jazz last year because of blockage in the intestine (believe it or not it was straw!) The cost was $750 after hours call-out and that was without any surgery (she passed away minutes before.

I'm with persephone regarding bones! A bit of grated smelly parmesan cheese sprinkled on the food that the dog won't eat normally sparks some interest.

This bulldog does everything my boys don't (flush, skate, and go to bed)!

For myself, I would hate to buy a dog only to have a set of conditions outlined. However, it is hard to blame a breeder for imposing some conditions. If you are a good breeder then naturally you care about the welfare of your puppies and where they go. I think that each case is probably different and you can only go on "gut feeling".

I have found a little "vicks" rub smeared in trouble spots always works in putting a dog of from wrecking things. Having said that, unfortunately I never seem to remember until it actually happens, so now, out of 5 houses lived in, am missing viynl from two laundries and for some reason one kitchen!

The more people & dogs that attend the better. I don't think "showies" acting as if it is some sort of secret society club further the cause with the general public. Exibiting our dogs to the public (and their dogs) should be about promoting our respective breeds in the best possible light.

There are several boxers in our obedience club and they seem no harder to train than any other breeds in the club. At the end of the day it's up to you, pick the breed you like as long as you are prepared for it.

Oh and my kids have pointed out I don't know how to spell!

Trust me look at buying a small dog trailer. You will get a second-hand one pretty cheap (maybe home-made). I remember our first dobe at 6 months with 3 kids & 2 adults in the car - whatn a circus - get a trailer, you won't beleive how much easier life will be!

Dishwasher no worries - Can anybody think of a better "toy" than a kong?

How old is the dog? Our dobe just lost his last tooth @ 7 months & our girl lost hers around the same age so would'nt worry too much. . Keep the bones up and it should loosen on its own.

Thanks guys for the tips

We're really happy with our little guys progress (sit-stays, recall, heeling fantastic, etc, BUT...does anyone have any ideas how to get him to stand for examination CALMLY. Everytime we do this at obedience class he gets so excitetable he just about has a fit.

I would leave inside. If we are both at work we always leave our dogs inside up until they are around 12 months of age. Don't know why just feel safer that way.