Exercise
Dobermanns are a very fast growing breed, and a puppy going through one of it’s many growing spurts can put on as much as 1 kilo per week. Puppies can look gangly and uncoordinated when they run during this time. Excessive exercise during this growth period puts a lot of strain on young bones and joints, which are still soft and prone to injury.
At SwanValley Dobermanns we recommend that puppies are kept “plump” and fed on a Natural Diet. This diet provides all the energy, nutrients, vitamins and minerals needed for the puppy develop to its full potential. The Natural Diet, as opposed to commercial dog food, has been shown to allow the dog to grow more slowly and in proportion, thus placing less strain on growing joints. Injuries sustained as a puppy can have profound consequences later in life.
Puppies should not be taken out of their backyard until at least 1 week after they have had their 12-14 week vaccinations. Prior to this time, although your puppy is vaccinated, their immune system is immature and they may pick-up diseases from unvaccinated dogs in your local neighbourhood (speak to your vet about when it is safe).
Until it is safe to take your puppy on outings, play with your puppy, start to teach it to sit, drop and stay, but don’t expect too much too soon. Continue with your lead training (which the breeder should have started for you) and basically build on the relationship with your puppy. Young puppies are not unlike small children, full of energy one minute and fast asleep the next. Puppies need their sleep, so let them sleep when they want.
As your puppy gets older (14+ weeks) take it to puppy classes (your local vet usually offers these). It’s a good opportunity for the puppies to play with dogs that are of a similar age and not of their breed. They can roll and tumble with little risk of injury, unlike if they take on a fully-grown male German Shepherd.
At this stage, we start to take our dogs to local dog exercise parks. These are usually open spaces that allow people to exercise their dogs off lead. Your Council can advise you of such areas. If you have the luxury of having an older, obedient dog, the puppy will not venture too far alone and will also feel a lot safer when other dogs come up to say hello. Our older Dobermann, Rosie protected our puppy Emma on numerous occasions when poorly socialised dogs would try to pick on the “little one”. You will most likely find the puppy will also learn a lot more quickly what you want by watching the older dog, unfortunately this is also the case for bad habits.
Before letting the puppy off lead, ensure that they are in a safe environment where they can’t get run over or injured. Also be aware of nasty dogs/incompetent owners that will try to attack your puppy or think its funny when their 45kg dog has your 10 kg puppy between its teeth. During this stage of the puppy’s development, a bad experience can scar them for life, thus don’t be afraid of picking up your puppy and telling the person to put their unruly dog on lead.
When you have finished puppy classes it’s a good opportunity to start going to obedience classes. The better trained/behaved the dog becomes, the more freedom the dog can have, and the more enjoyable it will be to own and spend time with.
Until a Dobermann is 12-18 months of age, don’t overly exert your Dobe, and avoid exercising them on hard surfaces. Until this age just let them play and run at their own accord. We try to encourage our dogs to swim at an early age, as it’s a great way to keep them cool and fit, particular in the hot Australian summers.
We also teach all of our Dobes to retrieve a tennis ball or kong – it’s a much less tiring way to exercise them, especially if all your dogs chase after the same ball.
From the age of 12 months Dobermanns need at least 1 hour of exercise per day.
Dobes are a very active breed, and if not sufficiently exercised, they will turn this energy onto other exploits such as helping you landscape your backyard.
Toys are a great way for a dog to entertain himself or herself while you are away at work. Dog treat balls are usually good value, but make sure you buy quality, as the Dobes jaws are very strong, and a trip to the vet to remove a piece of plastic from the intestine can be expensive both mentally and financially. If a piece of plastic gets lodged in the bowel, surgery may be required to remove it and a section of the bowel may even need to be removed. According to our vet the most common item removed the stomach of a dog is pieces of tennis ball.
Any toys should be removed at the first sign that they are starting to fail, this can be hard when it is your dog’s favourite toy, but it’s better to buy them a new one than having to take them to the vet.
There are numerous options available to make exercising your dog more enjoyable for the both of you:
- dog parks
- dog training clubs
- obedience trials
- agility & jumping
- tracking
- etc. etc. etc.
Refer to the “Activities” section of this website for more information.