Anybody have a doberman?

[BudAshes]

My longtime girlfriend and I are thinking of getting a doberman as our next dog. We already have a St. bernard and a mutt. Just wondering if any atoters have one?

My biggest concern is that we don't have a fenced yard, although we leave the dogs inside when we are gone. Our other dogs are trained not to leave the property and we walk them a few miles everyday, but the mutt is old and saints are easy to train. I'm not sure how hard it would be to keep a doberman from running off every time we let him out. I know I've had 1 wonder up to my house before and I had to take him back home.

 

[LegendKiller]

My parents had a purebread Dob, best fricking dog I've ever seen or owned. My dad had many dogs but Carrie was the best. She was perfectly trained, my dad spent a long time making sure she would obey commands. Mostly she obeyed the first one, sometimes the 2nd, but you rarely had to repeat it a 3rd time.

I would say he worked with her at least an hour every day for a year. After that only rarely, her training lasted for more than 12 years until she was put down because he had a bad back and could barely walk.

She got out of the invisible fence 2 times, once because an asshole went into our yard and kicked her, she ran out after him and bit him (one of only 3 bites, other was a pant-leg warnings for an unannounce visitor, the last was when she was snapping at a bee and accidentally bit my brother in the calf very lightly). The other time was when her battery died.

I could get her going by tapping each side of her head, her jaws would snap like she was going to take my hand off. She would growl and beat the ground but the second she got even close to my hand she had a cotton mouth.

Otherwise she was mostly an indoor dog, perfectly mannered and very good around kids. Even now it breaks my heart to see a Dob, she's been gone for ~10 years.

 

[CZroe]

I have a mini-pinscher who is too retarded to not run out in the parking lot or street if he's ever off lease even though the other, older, dog (Pomeranian-Chihuahua) would never do so. He should follow here lead, but I guess the breed is just too excitable to do this without constant human correction.

Mine recently started tearing things up when I'm away. Yesterday, he destroyed his own bed and a $50 cushion and was tearing up my Harbor Freight coupons as I walked back inside (had been working just outside).

Some people who live in the building I work in have a very well trained one but it took obedience classes and constant control/input.

 

[z1ggy]

I have heard realy good things about them. Obviously you have experience with them...so go for it. I see one or two every now and then at the local dog park and have never seen them get aggressive or anything. One of the brighter dog breeds out there, too.