Welcome to our Doberman
Pinscher info page. On this page, we give you general information about
Doberman Pinschers, and maybe answer some questions you may have about
the dogs. The information we give on this page is from our experience,
and therefore may or may not be typical of other dobermans. Wind Ridge
Ranch will be referred to as WRR in these questions for ease of
description. If you have
questions that aren't answered on this page, please
Contact Us for other questions you may
have.
1. Where does the Doberman breed come from?
2. What are
some of the traits WRR has seen in dobermans?
3. What is WRR's opinion on crate training
for dogs?
4. What should I do if my puppy has
diarrhea?
6. What should I do to potty train my puppy?
7. What is WRR’s opinion on dog beds?
8. What does WRR recommend for proper
feeding practices?
9. Why does WRR require new owners to
take the puppy through obedience training?
1. Where does
the Doberman breed come from?
Top
The Doberman breed was created by a German tax collector by the name
of Doberman, who was looking for a strong, agile, fast, loyal companion
to protect him while doing his job. The breed has grown over the years
since the 1880's when he first started creating the breed. We suggest
wikipedia or the Doberman Pinscher Club of America if you want more
information on the breed, such as typical characteristics, colors, and
personalities.
2. What are some of the
traits WRR has seen in dobermans?
Top
Well, the doberman is definately a great dog, but not necessarily
the best dog for everyone. They are a very loving and loyal dog, but
they are also an independent spirit that requires an owner willing to
put effort into owning the doberman. Wind Ridge Ranch requires new
owners to take the dog through at least a beginner obedience class.
There is a saying that I wrote down a few years ago, "Dobermans don't
have owners, they have staff." Dobermans do have a few traits that they
typically display: the doberman ball: the doberman curled up into as
small a ball as they can to sleep. The doberman lean: where the doberman
leans up against your leg waiting for you to scratch them, and then
leaning more as you scratch them. The doberman sit: usually on your
foot, many times as part of the doberman lean. The doberman nudge: a
nudge of your hand to tell you to scratch me. The doberman love look: I
love you more than you can imagine. Dobermans are also very expressive
with their ears. You can many times tell their attitude by the way their
ears are. We tell all prospective owners that they need to decide before
they get home if they are going to let the dog up on the furniture. If
you let a doberman up on the couch or bed once, you will never get them
down again. Dobermans are active dogs when they are awake, however their
favorite activity is being a couch potato.
3. What is WRR's
opinion on crate training for dogs?
Top
We strongly suggest crate training for dogs. First off, it is a helpful
tool to potty train a puppy. Dogs typically don't like sitting/laying in
their accidents, so a crate is very helpful to prevent that from
happening. Many of the wire crates available today come with a removable
barrier that the position can be changed as the puppy grows bigger. This
also makes it so you can get a crate for the adult size of the puppy
without buying numerous crates. We feed our dogs in their crates, which
prevents fighting over food or dogs getting more or less of the food you
give them. Dogs also see their crate as a den that they feel safe in if
the crate is used properly. Crates also prevent the dog from getting
into trouble, such as tearing up you favorite shoes. It is important
that the dog sees the crate as a safe place rather than as a punishment.
If they are only put in when they have been bad, they will associate it
with being bad. It also is a lot easier to clean up a crate if the dog
has an accident.
4. What should I
do if my puppy has diarrhea?
Top
It is common for a puppy to get diarrhea. Most often, it is from
something they ate, or from needing to be wormed. We suggest giving the
puppy yogurt first or pumpkin. Yogurt has probiotics in it that can
settle the stomach and get them back to regularity. We suggest
Stoneyfield yogurt. It is organic and has high levels of probiotics, but
you can give any yogurt as long as it has lots of probiotics. We suggest
a low fat or non-fat yogurt in plain or vanilla. Flavored yogurt may not
sit well with the puppy. Pumpkin is excellent at drying out the puppy
and getting them regular again. Puppies are very good at getting into
things they shouldn't, and sometimes they get worms. We suggest using
Safeguard dog wormer. Most dog wormers only take care of a couple types
of worms. Safeguard takes care of four types of worms and is very easy
to give. It is a top dress wormer that you sprinkle over the dog's food
for three days and is designed to be easy to give the right amount. It
comes in one, two, or four gram packages. For every ten pounds of
weight, give the dog a gram of Safeguard. For example, if your dog
weighs fifty pounds, give a four gram package and a one gram package.
Safeguard is available at many pet stores. We feed a very high quality
dog food by the name of Orijen Puppy Large
that is a high protein dog food.
Sometimes, if a dog gets too much of a high protein dog food, they can
get diarrhea. If this is the case, taking food away from them for 24
hours can dry them up.
5. If I am
switching my dog to a different dog food, what should I do to make the
transition as free from problems as I can?
Top
When you want to switch your dog
over to another dog food, we suggest that you have four and a half days
of the
old dog food ready for the
transition. The process will take nine days. We suggest feeding 75% old
dog food and 25% new dog food for three days, then feeding 50% old dog
food and 50% new dog food for three days, and then 25% old dog food and
75% new dog food for three days. After that, you can feed the new dog
food going forward. This process will make the transition less stressful
on your dogs digestive system.
6. What should I do to potty train my
puppy? Top
The simple answer is to take the puppy out. Whenever the puppy wakes up,
take them out. Whenever they eat or drink, take them out. If they are
sitting by the door and whining, take them out. If they look like they
are running around looking for something, take them out because they
probably are looking for someplace to go. A general rule of thumb for
potty training is a puppy can typically hold their potty for a hour for
however months old they are. For example, a four month old puppy can
hold it’s potty for about four hours. As we stated in an earlier
question, WRR strongly suggests using a crate to train your puppy when
you aren’t at home. Many of the wire crates available today come with a
removable barrier that the position can be changed as the puppy grows
bigger. The puppy’s living space should be about the same size as the
puppy. Dogs typically don’t want to sit/lay in their own mess, so if
they don’t have too big of a space when potty training, they will learn
that they can’t get away from it and learn to hold it.
7. What is WRR’s opinion on dog beds?
Top
Many people ask us what we think about dog beds for their puppy. We say
that a dog bed is good for a puppy, however, it may not be the best
thing to have in the puppy’s crate until they are at least over a year
old. After that point, it isn’t a bad idea, as long as they don’t tear
it up. When they are young, it is common for a puppy to have the
occasional accident and a bed in the crate will get messed up. Also,
during the time when they are still young, puppies can get bored and
tear things up in their crate.
8. What does WRR recommend for proper
feeding practices?
Top
Many people like to feed their
dogs “free range”, where they fill the bowl in the morning and leave the
food out full time. We don’t suggest feeding that way. The best way to
feed a dog is to give them their allotted amount of food for the feeding
and pick it up after 15 minutes. Puppies do well being fed three times a
day until they start getting older when you can move them to being fed
two times a day.
9. Why does WRR require new owners
to take the puppy through obedience training?
Top
An obedience class should be
taken with any dog. It helps form the bond between the pet and the
owner. It also establishes the owner and pet roles for both parties. A
dog should be a dog and the owner should be the Alpha in the
relationship. The Doberman is a strong-willed breed. That’s not a bad
thing, it is one of the traits that makes the Doberman a great, loyal
dog, however, we feel the Doberman needs that role established early on.
Actually, any dog benefits from that role definition. We have put a lot
of care and handling into our puppies. They are very friendly and well
socialized, and we encourage continuation of those practices. Our
puppies tend to excel at obedience training.
This page is still under construction. Please stop back later to see updates.