*sigh* anyone want to borrow Maya... and ya know, train her?

*sigh* I am not having ANY luck with Maya... she just doesnt want to listen to me. And I feel like I am letting her down. Since she isnt trustworthy in the house unless I have my eyes on her 100% of the time she spends a lot of time in her crate or outside in her large kennel run thing.

If I bring her in and take my eyes off of her she will get something she isnt supposed to have and tear it to pieces. Another thing she does is she will jump up on me if I am sitting down.

I am really really really beyond frustrated.

I feel so bad that she cant be in here with the rest of us more.
I dont want to give up on her, and Im not going to. It's just that training should be a fun thing for both of us, and it isnt.

Any tips or tricks you have for me would be SOOOOOOO much appreciated...

Don't get frustrated. She's still a puppy and she's going to continue being a pain for a little while. I was out walking Herschel tonight (without Nala) and I was thinking of all of the frustration, anger, and time that it took to get us where we are. (He was heeling, looking up at me, saw a rabbit and went back to the heel as soon as I said, "leave it.") He's 18 months old.

It takes a lot of time to teach a puppy to be trustworthy. Be consistent--don't ever let her pick up a shoe, or anything else that is yours. If she does, use "leave it" or "no!" or some other command.

Why can't she be around the rest of you? If she jumps up, then push her off. Wait a while and when she comes back, give her a treat for staying on the ground. If she knocks something over or if she tries to tear something apart, give her a verbal correction and redirect her to something more appropriate.

By the way, is she getting enough exercise? The dogs in this house need a minimum of 1 hour walking + 30 minutes of hard running in morning and again in the evening.

I wish I could offer you some help but I'm going through the SAME thing with my almost 7 month old golden puppy. He's leashed to me a lot because he is constantly destroying stuff if I'm not paying complete attention to him. The most recent destruction was he chewed up a huge hole in the carpet in our bedroom when I was getting the kids in bed.

It's really hard when you have young children too, I know I have two of them. Try short sessions maybe 10-15 minutes at a time. Try exercising her WHILE your training, I find that works good for our puppy. I train him while playing fetch. I'll do a sit and tell him to wait and then throw the ball and have him bring it back and than do a down when he brings the ball back. It's fun for him because he knows if he keeps bringing the ball back we'll keep training.

I'm starting to think to a point, it's linked to breeding. Not that you couldn't have an overly rambunctious well bred puppy.. But it seems the people I read about on forums that have unending trouble, often have dogs that came from not great sources.

I spent 2 years in hell. I exercised Cider I ran her, I rollerbladed with her, we played fetch, other family members pitched in to walk her. She never ever napped. Never laid down. Never could settle for more than half a minute. I couldn't have exercised her more than I did, and it 'helped' if she didn't get it she was twice the terror, but she never even wilted let alone chilled out at all..

If she wasn't in the room I was in, she was into something. Even in the room I was in, she was often into something. So she spent excess time in her crate where she got bored and would eat the bed..

We took up agility, had to work on focus, and things got a touch better. Wasn't till she turned 2 that she quit eating my room. And has free roam in it when I am not here. She will be three in like 5 days, and only now o I not have to keep constant watch over her, but I still with gate her somewhere where there are people. She cannot freely roam both levels of the house without supervision.

It's been a really long hard road. And I had wanted to give up at times. I was exceedingly jealous of people with no dog experience who'd get a dog and seem to be problem free. Versus I tried, I read, I trained, I read, and life didn't get any better, I didn't want a second dog, because I didn't think I could do it all again.

He is nothing like her. Exercise him and he takes a nap. Let him play with toys, he flakes out on his own. He does like to take my clothes out of the dirty laundry, and I don't let him roam without me, but he is not Lucifer wearing fur.

Not that it's a definitive scientific study or anything, but I'm up to reason near 302 in my head as to why I will never get another badly bred pup again. Da*n the differences.

Don't think my ramble helps much.. Just now you aren't alone, it does get better, but do know it takes time, and maturity of the pup and maybe a little of you too

Amen Mafia:hail: ^^!!!

Oh my, lol...you're going through the exact same thing with Maya as I'm going through with my Sana!

I'm just about at my wits end, lol...I just explained in my "jumping jumping jumping" thread that today she decided it was a good idea to destroy my $300 rug. -.- Hang in there I say, perhaps this is something we'll get through together, lol. =P

i know it frustrating, 10 deep breaths and try to get into her head.
try to imagine how she's seeing all this and what would inspire her to work with you, thats what i do for busters when he's being a little bugger

I know how you feel. There are days when I get frustrated with Duke, there is going to be a lot more of those days too.

I've found that gating really helps keep damage to a minimume. Short training games also do wonders for Duke.

Some breeds are just always a handful as pups. I've found when all else fails remember how good she can be.

She gets tons of excersize... she never stops moving!
But she is good when I pick up EVERYTHING she isnt supposed to have and shut all of the doors in that room so she cant go anywhere else. All she gets is HER toys.

About the jumping on me she only does it when I am sitting down, and I have tried everything from getting up and turning my back towards her to pushing her off of me and saying "NO" and praising her when all four paws are on the ground...

I know what you mean by "I feel jealous of people with no dog experience who dont seem to have any problems"
I have an aunt who has a daschund and the only problem is that every once in a while he will have an accident on the floor, and she is constantly critisizing me about Maya... "I thought you were training her" she will say when she comes over and Maya is to rambunctious or wont listen to me.

Awww, I'm sorry you're going through this. If you like, do a search and read some of my old threads on Voodoo. It'll certainly make you feel better about Maya's antics.

But seriously, it's just something that certain puppies go through. I promise it will get better if you're persistant. It'll seem like you're getting nowhere and that all your efforts in vain. Then, months from now, you suddenly realize that your dog hasn't destroyed anything for several weeks. That how it seems to work with my trouble puppies.

Don't get disheartened! We're here for you.

thanks Gempress...
I am about to lose my mind though... lol

not sure if this would help--but to get greater benefit from her walks, put a back pack on her, with some weights in it--not too heavy, but enough for her to notice. It will make her exert a little more energy, and make her change her focus during your walks. Just a suggestion...

I've been around a lot of Dobermans, and they can definitely be pretty difficult as pups/young adults, but especially so if they're poorly bred. It does get better though - it just takes lots of time, and lots of patience. It'll be worth it in the end!

Is it possible for you to keep her on a leash in the house periodically during the day to make her more understanding of the rules? That works for a lot of people. I don't really have any other advice, as others have said the same things I would have. I hope things get better for you.

How much is TONS of exercise? I thought in other threads that it wasn't that much. For Rah, he played fetch and ran flat out for a minimum of 1-2 hours a day when he was younger, in addition to training and walks. And that was just to get him to sleep at night.

She's a puppy. That's what puppies are - not trustworthy. I would never expect a young dog under a year old to be good UNLESS you had everything picked up and all the doors are shut. Rah is almost 2.5 and he still cannot be left loose unless he is contained in the kitchen and the trash is picked up, he's got a gate up, all the food is put in the microwave, etc...

Hi Maya's mom. Ditto Doberkims' post. As you now know, Dobies are a very busy, very active breed. Ha! They're slow to mature, need to be well supervised and well exercised. My Dobie is still considered a pup at 1 yr of age. He's up and out first thing in the am for a 1/2 hr exercise. He runs 6 acres while I'm feeding horses and other animals. He then comes in for breakfast and is kept quiet for awhile. He then loads up in the car and goes with me to train or is back out for a train session in the yard. Midday he gets a 1 hr group play with my boarders. He's then fed 4 to 5 pm and is out twice before bed. Twenty min. minimum, each break. I'm with him, always, for these breaks. Amazing what they can get into when left to their own devises. Even after approx. 3 total hours of hands on exercise and training per day, this is still a pup that gets the zoomies in the hallway. Will grab a shoe while everyone is quietly watching t.v. and take off in hopes of soliciting a chase game. He'll lay at your feet content to get a tummy rub then suddenly spring up and pounce up and down slamming his front paws into the ground like a bull challenging you to come and get him. This is a Dobie pup. Hang in there!

When you have to leave her hide treats, chew toys and things like that. she will surely like to find them. As for training it takes lots of time [as you know] and just praise when she does even a little step to what you want.Also, I am reading "the Culture Clash" By: Jean Donaldson. It is good and I think it might help you. Also give her bones such as Kongs, hole bones,ect. that you can stuff. Put part of her dinner,a treat, ect in the bone and she will have a lot of fun.

Trust me Jennifer, this is n-o-r-m-a-l for a Doberman puppy girl. Ilsa was *terrible* as a puppy, really horrible. She was into everything, ate everything she shouldn't, even took to pooping in my parents' bedroom - just because she'd get away with it.

And look at Ilsa now - she's wonderful. She finally grew up around 3 year old or so... I still remember calling my friend (who has Ronin's sister), excited beyond belief, because Ilsa sent ONE day without being naughty. This same friend went through h-e-l-l with Ronin's sister... she and her husband literally did not watch TV for a year, Ginna was so naughty. She was even worse than Ilsa!

Just be patient, keep on training using positive methods. From what I've seen of Maya, she's definitely one of the "busier" dobermans I've met. When I mean "busy"... think of Ronin. He's nearly 4, and he's very fidgety. He has to be in motion if I'm in motion, he's liek a little kid with ADHD. What has worked for him is twofold:

1. Maturity. Ronin's getting older, he's getting calmer. Right now, he's flopped over on his side next to my chair, snoring. 18 months ago, and he would have been panting incessantly in my face, bumping my arm with his nose, running from room to room.

2. External factors. If he's really anxious, he gets Nature's Remedy or Nerve. I usually have the radio on a soothing CD, or NPR - white noise to lull him into an octave lower than he's normally at. If he's jittery, he gets a doggie massage. If he's destructive, he gets a ball stuffed with cookies or a chewy bone.

She'll straighten out in time... meanwhile, just hang in there!

Mafia I agree with the age. With all of my dogs past & present except for the mastiff breeds, when they reached 2 years old, they behaved. It was like they knew they were 2 and weren't supposed to act like puppies getting into mischief any longer.

I know EXACTLY what you are going through. I have an 11 month old dobe right now. when he was around 5-8months I seriously felt so disconnected from him that if he wasn't so cute, I would hate him. He ruined so much of my stuff and no matter how much I worked with him he wouldn't remain consistent. I had to keep him crated constantly when I could not watch him and I just learned to live that way. At 11 months now, I've remained consistent and he has totally turned around. He is finally starting to grow out of all of that behavior. He listens to me very well now. Inside the house he never misses a command. I still have to crate him but I am slowly and I mean SLOWLY warming him up to staying home alone. I'll let him exercise so he gets worn out then leave him alone in the house for 15-30 minutes or so and when I come back if nothing is decimated, I reward him. If he is just sitting around the house being calm, I will on occasion just reward him for being wonderful.

All I can stress is that this is totally NORMAL and try your very best not to get upset or discouraged, Maya's day will come where you two will operate as one if you just remain consistent with her training and give her that love.

One thing that might help in the house is to teach her a "place" command. You can set up a tether system at first if needed, but basically you are teaching her to go to a specific place (a dog bed is what I use) and stay there until released. It helps in a number of ways. First, the dog can be in the house, hanging out with you, but without getting into mischief since the only things on their "place" are things they are allowed to have. Second it teaches the dog how to settle. It's kind of like putting them in a crate, but without the barrier, which can cause frustration since the dog wants to be out with you, and usually the dog bed is a little bigger.


There are quite a few articles online outlining the basics of teaching this. These sites give a variety of methods, depending on your style of training. You can find a lot more sites if you google "teach dog place command" or "train dog place command"
http://www.catalystmagazine.net/regulars/good-dog/good-dog-teaching-your-dog-to-settle.html
http://www.wikihow.com/Train-Your-Dog-to-Place


This is actually an mp3 file you can download and listen to
http://leerburg.com/dogtrainingpodcasts.htm

My place training isn't as strict as some people's, but I do the basic concept with my young dogs, and usually by 7 or 8 months they are hanging out in the house with me, with me keeping a casual eye on them but not having to give them 110% of my focus. They will lay down and chew on a toy, nap, etc while I'm on the computer, or watching TV, etc. I don't have a formal "place" in each room of the house, but the dogs just kind of pick their own "place" and transfer the concept from location to location depending on the room we are in.