Dober-dragon

Well its officially hallowe'en and since we don't have kids ( thank goodness) of course poor lexx has to get dressed up for a trot around the neighbourhood. Even though i would love to dress him up as some demonic image, I feel it would be bad for the breed and I have the creativity of a spoon.

A few weeks ago however, kyle returned home with the perfect costume. So here it is, the Dober-Dragon!

mom... I hate you


no really.. i hate you


ok without the hat, not so bad





someone please tell mom that she's abusing me....



Im pretty excited to take him walking tonight... its going to be great!

vet appointment update

Lexx had a vet appointment on tuesday, i haven't had the chance to update everyone about it yet.

He's currently gone 8 whole weeks without a seizure. Not even a hint of seizure behaviour, nothing. I'm so happy, relieved and proud of my boy for hanging in there through all this scary stuff. Ever since he's started on his meds ( low level potassium bromide only) he has been acting a little bit different, in a mostly positive way. When he first started I noticed signs of ataxia, but it seems to have subsided. Other than that, he just loves to eat now.

I spent the first 14 months of lexx's life being stressed out at every meal because he had a strong hatred for eating. I can't explain it any other way than a hatred. Dogs are supposed to LOVE food I kept thinking to myself, SOMETHING has to be wrong. Every time he turned his nose up at a meal, i hated myself more for doing something wrong. every time someone commented on how small he was, i was sure it was all my fault. I was feeding him Raw, it was supposed to be the best option... I spent months researching and hundreds of dollars on food, cleaning supplies, supplements... all to no avail, he would sometimes go days without eating a thing.

Now, he's eating kibble. boring, dry kibble. Notably, its Wellness CORE high quality high protein kibble, but I still can't see the draw next to a big juicy steak. Now, he will PLOW over me for every meal. he licks the bowl clean and asks for more. can't explain it, but I'm not arguing. He is eating almost twice the recommended amount to give and has yet to gain a pound.. ok ONE pound, but thats it.

All of his vaccinations are now up to date and we discussed his neuter which I'm hoping to get done before then end of the year. i was holding out to see if he'd gain weight, or get taller..... but since neither seems to be happening, i guess i'll just have to be satisfied with my little guy just the way he is.

People often comment on his small stature and i always smile and say, "well he's within the proper standard" and act like i don't care one bit. But the truth is, i DO care. I AM disappointed. I'm sorry, maybe I'm a jerk for saying this, but quite honestly, I haven't really gotten ANYTHING that i wanted from this dog other than the best friend i've ever had. ( which don't get me wrong, is worth a lot to me and I'd never trade him for anything).

I had a list of expectations for a doberman. Good sized ( nope), defensive ( nope), easy to train (nope), showable even if it was just for fun ( nope), cuddly ( not really so much)... I see people with their velcro dogs and their rally dogs and i always think to myself... what did i do wrong...

but all that aside, he seems to be HEALTHY again, which is the biggest and most important thing. People can tell me that i'm an awful person for being bitter than he's not bigger, but its the way i feel and I can't change it.

aggression issues

Well.. one of my biggest fears seems to be materializing before my very eyes. My sweet, loving, friendly, "wants to love everyone" doberman is showing signs of aggression. Towards dogs.

Im happy that its dogs and not people, but I'm still not terribly happy that its happened at all. I was pretty psyched that he didn't seem to have any lasting issues from his attack a month ago... but it would seem that I was wrong, and that the symptoms have simply taken awhile to appear.

Yesterday I took Lexx for a walk after work. He'd been alone for 8 hours, so he was a big ball of bouncy excitement. I had planned on walking around the 1km block to the park to let him have a run, then to continue walking and pick Kyle up at work ( about another 1.5 kms away).

As we turned the first corner, my neighbour's mini schnauzer came bounding off his lawn, electric fence collar on ( and apparently not working), owners nowhere in sight. This dog is known to be dog aggressive, he's barked and growled at Lexx before and once when we let them meet he went for Lexx in a very rude fashion. Needless to say i was NOT impressed and kept him far from lexx with my foot until he turned and ran home. At this point I thought Lexx was being a good boy. He was excited that a dog-friend had run over to say hi, but was in no way acting badly. I continued our walk with a whining, trilling, bouncing doberboy who, in the most accurate way I can describe it, was PROTESTING that he had not been allowed to play. Tirill Trill Trill, bounce bounce bounce, grumble grumble grumble.

As we turned the NEXT corner we came across another neighbour with her 9 month old pug. She asked if lexx was friendly ( which i said yes to) and asked if she could say hello ( which i also said yes to). She approached quietly and lexx wiggled his nubbin and said hello to her. THEN he realized that she had the pug with him and as he stared at it, he started a low growl whcih transformed into a snarl. I immediately pulled him away and made him sit in a firm voice said "NO we will NOT have THAT behaviour". I explained that the other dog had rushed him and apologized for his rudeness.

She didn't seem concerned in the least but I felt TERRIBLE. This isn't being a good ambassador for the breed at ALL.

Now, several things happened here that were my own mistake.

First off, I knew he was frazzled and shouldn't have allowed him to say hello at all.
Second the pug is an unaltered MALE and I should have recognized this and not allowed him to say hello.

but im so used to my dog getting along with everyone, all the time. After seeing that dog fight I'm petrified to allow him to run free with other dogs again. I'm nervous that something will happen again. I'm sure that he's sensing that and going more on the defensive.

after i returned home, I mentioned the incident to Kyle who told me that when he was visiting his mom in PA with Lexx last weekend, a dog had rushed up the street side while they were walking him and barked at them. Apparently Lexx got huge and just growled and showed his teeth and was "very unhappy with this dog's presence" as Kyle described it.

I don't so much have an issue with him being defensive against rushing/barking dogs while he's on leash, but I'm concerned about growly or aggressive behaviour when its in a controlled situation, like meeting another dog who is NOT barking/running at him.

not sure what to do now...

The dobercow

Lately, since the ticks are gone after the frost, Kyle and I have made a point of taking Lexx for a 40 minute ish off leash run on the paths behind our house. He thoroughly enjoys this time, and we always take him immediately in the morning, post yawn, pre breakfast.

hes required to stay on leash as we pass through our neighbours back yard until we pass through the tree line and hit the path where he knows that he has to sit politely, and shaking in anticipation of freedom, wait until i say OK after unclipping the leash.

The immediate response is a BURST of doberzoomies, "woww i'm free, i've never been free ever beforeee" ( this from the dog with the massive fenced back yard) but the paths are truly his favourite place.

The walk includes a lot of pee-mail leaving, zoomie laps around mom/dad and running ahead, stopping and glancing back with an undeniable look that says " geez could you walk a little faster guys? there is cool stuff up there!" even though we never limit his range, he has a self limiter on his "distance from mommy" radar.

This ensues for the entire way out to our turning point ( about a mile).

The way back is a frantic, nose to the ground, follow my own/my mom/my dad's path. tracking adn snuffling and bouncing in joy we turn towards home...

then at some point.. the dobercow emerges and he starts eating grass from everywhere.. zoom, eat some grass, tear it out and shake it like prey then GULP, down it goes. bounce, eat more... etc etc for at least the last ten minutes of the walk.

This wouldn't bother me so much, but lexx has a terribly sensitive stomach, and this always leads to mom having to clean up dog puke from her once light green but now light blueish gross carpet. or, diarreah full of grass.

WHY? why does he INSIST on eating it every day? WHY? i KNOW that scallops make me sick, so i don't eat them! Its really simple... I just don't understand.

Having been the owner of an intact male doberman teen for the past few months, one thing i feel i've learned is to pick my battles. In the beginning, the dobercow battle was worth it to me... but as it turns out.. I don't think I'll ever win.

Training update-october 15

sorry for the long wait, I didn't get the chance to write before I left for my conference in Tahoe California.

The day before I left, Lexx and I had a training date at the local park.

We started by working on calm, quiet walking. Lexx has a habit of getting very anxious and stressed and the more stressed he gets, the worse he acts, the more the prong works and the more stressed he gets. So, i've been working on maintaining a calm, leadership attitude and starting every training session with calm walking at my side, back and forth in a straight line for around 10 minutes.

This sounds incredibly boring, and I will admit, it is. It really works though. He relaxes and starts to trot along beside me in a good pace and relatively straight at that.

After our calming exercises we worked on focus, this is coming along quite nicely. We worked on fronts, turns from my shoulders and lateral movement with focus. He's excelling at following me from the front with his head UP and eyes on me. I'm quite proud of him in this respect.

We then worked on recalls for around 10 minutes, though he's very good about COMING he's rarely straight in the finish and sometimes has to be reminded to get his little nubbin to me. I've been working on the recalls from a shorter distance and being adamant about a STRAIGHT finish.

We did some work on heeling, practicing our stops and sits near the park fence to make sure that he was straight. He's learning not to back up when he sits and actually stopped and sat immediately a few times.

We've started driling the "get in" command. I've been utilizing Kim's " get it get it get it" game, and he seems to be taking to it, though as expected his sits are rarely straight.

The biggest difference that I saw in this session was that lexx seemed to be really TRYING to please me. If he didn't get a nice straight finish, we'd try again until he did, then tonnes of treats and energy. He didn't get it everytime, but i could see him trying, focusing on me, trying to determine exactly what it is that i want of him. This is a dramatic difference in the last month. before this, most of the time my largest frustration is that he just doesn't seem to CARE about what i want. He doesn't seem driven to please... all these things that dobemans are SUPPOSED to want...

I am in a constant state of questioning myself. Lexx is my first dog, my first doberman and my first time training a novice dog. I know that he's a challange because I've had several experienced dog trainers and dog owners say "wow... thats a challange.." but at the same time, I'm sure that he's WAY smarter than I am. Im sure that 90% of the time I'm just not asking him properly.

My biggest improvment is my ability to handle frustration. Im not a patient person. I'm not a person that can handle stupidity from people around me, or anything else from that matter. My other issue is that i tend to be very good at things. I don't say this to gloat or brag, its just a fact, I do tend to be good at things... mostly because i only DO things that i'm good at.

Dog training? This is NOT something that i seem to be good at, atleast not immediately. Its been a large challange for me.

I am thankful that Lexx is here to teach me all these skills, patience, tolerance, challanging myself on a daily basis.

Thanks Lexxball for hanging in there!

Thanksgiving!

Yesterday was thanksgiving here in Canada. I was actually excited about it since my dad is in town and we were making a big turkey dinner. I invited three of the girls that I work with who are all from out of the city ( and country for two of them) and they didn't have anywhere else to go. Can't have that!

One of the girls was terrified of animals period. Imagine a doberman when you're afraid of cats!!! I was a little concerned about this since Lexx still believes that everyone comes into this house to see HIM and demands that every single visitor scratch his ears and tell him how wonderful and handsome he is... and he's still rather bouncy about it.

Needless to say, when they got here we just put lexx outside. When i brought him in, held his collar and we greeted each person individually, staying calm and in control of our urges to jump on people ( a habit that i cannot seem to break him of when he's at home and excited to see people).

After the introduction, he just ignored everyone. Ruth even stated that she quite liked him as dogs go because he just ignored her.

He spent the majority of the evening sleeping on the couch or begging for turkey scraps ( bad boy!!) but was very calm and well behaved and I think acted as quite a good ambassador for the breed, which made me proud

Training class-Oct 11th 2008

Lexx had a private lesson today. Last time we were there he was such a MESS that we decided that maybe a private lesson was in order.

Started out with some "calming" walking, when he gets anxious he fights everything, you, the leash, the prong collar... it turns into a disaster and you just have to work through it, walk forward in a confident but consistent way until he gets a clue and calms down. It didn't take long when he was alone, less distractions and less thinking with his male parts than his brain.

Heeling work went well and his focus was bang on. His lateral movements to the right are becoming smooth with my shoulders actually controlling the movement of his hind end, enabling him to track sideways in a straight fashion. For some reason the left is harder for both of us, but we're working on it, hopefully next class we'll have that one down too.

Worked on his send out today, sending him around a barrel and back to me. Surprisingly this went alright today, but I think he REALLY wanted the steak in my pocket and figured out that he only got it when he went AROUND the barrel, not beside it and back.

Continuing working on his stupid sits. Its difficult since he gets so anxious about them and it ruins a nice heel. Eventually we had him doing them every so often, but I still can't get him doing them close together ( ie I have to walk a LONG way between them ) or he starts to get upset about it. He still twists his bum out and tries to BACK into them, leaving him too far behind my leg. I've been leaning down and scooping his bum under him while holding and rather right leash so he cant back up. Its working slowly, but this is one thing that i find very frustrating and slow. I just don't understand how HE DOESN"T GET IT. Working on the "get in" should help this, atleast that way i can correct if he sits too far. I just wish that he'd do it the first time, every time.

tracking went well today, considering this dog can't find a treat that you drop right in front of him on a tile floor, finding things in grass should be hopeless, but hes actually moderately skilled at it. We definitely need to practice, but I think this will be a good training break for him as he seems to enjoy it.

overall i'd rate this class 7/10 for his behaviour, definitely still needs a lot of work, but he is getting there.

the chuck it

kyle bought lexx a chuckit. This isn't a new development, we've had it a few weeks now, but i was thinking about it today ( what else is there to think about while writing grants anyways?)

At first I was shocked. You bought Lexx a WHAT?....YOU? The person who has to be reminded 4 times to pick of dog food... the person who sighs and shakes his head everytime we go to a pet store and I'm running around like a maniac "wouldn't lexx love this??!" "Wouldn't this look handsome on lexx??" "Doesn't lexx need one of these!!??".. YOU bought Lexx a TOY?

Anyways, joyfull, the toy was purchased. An energy burning, play with daddy toy.

It has been determined that Lexx has a very "individual" way of playing chuck-it...

When you so much as look at it, he starts bouncing, squeaking,quivering in anticipation. if you take too long to throw it he jumps at you, barks and generally grumbles about the stupidity of human kind, and jeez seriously how long does it REALLY take to THROW THE BALL!

When you launch it, he's off like a rocket, full, swept back fast ears flying over the ground at a blistering pace....

then he ignores the actual ball all together.
zooms in the direction of the throw, then zooms back to your feet, waiting happily for the next throw.

Begrudgingly, we trek across the field/backyard/trail to find the now partially lost ball. Sighing and grumbling as Lexx bounces along at our side, interested in what we might possibly be looking for.

When the ball is found, he pounces on it, fighting you to let HIM pick it up, i mean it is HIS ball after all.

The ball is replaced in the plastic cup and the game starts again.

I feel that one of two things is happening here:
ONE: Lexx is missing understanding of the fundamental principle of CATCH. He loves the throw, but cares not for the target or the return
TWO: Lexx is smarter than both of us, and has fabricated himself a "ball throwing and retrieving" machine.

dobermans...

Training update, October 7

So, this is my first training update for Lexx.

Today I decided to take Lexx up to the local park to do some training exercises with him. His focus is normally pretty sporadic but we're improving day by day.

We worked on a lot of heeling and focus exercises today. I'm really really happy with Lexx's heeling progress. He's really learning to keep his focus up on my face and not to crowd me when we're moving forward. He had the most irritating habit of moving almost sideways so that his front paws would get caught up under my left foot.  This would cause me to step on his foot every so often, an excuse for him to look like a broken, abused and horribly treated dog, while, obviously ruining his focus.  I am pleased that he is learning to stay farther back while just leaving his head at my thigh so that he can look up at me.

Using a jute has been a large breakthrough in his training. His food motivation is increasing all the time, but his prey drive is becoming absolutely amazing and he LOVES to heel for his jute.

Today we worked on right turns cued by my shoulder, which I was surprised that he picked up right away.  His only issue now seems to be that when I U turn, he moves too far out from my leg, we'll have to work on it.

I've taken Kim's advice and started working his sits right next to a barrier to prevent him from twisting to the side when we stop. He knows that he has to sit when I stop, but hasn't QUITE picked up the whole "straight" thing.

Our progress on "tuck" sits has been horrendous, he just isn't picking it up at all, and now he gets nervous when he thinks i might tuck his bum for him.

All and all today was a great day, I'm proud of my boy.

here's a picture!

everyone has to take it easy on me!

Just started this blog... take it easy on me, I'm FAR from computer intelligent.  This is mostly here to log Lexxington's training, behavior and health!

Enjoy!