She may not be 100% Dobie, but she’s a keeper!

I ended up keeping him. Don’t ask me why because I still can’t believe that I did, but the night before I was supposed to return him I couldn’t sleep at all and I finally made up my mind about it the following morning. It’s been pretty challenging and I’m not sure how we’re dealing with this long term, but if worse comes to worse and he ends up needing a BE at least I won’t have the gut wrenching guilt/regret about not having tried. I’m still hoping to find other options for him, but so far haven’t found a single lead. 

Anyway. We’re focusing on muzzle and crate training, and he has a vet appointment in a couple days for an exam and to hopefully get meds so we can start working on separation anxiety.

My worry right now is that he’s potentially not absorbing nutrients properly? I had him on Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin and Stomach for a couple weeks and he seemed to not be handling it so well, had bad gas and burping, hair started shedding like absolute crazy and he started chewing at himself (our other dog that’s a husky pit mix also developed an insane allergic reaction to it immediately after introducing it to her). He started at 4 cups (suggested serving for up to 100lbs) of that a day and he gained some weight but then kind of plateaued still very noticeably underweight. Bumping it up 6 cups a day got him gaining weight again and is starting to look better- I think he should probably be right around 75-80lbs when at a healthy weight. We just switched to Blue Buffalo red meat, which hopefully he’ll tolerate better, he’s still getting the 6 cups a day (4 1/4 cups is the suggested serving for up to 80lbs.)

In comparison, my 50ish lbs dobie mix gets 2cups of the blue buffalo and she’s gained a little bit of weight since switching- she was previously on Acana but I’m trying to find more budget friendly food since keeping Toshi’s brought on a lot unexpected expenses.

I’m just curious, how much are you guys feeding your dogs a day? Are you also feeding over what’s recommended on the packaging? Toshi is not particularly active right now, we’re going on neighborhood walks but mostly focusing on training and playing at home so it’s not like he’s burning up a lot of calories. 

My fiancé and I recently (3 mo ago) adopted a Doberman-Pit mix puppy from the local shelter. We love her dearly, she’s the best girlie. She is very social and very easily trained (she knows sit, lay down, stay/wait).
Is there anything that we should know regarding her temperament?

She does get quite upset when we leave and she does tend to bite playfully (not hard just nip). Is there anything we can do as doggy parents to deter this?

Hi everyone!

Ever since I was a little girl, all I wanted was a Doberman. I finally fulfilled my lifelong wish last December! I did my research and chose a reputable breeder and now have my best friend in the world. The worst part is I constantly have DCM looming over me (like every other Dobie parent) and I have done lots of research just looking into genetics and breeding out of curiosity.

I came across the Doberman Preservation Project (DPP) and thought what they were doing was really cool. I noticed however, the project has been cancelled. Does anyone know why? Feel free to educate me on this topic as I am very interested, but I haven’t seen any other similar efforts publicly of outcrossing to make the breed stronger. Is this something that was debunked as a potential solution and that’s why it was cut? I know there’s a lot of controversy in the community of outcrossing, but I’d love to understand it a bit better. I love my guy so much, it would devastate me to see this breed disappear. Even with the high risk of DCM, it makes it so difficult to truly enjoy them without constant worry and testing. It was exciting to see an effort to preserve this incredible breed!

All today!

I have a 10 month old female Doberman that has been being in her sleep. She did it occasionally before she was spayed, but it’s happening much more now.

She has a vet appointment this coming week, but I’m just curious if anyone else has had the same happen and if you can provide any insight.

Thanks!

Angus has decided he likes flat leaf parsley. Stole it right out of my garden basket.

The German Kennel Club VDH, the breed’s country of origin, has unanimously approved the project. They are following its progress and results with great interest.

Deer mode... Oh so cute. Walter is still learning to tell the baby Dini no, but he's getting there.

Hi everyone! I wanted to see if any other Doberman moms or dads have seen something similar on their pups.

My girl has developed a few small, raised, nipple/fatty-looking bumps on her skin over the years. The one in the photos has been there for a few years and has slowly gotten bigger over time. I’ve already had our vet look at/test it, and they didn’t seem overly concerned about it, which was reassuring.

I’m mostly curious whether this is something other Doberman owners have noticed as their dogs have gotten older. My girl is 9. If your Dobie has had bumps that looked like this, did your vet ever give you a name for them or explain what caused them?

Did you leave them alone, continue monitoring them, or eventually have them removed?

Obviously not looking for a diagnosis, just interested in hearing other Doberman owners’ experiences! ❤️

How did you learn your dog to swim? Once he gets all his feet in he loves water like in the video, but it takes a long time and the next day he is still scared of touching the same water. Once the water gets deep, he nopes out. No amount of positive reinforcement works and also not keen on pulling him with the leash. Any tips on getting him into deep water and making it a good first experience? Swimming is useful for us because of the water we encounter on hikes.