Hi,

I am importing a 9.5mth Dobermann bitch in 2 weeks & I was wondering if anyone has imported before & what tips they could give me regarding making the settling in process as stress free as possible?

I have 2 other dogs (3yr & 13mth), & 2 Ragdoll cats.

I've always had dogs from 7-8wks & have been there through the critical imprinting/training stages; so I'm a little apprehensive about getting an older dog having missed this.

I won't be introducing the cats to her for a couple of weeks until they're used to her scent, & I was going to introduce my 2 dogs to her separately so they don't crowd her.

Thanks :)

A lot will depend on what sort of environment, training and socialisation she has had up to now.

What sex are your dogs, especially the younger?.

Basic training/countyside environment/crate trained - so I've been told.

My youngest is a male (intact), eldest male (castrated), I have separate indoor & outdoor areas at my property so can easily keep them separeted if needed. & I also live in a quiet country location which is what she's been brought up in.

Someone advised me not to walk her for about a month until she settles, this sounds a bit long to me, what do you think?

Thanks,

My latest girl joined us in July. She is my second import in two years so I kind of knew what to expect :)

I only have one other dog and I introduced them straight away in the garden when we got home with the new girl.
I would just slot her in your routine like you live and she will soon be part of it, it is amazing how quickly they do become "yours".

I really do not see  reason why you should not walk her for such a long time.
You would be missing out on socialization and I have found it a good bonding exercise to take them out of their home environment as they will naturally rely on you being the most familiar object there.
My newest girl grew up with her brother and pack of other older dogs,she was little lost when she moved to live with us but soon settled.
It definitely took her little longer to settle compared to my first girl who grew up in a family environment and was not relying on "other dogs to tell her what to do".

I can't wait to have a puppy from puppy as I do miss having the opportunity to work on a baby puppy, it is different to being given 10 month old that has been taught by somebody else.

My younger girl did not have much work done with her, just socialisation& being used to being handeled etc....
She did not even know how to sit when she arrived :) but that was done on purpose and I actually preferred it this way as I now have a empty canvas and I could start training her like I want to train her from the start.

Good luck!

Although never had an import I have fostered dogs from rescue centres and added rescues/rehomes to the dogs I've already got living here.

I always introduce them on neutral ground so I would walk an existing dog and someone else would walk the 'newbie' and off we'd go.  Sometimes the first of mine to meet the new one is the lead dog sometimes it is the one who I think may have the greatest problem at accepting the newbie because their temperaments/excitability would work each other up. If the walk goes OK I bring them into the garden or paddock and let them off lead carefully supervising all the time.

Then I will add another of the dogs, and keep adding one at a time until they are all together but with room to distance themselves if it gets a bit tense.

When they all been out in the garden playing for a while I just open the back door and let them all wander in and out as they please. 

I've never had a problem with introducing new ones but I know that my one bitch probably would totally dislike another female being brought in whereas the males don't bother at all.

I should have added that the new additions have come at all different ages, some have been weeks old, some months old and some years old I use the same method with all dogs over 6 months but slightly different with a pup.  If it's too young to go out I will very carefully expose the pup to the others in the home.

Thanks for your advice. Having never brought a dog into the house above the age of 7-8wks, I just want to make the process as stress free as possible; the bitch has cropped ears & I've been warned that they could droop if she gets stressed out! I think I might invest in one of those DAP diffusers too - what do you think? Thanks

Thought cropped ears was a cruel practice,no offence made to you.

Sheila

So given the choice of introducing fresh blood into the UK gene pool, you wouldn't if the dog had been legally cropped in its country of origin?  Each to their own but I would be looking at the bigger picture.  No offence meant :-)

As the cropping isn't done until after the puppies would be chosen and going to new homes I would have expected the ears to have been left natural if you had chosen the puppy, as you must have done early to have the pet Passport in place by 9 1/2 months.

If you were importing to increase the gene pool I'd have thought showing the dog would be a good idea to get a good evaluation of it and compare it to its peers, but of course that can't happen with a cropped dog.

We do not know at what age the puppy was selected by the new owner. Showing in the UK may not be the be all and end all for them.  They may have taken the advice of the breeder.  Who knows?  I find the judgemental attitude (without all the background info) unnecessary.    

the original poster wrote: "I am importing a 9.5mth Dobermann bitch in 2 weeks "  This means the puppy will have been blood tested at 3 1/2 months of age and Rabies vaccinated some weeks prior.

Cropping is not normally carried out until after the age pups go to new homes so could easily have had it's ears left natural, allowing it to be shown in the UK.  I know of several dobes imported cropped because the importing owners like the look, even though this means they could not show them.

This shows the differing styles of crop.  For me only the first looks OK http://www.dobermanclub.org/Buying_Puppy/ears.html

>I find the judgemental attitude (without all the background info) unnecessary.

Like Annabella I too would judge ear cropping to be a cruel practice.  I don't believe this makes either of us judgemental when we express our view.  Particularly as we are not attempting to belittle anothers opinion or to make the OP feel bad (in fact Annabella explicitly makes that point).

As to whether the OP is attempting to widen the gene pool: we have no information as to their motivation we only have the fact that the bitch's ears are cropped.  Anything else is supposition...

To the OP - I've had a rescue of a similar age and found no difference whatsoever in training.  I didn't really have to undo anything much either as the dog seemed to be very responsive to his new situation.  Maybe he thought new house, new rules!!   Much of a dogs ability to adapt seems based on personality and where one thrives on new experiences another might fold so just be prepared to watch and learn her cues.  Good luck, you must be very excited :)

Oh and with regard to walking I can see no reason to wait but do take it slowly and check she is used to a collar and lead.  Also that she is firmly attached, with a good fitting collar or harness, in case she gets spooked.

the original poster wrote: "I am importing a 9.5mth Dobermann bitch in 2 weeks "  This means the puppy will have been blood tested at 3 1/2 months of age and Rabies vaccinated some weeks prior.

She will be just over 10mths when she arrives, I've just worked it out the calendar.

Cropping is not normally carried out until after the age pups go to new homes so could easily have had it's ears left natural, allowing it to be shown in the UK.  I know of several dobes imported cropped because the importing owners like the look, even though this means they could not show them.

Showing in the UK isn't important to me; I will be showing her in Europe IF she enjoys it. My male Dobermann doesn't get anything out of standing around in a ring - he much prefers to work.

As the cropping isn't done until after the puppies would be chosen and going to new homes I would have expected the ears to have been left natural if you had chosen the puppy, as you must have done early to have the pet Passport in place by 9 1/2 months.


I didn't select her when she was a young pup.


Anymore for anymore ? ;)

I don't take offence to other peoples views on ear cropping; it is a touchy subject & at the end of the day everyone has there own view. I was just looking for some advice on settling an older dog into a new home...

I haven't imported but a friend has. The bitch took a while (several months) before she settled in to her new home. It was like someone tripped the light switch on and she realised this was her forever home ;-) Give her time and space, but also make sure that she knows your boundaries. Get to know her, and let her get to know you. I would take her out on a lead, but don't let her off lead until you can truly trust her. Use a long line if you want to. Her own personality should be taken into any decision you make.

Thankyou LindyLou :) I can't believe she'll be here this saturday :D

I realise this may be a stupid questions but why do they crop the ears on Dobermanns? I've never really known why breeders dock cocker spaniels (and other breeds) tails either.
  I remember when we had our Irish Setter who was a very gentle dog, we got a new kitten and we already had two young male cats. The kitten hissed and spat at our Irish Setter who to be honest seemed more frightened of her even though she was tiny. They all ended up getting along really well and the cats used to cuddle up and sleep with the dog in his basket.
  Anyway, good luck you must be really excited!

The docking of anything sounds cruel to me, leave the dogs alone for gods sake.

> I realise this may be a stupid questions but why do they crop the ears on Dobermanns?

Fashion.... some think it makes the dogs look better. It was banned in the UK well over 100 years ago by Queen Victoria.

Docking tails is a more thorny subject. For some working dogs it is an advantage....  or not, depending on your view.

The whole of it is the debate whether we should alter animals for our own ends. De-clawing cats and de-barking dogs comes into that as well, as it's still routine in some parts of the world. Having met and cuddled a declawed cat in the USA, I think declawing is barbaric.... the cat had all her front toes cut off at the first joint. She was a disabled cat from then on. But although I don't agree with ear cropping or tail docking, at least those animals were not physically disabled afterwards, as the cat was.

Very difficult subject.... and very difficult to discuss. Fundamentally I don't agree with any form of alteration to suit human beings, although neutering and spaying could come udner that umbrella.

Good Luck Howarth, I bet you can't wait. I'd love to see some pictures of the little Doberbean when she arrives, get some more video's on YouTube!

Is she another Black and Tan? How old is your other Dobe now? He'll think all his christmases have come at once!

Is she an import from the same lines as your other dobe?

I'm guessing that settling her in will be easy peasy, she'll have those boys wrapped round her paw in no time.

Has she had a season yet? I suppose that would be my only worry, if she came into her first season a week after bringing her home and having to keep them all seperated, that would be a nightmare.

Our Dasiy Dobe has just finished her first season, she came in at 11 months and 1 week.