Do(s) and Don't(s) for Dobermans
- NEVER let your Doberman or any dog eat chocolate, onions or grapes. These are deadly to your puppy. Our Dobermans love apples, however, and these are OK to give to your puppy. So are carrots, which make their coats darker and shinier. Cooking up some left over carrots and mashing them into their food is a wonderful treat. I will even give my Doberman raw cut up carrots and apples as treats when training them to do tricks.
- NEVER feed your Doberman Chicken bones. Beef bones are OK, (not all the time and not recommended as your Dobie ages because it is easy for teeth to be broken or damaged when eating bones), but NEVER, EVER feed them PORK OR CHICKEN bones. ESPECIALLY chicken bones which splinter and will lacerate the insides of your Doberman and can kill them if left untreated.
- NEVER feed them rawhide or let them play with a tennis ball after the tennis ball can fit entirely into the Dobie’s mouth. This was a wonderful tip told to me by another Doberman breeder. She lost two Doberman dogs. One to a rawhide that got stuck in its throat and the other to a tennis ball that was lodged in another Dobie’s throat. Both were senseless deaths that were very traumatic for the owner.
- BEWARE of walking your pet on lawns. If people use fertilizers or pesticides they can be absorbed into the pads of your Doberman’s paws and when they lick their feet they will ingest the poison. If your pet accidently walks in an unknown lawn make sure to wipe his or her feet carefully after taking a walk with a wet wash cloth.
- Make sure you exercise your Dobie DAILY! A long walk in the morning and a long walk when you get home are great ways to bond with your pet and burn off unwanted energy. If your pet starts to misbehave, take them for a run. You will be amazed at the attitude adjustment the exercise brings about. If you aren’t up for the run, toss a ball for him or her to retrieve. They will get tired quickly. We recently bought a treadmill for our Dobies and they LOVE it. There was a major adjustment period where our Dobies tried to fight being on the treadmill, but now, Nickel gets all excited when I ask him if he wants to get on his treadmill and he will even hop on it and wait for me to hook him to a leash tied around the top of the treadmill.
- Do NOT EVER leave your Doberman in the elements. They do not have a heavy enough coat for our Indiana winters and if the cold does not kill your Doberman, it will shorten his or her life. You are also not taking full advantage of your Dobie's love. Unlike most breeds, the Dobie is a people dog. They want to be with you 24/7 and do anything to make you happy. A Doberman is not living a happy life unless he or she is in the shadow of his or her owner. Trust me. For those of you who have had Dobermans, you know exactly what I mean when I say you will never go to the bathroom alone once you let a Dobie into your home.
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