Strong Doberman Pinscher Is Just a Goof!
Client’s Name: Allison
Dog’s Name: “Bernard”
City: Austin
Breed: Doberman Pinscher
Likes:Bernard loves to follow me around the house and chase cats (which is a big problem!). What a simple life 🙂 he loves to play with you inside the house. Outside…he doesn’t even know you exist.
Pet-Peeves: Putting on and taking off his leash and collar! He’s pretty happy other than that.
Favorite Toy: Anything squeaky is his favorite toy. He loves to walk around with them in his mouth, squeaking incessantly and will often come show you that he has it, just to make sure you know. Yhe best toy / treat / praise I’ve found for Bernard is a squeaky tennis ball, and he absolutely wants you to throw it.
Favorite Treat: “Squeaky tennis balls, chicken nuggets (oops), being allowed on the couch (only with his blanket down), soft treats…he isn’t a big biscuit/hard treat kind a’ guy(especially soft liver treats!)”
Favorite Walk: I don’t take him anywhere other than to run quick errands and around the neighborhood. I just don’t have enough control of him and he gets much to excited when we walk by cats and other leashed dogs. He has a lot of energy and is very explorative, I’m sure he’d LOVE to go places like the beach and on scenic hikes / trails!!
Best Trick: While sitting I can set human food right at his feet and he won’t eat it until I release him 🙂 I’m pretty impressed with myself. He can also balance a milk bone on his nose until I release him but when I do instead of being excited and swinging it around into his mouth he just drops it on the floor and gets it from there haha.
Arrival Story: I grew up with pets and when I moved away for college last year I moved into an apartment that didn’t allow pets. I realized how lonely it was not having that furry face to come home to, especially living alone. When I made the decision to buy instead of rent I knew I wanted a BIG lap dog. When the great dane I put a deposit on fell through I decided it was for the best. I didn’t want a puppy, I didn’t want to do all of that training (joke’s on me!). I started looking for an older puppy and decided to just be patient and look until I found a dog that I really connected with. After many visits to websites and shelters I saw a picture of Bernard online and knew he was my dog. From what I believe the fosters told me (I was very excited, it was difficult to listen) Bernard, then Captain Jack, was purchased from a breeder by an older couple and had to be given to the doberman rescue after the gentleman had shoulder surgery. He was with his fosters for about 3 months and has been with me for about two now.
Why Training / Sit Means Sit: Bernard is my first dog so I don’t have any training experience. The training is just as much for myself as it is for Bernard. It was, however, very apparent that he hadn’t had much training prior to coming to me. He’s pretty good inside for the most part and has improved a little but when he gets outside he just has puppy brain to the max. He is so focused and excited about everything going on outside that he doesn’t even know you’re there. And he’s a big boy, if there’s something he wants to get to it’s pretty difficult to stop him. Another, extremely important, reason that I need to do some training with him is that the people in my very small complex are afraid of him and I’m afraid of the HOA lol. He barks/whines/yelps at other people’s dogs and cats and they can’t differentiate his anxiety/excitement with aggression. And he is terrible about running out if the door is open. For the last two months, since I’ve had him, I’ve been working with Karma dog training and simply haven’t gotten the results I think it’s fair to expect after the time and money I’ve invested. Their approach is frankly too simple for Bernard, in my opinion. I am excited to try Sit Means Sit because of the dominant role the training will put me in and because my family, who all have impeccably trained hunting dogs, have all used remote collars and I was specifically looking for a group who could teach me to use one as well. I would love to be able to take Bernard with me as many places as possible in this dog friendly city 🙂
Motto: I wouldn’t know where to begin, lol. He’s very goofy.