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E-mail received at dog fun on 21/08/01.

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Dear Jade,
I am a 6 month old doberman tangerina and I am presenting my owner with a problem with my barking. Well two problems actually.

If I am out walking off the lead meeting strange people or dogs I never bark. When I am at home or at work with my owner I bark aggesively at anyone that comes into or near either property.

My owner recognises that I am a bit of a scardy cat (sorry no offence intended) but on Saturday her 3 year old nephew came into the house and I frightened the bejusus out of him. As there are only adults in my home I didn't know what to do with the little chap so I barked very loudly. The problem is there are two other toddlers and a soon to be new baby in the extended family and my owner naturally wants the children to gain pleasure from knowing dogs.

Any ideas Yours loudly Pharaoh

Jade's reply.

Dear Pharaoh,
Thank you for your e-mail it sounds as though you are having it 'ruff' at the moment. From what you describe in your first point your Doberman is acting in a typical manner. Your dog is guarding what it feels is it's territory, your home and your place of work. When you are out walking with your dog it is not so keen to bark because it knows that this area is not it's territory and there is no need to guard it. With this breed guarding comes naturally and you will never stop what is a natural behaviour. Things will definitely calm down as at 6 months your dog will be over enthusiastic and will not have learned how you want it to act. Rather
that try to eliminate this behaviour, I would suggest that you should work on teaching your dog how to alert you to the fact that someone is coming into your territory. Don't aim to stop the barking just aim to control it. Teach your dog to bark once to alert you but then to leave it at that. If when your dog barks if it gets told off or shouted at this will help to make it upset and nervous and will have the affect of making it more unsettled the next time someone passes by. If when it barks once you can get it to come to you for a fuss or a treat it will become more settled and hopefully start to focus on your response to its actions. Be aware that this is also rewarding your dog for barking and could have the opposite effect if not monitored carefully, just consider that your dog will take everything literally and you will need to explain exactly what you want from it. As
for Jade she will bark on the command guard but also stop barking on the
command leave, this can come in handy in both respects. If you are successful you will reduce the nuisance, your dog will still be happy doing what it feels is it's job and should the wrong kind of person come to your property they will be aware of who is on patrol. Just give it time.

Your second problem sounds fairly straight forward, you should work on socialising your dog and increasing its confidence. The best way do this is without doubt through a local dog training class. Doberman's are very clever dogs and can learn most things but they need to be taught. As you said yourself the problem was not your 3 year old nephew but the fact that your dog did not know how to behave with a small person. You need to teach your dog that there is no need to be scared and that the appropriate behaviour is not to bark. It sounds to me as though you have a dog that is keen to play its part in the pack (your family) but is at the moment unsure how it should be acting and what the rules are. One
good tip is to make such meetings fun. Consider this if your nephew comes to call, your dog barks and gets told off thrown out into the garden etc., the next time your nephew calls your dog will think oh no not him again this is all going to be negative. If when your nephew calls you all get to play a game together or your dog gets some extra fuss hopefully your dog will start to look forward to the next time he comes calling. Training your dog to sit, fetch, stay etc. will also all help to explain that you give the orders and they are to be obeyed and the more that your dog learns its proper roll the more that it will calm down. The most important thing is to keep everything positive.

I must point out that I am assuming that your dog is not naturally aggressive, you should monitor all meeting with strangers etc. and be aware of the danger that a 30kg dog can create. If you do not make any progress you should seek help from qualified professionals. I just thought that I should point that out! Anyway I hope that this is of help, good luck to you all.

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!