Australian National Kennel Council Registered Breeder

Success is a journey, not a destination.

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Puppies always find mischief and if you cherish your garden, then early training is indicated.  Whenever your puppy approaches a taboo area, a short, sharp "NO" accompanied by a tug of his/her collar will tell the puppy to leave the area alone.  Repeat this for a few days and if you put sufficient firmness into your voice, even the most boisterous, active puppy will understand.  This applies to any area that you do not want the puppy to go.

It is also not advisable to laugh at a puppy one moment for doing mischievous things, then to discipline it for the doing the same thing the next day.  Never call a dog to you in a kind tone and scold it for wrong doing as this will destroy its confidence and set training back as well.

If you have purchased an older dog, give him/her time to settle in and get to know you and your family before introducing any form of formal obedience training.  The settling period should be at least 7 days.  Most older dogs will come when called, walk on a leash and in the majority of cases be house trained and this is all you need until the dog is settled.  

It is not advisable to bring in a stranger to do any training during the settling period as this can make a well-tempered dog nervous as they are still not sure of the new surroundings and new family.

A Dobermann normally is an alert dog, but this quality can be exaggerated or stifled. They must not be allowed to become apathetic or bored. The best way to accomplish this is to supply him/her with things to do. They need safe toys and bones to chew on, interesting things to do and exercise, both mental and physical.

They need some obedience training (either done by yourself or through an obedience school), interesting walks, rides in the car and chances to meet people. The bored dog often creates a behaviour problem. Your dog will usually try to find something to do on his/her own. The dog not taken out often may find that visits become a novelty and become so excited they forget their manners and become a trial or they may simply become over active, cringe or get too aggressive.

Training classes really are the first step towards a happy life for the dog and their owner as they enable the dog to go anywhere and to keep mentally balanced. Naturally, in themselves, training classes may give your dog the chance to earn rewards, so if there is a training class try to go for at the least the basic 8-week course. Training classes are not mandatory, but the basic 8-week course can make your dog a lot easier to live with, as it is a basic obedience course.

This does not mean that your dog will not be obedient if they do not attend these classes but Dobermanns are a lot smarter than the average dog and will try to rule if you don't GENTLY BUT FIRMLY let them know who is the boss from the start.  Dobermanns are very easy to train because their main aim in life is to please their masters and will go to great lengths to do so.