Hi ive had mia our 9week old (on sunday) dobie pup for 2 weeks, she is gorgeous, very clever but very very hard work.
The first week she hardly slept,just cried all night, so we got her a crate and put it by our bed, she loves it and sleeps a full 8 hours now which is great! She eats really well, and would eat the radiators,sofa,kitchen cupboards,table etc if i wasnt watching her like a hawk! Im looking into puppy classes for her soon, or maybe some 1-1 training i havent decided which yet, can anyone recomend anything in the northwich area?

Not sure about classes in your area but i would really recommend a puppy class with other people and their dogs as not only will you learn the basic commands etc but you will be socialising your girl at the same time

Try www.puppyschool.co.uk

Classes are associated with Gwen bailey, and work on rewards based training.

The APDT have trainers based all over Britain and if you go on their website (just put APDT in google/Yahoo and it will come up) you can select ones in your area and arrange to attend a class.
They also do home visits some of them and 1 to 1 classes for puppys.

Good luck and enjoy youre new bundle!  :d

Welcome to the madness that is dobermann ownership. Training will always be ongoing for your Dobe and something that you'll have to live with as their brains are always on the go. Socialisation is of paramount importance and this to, is ongoing. Find a good club training night, prefably Dobermann if you can, as the village type clubs although are OK, Dobermanns are a different kettle of fish and need a different approach to that used on the collies, Poodles and Labs that you'll find in the village halls. Dobes become bored very quickly and can therefore be seen as naughty when they are youngsters and are headstrong, wilfull and quick to move. By the way, youth means years rather than months and so much so, that our present young dobe will be our last, just because OH and I have found it such hard work in our 40s', so we guess it'll be almost imposible to do a Dobe justice and give it the investment in our 50s'?
Having said that, they are wonderfull and well worth all the effort when they have reached 2yrs+, as that's when they really come into their own and the bits of the puzzle that you have given them in socialising and training do come together in a fantastic animal that is admired by everyone.

As pups they can drive you insane and can easily make you believe that you'll never get there. But don't give up as a lot of owners do in the first year or two and when times are hard, she's doing you in and all you want to do is cry, try to remember that your dobe won't give up on you.....not ever.

Good luck and enjoy

My dobe is nearly four and still thinks he is a puppy!  But like you say, I am nearly 50 and have found my dobe to be hard work at times, although I love him soooo much!!!!  We had a dobe when we were in our twenties and I must say I found him alot easier than this one, also before there was only myself and my husband, I now have two boys of 17 and 20.  My dobe is just like my other son really, (well that is what my boys say).  I attended a totally dobermann training school with my previous dobermann but with this one I have attended schools with all breeds.  My other dobe seemed to mature by about 3, but not this one oh no!!

I would like to say that I don't think I have been as firm as I should have with him, but in saying that I have the most wonderful and loving dog!!  All the hard work is worth it in the end.  I know a lady who is in her 70's and she has always had dobermanns I used to walk my other dobe with her, I bumped into her one day whilst out with my current dobe and she said "another dobe then", years ago she said to me once you've had one you will always have another!!

I have been involved with the upbringing of at least three dobe pups as Aunty and have helped with theri socilisation and care while the owners were at work.  Also walking them when she had Rhemtic Fever adn other half workign abroad. They are super dogs, but their size and strenght mean you do need to be prepared to train to a high standard.

> By the way, youth means years rather than months

You got that right, Soli turned 6 in July and still very much a puppy :D  She does take a lot of work - and if she's bored she has a withering look that'd make you cry!

I must second your note about socialisation - absolutely essential.  Sol wasn't socialised much at all, beyond a few failed puppy classes (she hid under the seat so the owner gave up) - so now I've got a fear-aggressive dog who's iffy with strangers.  Getting better all the time of course, but it would have been so simple to avoid when she was a pup.

I sympathise Nikita and thank goodness there are careing people like you around who are not prepared to give in.

Our Rowan is 2,1/2 now and we are just starting to relax the answering of the door to strangers regime because as she now amazingly, will do what I say, which is great. We were unsure if we should take a chance and take her with us in the campervan to France next June because a barking guardy Dobermann can be a sight to raise the dead and she can terrifie when at full throttle. We had our Whippet Rubin jabbed for rabies as we knew he was definately comeing with us, but we still couldn't decide on Rowan. The good news is, that because she has been away with us a lot in the UK this Autumn and because she has camped at lots of different sites and has met lots of different people and dogs, in all sorts of locations and situations and has really enjoyed our trips away to new places(especially the new forest), I've had to admit, that she's been just brilliant and she should come too.
Tonight, OH ran her down to the vets as we have just enough time to get her passport for her. She's had the jab :) and she's coming.

There are quite a lot of advantages of taking her too. We can leave her in the drivers seat in our van and we know it won't be stolen. The second hand value of Dobermann occupied vans, is not very good.

:D Very true!  I must admit, I don't worry much about my dogs being stolen from the car - Remy and Soli between them could raise the roof from Hell with their guardy barking when they get going, and they certainly wouldn't be happy about anyone going near the car while I was gone (and while I'm there, half the time), let alone someone trying to steal it or them.