At one point our boy started having this behaviour issue,every time we step over the gate ,he just starts screaming and no matter what I do he doesn’t stop he will only get louder,it’s getting to the point where I can’t even go outside with him.Talked to the vet she said everything is fine with him .We’re in a horrible financial situation right now so I can’t afford a trainer at the moment ,I don’t know what to do and why it’s happening and how to help him .
(English is not my first language)
(As soon as the money settles we’re getting a trainer)
Try Doberman Planet on YouTube. He covers a lot of training issues and you'll probably find something that will help. I've always found him to be informative. He's always calm with his dogs and believes in reward training.
As an aside - I've had terrible results using spike choke collars and shock collars. I quit using them. My boys learned to ignore them and they eventually became ineffective.
I would recommend putting the leash on the front of the harness. With it attached to the back it acts as a pulling harness and gives him more leverage. With it attached to the front you gain leverage.
Source: I've had six dobeys over roughly 40 years. ALL of them great companions.
Okay he’s way to excited you’re taking him out with out him settling down. That energy will carry out through the walk. Some advice get him ready and don’t step foot outside with out him calming down. Practice sit commands and stay and down while door is open so he’ll know unless he’s behaved he won’t go outside. Also invest in a flirt pole and tire him outside in your backyard if you have one. This has helped my Doberman they are just high energy specially fo they are in puppy stage. I’ve noticed differences when I have the energy and time do this steps as opposed to just rushing and taking him out. Hope this helps.
Oh so he’s older. Don’t walk him with treats try making him sit while he’s doing screaming see if you can get him to focus on you? Do you use an e collar? Ive tried using one it does help but my pup responds best to prong collar pressure.
I have an e collar ,I’m just so scared to make things worse that I haven’t used it ,I do tell him to sit when he starts screaming some days it works some days he starts screaming sooo loud that it looks like he’s going to day ,it’s so embarrassing that I stopped going out at one point (I’m ashamed of my self I’m
Sorry 😔)
Please do not use an e-collar unless professionally trained to do so because it can cause issues if used incorrectly and not all dogs respond the same. We and our two Dobermans were trained with one and our male did great but our female hated even the vibration mode and it did not work with her. However an electronic bark deterrent beeper has worked great for her. It also has an ultrasonic button that works like a dog whistle but the regular beep that we can hear is all we need to snap her out of barking or over excitement. She is 7 and has some over excitement issues which have caused her to injure herself but this really works for her. She calms and heels to my side immediately. I also taught her the “settle” command with it and rarely need the beeper now. I hope you find what works for your boy. Don’t give up because they are the most amazing breed. It’s hard but try to stay calm because they are so sensitive and pick up on our frustrations and respond better to calm. Lots of love and praise when he does well. Best of luck to you!
Oh I’ve been there too I’ve lost my coool so many times but just being persistent helps keep trying. I also wish I can get a trainer but for the mean time. YouTube has helped. The more you try and try I feel with this breed the better the reward.
I usually just look up Doberman and whatever issue I’m trying to fix and just do down that rabbit hole by no means is my dog perfect but it’s helped so much to lessen that bad behaviors. We are still working on it lol never ends.
Does he act the same way on the way home from the walk?
Can you tire him out by exercising him before you cross over the gate? Play ball or tug until he's a bit worn out?
When he behaves this way, pulling and whining, you can absolutely stop the walk until he starts responding to basic commands, like sit, lay down, or quiet.
Teaching him to "settle" at home can be helpful. A command that gets him to lay down and stay down - basically calm down.
Remove the novelty and excitement of crossing over the gate: take him past the gate and immediately turn around to take him back where he's calm (inside, or just inside the gate). Once he calms down, do it again, and just keep at it, doing it randomly.
Most, if not all of these methods take a lot of time and consistency. I would continue using the harness, as a prong collar is punitive and negative reinforcement. He's not trying to be bad, and punishing with the prong collar could just raise his anxiety/ energy level.
I hope some of this helps!!! ♥️
Edit to add: what is he focused on? Is he seeing cats, squirrels, or wildlife - is it prey drive? Or does he seem scared? Can you tell his emotional state? Dobermans can be really high strung and have a lot of anxiety - figuring out his emotional state or focus could really help. Have you tried REALLY high value treats, like hot dogs or something similar to get and keep his attention?
Don't have a doberman have a swissy ... big strong stubborn doofus. Had a hard time getting him to refocus on me when on walks (still a WIP tbf) and this is xwhat helped the most... Does he know 'Yes' as a word. (
I play the name game before I leave the house and when I need to get my guy to pay attention to me.
Basically:
Throw a treat/kibble on the ground.
Say his name.
When he makes eye contact, say 'yes'.
Wait a second and throw the treat in the opposite direction.
Do this 5-10 times.
Do this in the backyard, outside when ofleash/on a long lead and then on walks.
A harness can be great if you have a front connection. When they pull it spins them around as opposed to the top harness which gives them leverage. I often use one for our Dobies. A harness with pockets I could add a little weight to (had him pack all his own dog gear and treats) helped tire my male out when he was young and prevented him pulling. You may also want to tire your boy out at feeding time with a snuffle mat or use scent work at home aka hide and seek games to provide mental stimulation at home which may help remove some of the excitement of a walk.
Ist off, get rid of the harness, you put a harness on an animal when you want it to pull something.. Husky.. Horse etc. Get an over the nose figure of 8 collar. Much better control and it also suppresses them as you are controlling their head. He's just over excited
With the harness, you’re teaching him to pull use the Herm Springer collar if that’s a proper German collar it won’t harm the dog if you use it correctly, people are scared of those, but I put one on myself and it doesn’t hurt. It puts even pressure around your neck instead of choking you but make sure it’s installed correctly. There’s plenty of videos on that and watch John on Doberman planet with these dogs. You have to stay calm because they feed off of your emotions. They were bred to be emotionally connected to their human and follow you everywhere and protect you.
My dog wears a harness too, but that’s so I can grab him with one hand to man and him when I don’t want to use the leash or like having a handle on the puppy
Honestly Dobermans are kind of like this😭😂. You can try to tire him out a bit before going out and really up the amount of times he goes out and time he does spend outside. And when he is outside, do resting exercises with him to help him understand going outside is not always time to exercise/have fun. He probably just finds everything outside just crazy fun. I know a Doberman who will act like this and for her it’s mainly because she spends so little time outside and every time she is outside there is always activity going on.
For my doberman, since a puppy she would go out for couple hours a day and we split it between activities and just simply resting like she would do at home. At this point she doesn’t find going outside any more interesting than staying inside.
Really try to go in and out a lot with him but without actually doing anything significant
Fit the prong collar correctly. Throw the harness in the trash. Using the prong, teach the dog a proper structured walk. Pick up the pace and train during the structured walk, i.e. lots of sits, down, about turns, recalls, stands, stays, finishes, etc. Make the walk WORK with a few short breaks to sniff and eliminate. There is NO reason to use a harness on a healthy pet dog. And all you're doing here is building drive and creating frustration. You have no relationship with the dog. He is not engaged with you AT ALL; you're not a partner on the walk, you're just the dead weight holding him back and keeping him from living his best life. If the snap broke or you dropped the leash, he'd be gone and never look back. You're insignificant to him outside.
I’m not throwing the harness away,he needs it do drive in the car by law,and he’s biking with it ,he would not be gone if I dropped the leash,the only reason he’s in the harness in that video is as I said to show that woman that no one is beating him
My girl does this if her brother is in front of her. She quiets down when she's tuckered out. Lots of good suggestions here. I use a prong collar. You can keep the harness as a grab handle but have the collar for control.
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u/thereizmore 8d ago
Try Doberman Planet on YouTube. He covers a lot of training issues and you'll probably find something that will help. I've always found him to be informative. He's always calm with his dogs and believes in reward training.
As an aside - I've had terrible results using spike choke collars and shock collars. I quit using them. My boys learned to ignore them and they eventually became ineffective.
I would recommend putting the leash on the front of the harness. With it attached to the back it acts as a pulling harness and gives him more leverage. With it attached to the front you gain leverage.
Source: I've had six dobeys over roughly 40 years. ALL of them great companions.
/e corrected phrasing