My Dobermann pup has just turned 9months and has gone absolutely loopy.

Yesterday we had a lovely long walk in the afternoon followed by a bit of heel work training out on our street before tea and another little lead walk round the village whilst the rest of the world was watching the world cup final. When we got back from our second walk she went absolutely NUTS! As soon as we got in the kitchen she managed to paw open the kitchen door and proceed to charge around the house at absolute break neck speed knocking over tables jumping on sofas.I have never seen anything like it. In the end i literally had to throw myself on her and pin her down before she did herself or anyone else any serious damage. As soon as i pinned her i could feel her body relax so i kept her on the floor and stroked her to calm her down a bit then she happily got up as if nothing had happened and went off to sit in her chair by the window and chomp on her bone.

Also she has suddenly started jumping about 10 foot in the air at you when we are out on walks she will run off having a good time and then charge back at you and jump up as if to say wow this is great thanks. But she is already a whopper and cant half knock the wind out of you.

Oh and chasing flaming bicycles which she suddenly decided is her new favorite activity so we are despeatley working on her retrieve so we can do more fun chase games (she will retreive but then would prefer to run around with the toy for 10 minutes before she brings it back no matter how much cheese is on offer!). Do you think i should try and de-sensetize (sp) her to bikes? There is a local monday night criterion in our park that i could take her to but i think she'd probably get used to bikes but just find something new to chase.

I am doing everything i can to keep her mind occupied we do obedience classes too. And i have already enrolled her at agility for when she hits 18 months.

She is our first dobe and although i grew up with dallies and ridgies i dont remember either of them being so hyper (however you do tend to forget the negative things when you talk yourself into getting a new pup!). Is this just the nature of the dobe?

Has anyone got any suggestions of other fun things/games i can do with her to use up some mind and physical energies until shes old enough to start running with me/do agility!

Any suggestions appreciated!

Just dropping in quickly, this is probably normal behaviour for a teenage dobe :) but it may be an idea to check the ingredients of what you are feeding, including treats/reward food, as it may be that any colourings/sugar/additives etc could cause an overexciteable reaction. Only a thought, this may not be the case at all. It may just be "her" at this age :)
Some of what you describe may also be a sort of stress relieving behaviour. Stress is often shown in what we call the 4 "F's" : fight, flight, freeze and fiddle about! Again, not saying it is stress, but just another idea to put in the pot, so to speak :)

Also, is she due her season, unless of course she has already been spayed? as that, or the imminence of it, can really affect bitches.

Lindsay
x

Although I know 9 month old pups can be hyper, this does seem a little bit more than that so I'm thinking food additives too!

No she's not had her first season yet i'm expecting it anytime between now and a year! OH's old boxers are ready to be deployed :)

My friend thinks she went crackers because of the Lunar eclipse, made me chuckle!

two of my three dogs have always had a funny five mins or so. they seem to need to burn off some left over energy or excitment, then the calm down.
i wouldn't worry too much especially the age of your dog but if it does bother you then you could always ask your vet.
myself and husband always find it really funny and the dogs enjoy a few mins of madness.

Welcome to  Dobe adolescence!  Our dog hit 9 months and we thought he too had lost the plot - but the good news is that it does pass, usually by the time they are 18 months in most cases, when they usually become a little more like themselves ;o) Still worth checking the treats and stuff - some foods will make her more hyper, but generally just try to keep her as busy as you seem to be and just remember that it will get worse before it gets better ;o)

keep smiling!

Yep hello from the world of the dobe lol !!!!!  Nothing out of the ordinary I'm afraid, it's something you have work through.  On the plus side in my experience the girls mature faster than the boys ( don't they always !!!! ).  She's def gone into her kevin stage !!!!  This is the time tho that you must put the hard work in.  Check her protein levels in her food, too much and she'll be banging off the walls.  I usually look to putting mine on around 25% at this age, and lower it as they get older.  Being an ultra intelligent breed keeping her mind active as well as her body is of great importance.  Keep going with the obedience, you can start a little agility, the easy stuff, you can't let they do the jumps until after 12 months.  In the home I usually give my lot a stuffed kong, you can mix a little of her usual food with water, mash it up and put in the kong then put in the freezer.  Keeps them occupied.  I've found that just putting biscuits in doesn't work.  One girl chucks it against the skirting boards until they pop out and the other somehow manages to squeeze the end of it !!!!

They do come tho this stage I can assure you !!!!!  just don't pull too much of your hair out meanwhile lol !!!

jovigirl
There is one point in your post that I don't really agree with. All my dogs are mainly raw fed, topped up with Orijen/Acana, so are on "high" protein diets. None are bouncing off the walls, although Hattie is hard work (but that's another story!). Dogs are carnivores first and foremost and as such have evolved to eat a mainly meat, high protein diet. It is the quality of the protein that is important. My dogs range from 3 to nearly 11 and all are fed the same way (as was my old boy that I lost earlier this year, aged 17+). It is more likely to be the artificial colours and preservatives, as well as sugars and grains that would affect behaviour.

I agree that Dobes need plenty of mental stimulation and Hilly could certainly start doing some basic agility with her Dobe, especially teaching directional control.

Pedlee

I speak from personal experience,  I don't come down on either the raw or dry feeding side its up to the individual to find the best one for their dog so I think I'll have to agree to disagree with you !!! lol    In case of the OP I think that the majority of the problem is just age and training, both of which can be dealt with quite easily, the former naturally and the latter with alot of hard work !!!!! 

oooh si, i find my pup is more aggressive if she has just eaten RAW MEAT...seems to bring out the WOLF in her ! LOL !!! oooh yes...i am wary of it now...only feed her occasionally that inside...not wanting a wolf defense mode of the food to suddenly appear !

I don't think you'll find she's more aggressive because you feed her raw.  Although I choose not to feed raw I know lots of Dobe people that do and they do not have a temperament problem.  I don't know your circumstances so can't comment on your pup.  However  maybe aggression is too stronger word.

Hiya just to make u feel better my female dobe who will be 2 in september still has those crazy times and yeh runs around the place like a nutter jumping on the sofas the lot even tho she is not actually supposed to b allowed on the sofa the little monster i have no clue when she will calm down its feeling like a life time but i love her to pieces even if she is crazy she has had lots of training but im going to take her back because she definitely needs to be more stimulated.
Rach.