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E-mail received at dog fun on 07/06/01.

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Hello Jade.
Your site was one of those I came across while looking up info on Dobermans. May I compliment you on an interesting, informative site ! I have made print-outs of the training tips you offer and I will visit again in the hope of learning more.

My (unregistered) Doberman had to be put down recently because of an ailment which the vets were unable to identify. The dog was two-and-a-half years old. What a friend !!.

After some searching, I have been able to source a very well bred 6-month old dog. (At the time of writing I haven't seen the dogs, but will be doing so this week).

The male dog has an undescended testicle -- it is six months old. I may be able to get get this dog at a cost suiting my pocket. I wonder if you could advise on the following:

1.) We have a female border collie. I need to know how to phase the new dog "in" with as little trauma as possible to either dog.

2.) How am I going to get the new Dobe to "trust" me? Eg my eight-year-old son could shove his hand into my other Dobe's mouth and pull his bone away. (OK I used to freeze when he did that, but the dog had been taught that food and hands go together).

3.) Any tips that you can suggest for settling in the new dog and starting
training.

Thanks, Hugh

Jade's reply.

Dear Hugh,
Thank you for your e-mail and for the compliment about my web site. When introducing your new dog you should concentrate on sharing your time and your attention between both dogs to avoid elevating either dog. Be very aware that both dogs will go through lots of emotions as a result of being thrown together, if you pay particular attention to making life fun for all concerned for the first few weeks this will pay great dividends in the months to come. Lots of treats, lots of fuss and lots of fun will show your new dog that this will be a nice home and equally your old dog that life will not be to bad with the new arrival on the scene. To a large extent you will have to see how they interact and act upon the results but the main thing is to keep things positive. Have a look at this web page it has some good advice (Introducing your new dog to your resident dog @ http://www.ddfl.org/behavior/intro.htm ) Pay particular attention to the meeting on neutral ground section.

As far as trust is concerned I don't believe that you can have short cuts.
Obviously food will play a big part but in general if you treat him well and give him a good home he should re-pay you given time. The one point that I would make is not to expect too much to quickly as he will be going through quite an upheaval and could be unsettled for a time.

The most important point with training is routine. Decide on commands and stick to them if you want your dog to return to your side don't say 'come boy' one day and 'heel boy' another. Take advantage of things that he does in his normal routine, if you see him start to sit say it as he does this 'sit, sit, sit'. He will then start to associate this command with that action, this applies to lots of things i.e. down, come, fetch, give etc. Be patient you might be surprised to learn that I walk backward in a straight line on the command back so it is surprising how far you can go but it all takes time.

I hope that this is of some help to you. Good luck with your new dog.

All the best, Jade the Doberman

As with the rest of Dog Fun we are only offering advice, we have learned a lot through our own experience and would like to further that knowledge with your help. If you have any good tips or advice that would help dog owners drop us a line to jade@dogfun.co.uk and we will display your advice and give you credit for your help!