I'm looking to get a dobermann pup shortly...  We, my family, will be spending a lot of time with him/her but both my wife and I work full time - Whilst I know the relative demerits of full time work and pups have been "done to death" on the board with the varying viewpoints, I'd like to ask....

I'll be arranging to do 2 half days at home with work per week for the first couple of months and will also arrange for my wife and I to have a couple of weeks off when pup first joins the family.

I'll be arranging for sometime to come round at LEAST once a day to walk pup, clear up etc., pup will get a good hour walk of an evening and 15 mins in the morning prior to me going to work.  It should work out as three walks a day and not being left alone for more than 4 hours.

Does that sound reasonable?  I'm keen to get my dog well trained and possible go into doing trials.... what's the thoughts from the board? 

Firstly I know very little about doberman's, so do not know if they need a lot of human companionship,but generally puppies need four feeds a day and toileting often, if they are to become fully house-trained. What age will your pup be when you intend to get one? Also dependant on age an hour long walk will be too much for a young pup as the general guide is 5mins per month of age to begin with. Spice BC would never have gone 1hr with us much before she was 5-6 months old and it is not good for any dog to be 'over walked' as it is still developing for quite a few months.

I know a lot of people are not as fortunate as us where we have always had the opportunity to be with Spice,as when I am not at work I have her with me and when I do work my husband takes her to work. This was the only basis on which we personally chose to have another puppy. I am glad you are giving it thought with regards to using a dog walker/arranging extra time to be with pup, but I think you will find the puppy will require much more socialisation in it's life and 4hrs seems a long time to me to be left alone,although puppy's do sleep a lot too :)

I hope you can get the balance sorted so that you have a well balanced happy dog and I'm sure lots of other members will be along shortly to give their own advice and experiences.

Jacqueline :)

Hi! You don't say what age your pup will be, but remember they need 4 regularly-spaced meals a day till they're 12 weeks old, and can't go out for walks on the ground until after they've completed their jabs (usually at about the same age). Then the walks are for socialisation rather than exercise - no more than 15 minutes each a couple of times a day as long as the pup's had a good rest in between. Pup won't be ready for an hour's walk till s/he's about a year old.

Is it working trials you are interested in? :)

There are one or two people I believe working Dobes. My original trainer has a Dobe and trained her beautifully for trials. Unfortunately though she had been previously told by someone in trials to chuck her dog over the scale after she refused it, and the poor dog landed on her head and ever after hated the scale. My trainer so wishes she had never listened to such bad advice, sadly the damage was done! Not sure what part of the country you are in, but do try to seek out a good sensible and kind trainer and you will have fun and really enjoy trialling :)

Lindsay
x

FWIW I would not expect to leave a puppy for 4 hours at 7/8 weeks; 2 hours max.  It will not have the bladder control to last longer.  Also it is a long time to leave it without any human interaction, particularly if you wish to compete with it in the future.

I never take my dogs "out for a walk" really until they around 6 months old.  They get plenty of exercise in the garden, house or nearby field.  They are of course, taken out to be thoroughly familiarised with everyday things which is a bit different.

Puppies need to be mentally tired and if you are thinking of competing then several 3 minutes sessions throughout the day work better than marathon periods once or twice.

(From someone who works full time and competes)