Doberman Puppies Merseyside - Pet Portraits at Portrait Corner

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You will find adverts to your left but PLEASE check out our home page before buying doberman puppies.

Here are a few random questions with answers generally available on the internet. I hope it gives you food for thought but please do as much research as you possibly can before you go looking for your doberman puppy and make an impulse buy.

Trust me, you will fall in love with all doberman puppies you visit but puppies, doberman or not, should never be bought on impulse.

Doberman Puppies Merseyside Birkenhead, Bootle, Liverpool, Newtown-le-Willows, Prescot, South Wirral, Southport, St Helens, Wallasey, Wirral What are my responsibilities as a new Doberman puppy owner?

Do take your puppy to puppy playschool and obedience training classes and do your homework for these classes. Behaviors that are cute in a 15 pound puppy can be dangerous in a 75 pound doberman. Socialize your puppy with people (especially children) and other dogs frequently (after your puppy has completed its immunization). Your doberman puppy may go through a period known as “adolescent shyness” when it reaches 4-5 months of age. This period can last until the puppy is 12-18 months old. Socializing your puppy from an early age will help minimize this shyness. Expose your doberman puppy to a variety of experiences, but do so gently. You don’t want to traumatize your puppy. Be careful of heavy physical exertion directly before and after eating, especially if your Doberman is a “gulper”. Dobermans puppies can suffer from bloat. If your dog’s abdomen becomes distended and rigid and it can not seem to belch or pass gas, gastric torsion may be the problem. This is an urgent health concern and puppies, doberman and other breeds, should immediately attend the vets.

Are they easy to train?

Yes, very, IF you know what you are doing. The Doberman is very intelligent and eager to please. They will work hard for positive reinforcement. They are not generally stubborn or hard-headed. They pick up new exercises very quickly. Due to their high intelligence level, the biggest challenge is to keep them focused, and not let them get away with ‘inventing’ variations to the exercise being taught. Because of the breed’s extreme sensitivity to people the trainer must always be watchful of their own body language and reactions to issues that come up during a training exercise. As a general rule, a calm demeanour providing quick and clear reward for desired behaviour, while ignoring or, if necessary, simple verbal correction for undesired behaviour, will net you an enthusiastic and talented working partner.

Doberman Puppies Merseyside

What are the grooming needs of a Doberman and how often should they be done?

Maintenance of the Doberman is minimal compared to many other breeds but there are still some areas that require attention.

Good dental health is also a must. Teach the dog early to enjoy having his teeth brushed with a toothbrush and toothpaste designed for dogs. Also, encourage him to chew on toys that are designed to clean teeth and stimulate gums.

Toenails should be kept short. It is best to do them once a week. Long nails can be hazardous. Also, if they are too long the dog will be walking on the nails, as opposed to walking on pads of the feet as they are supposed to, resulting in sore, splayed feet.

SheddingYES, their dark hairs do get on clothing and furniture! There are some things that can be done to help minimize this. Baths with a good quality shampoo that is mild on the skin, as well as regular, consistent grooming with a rubber grooming glove will keep the skin stimulated and the hair healthy plus it will remove the dead hairs before they fall off on the furniture. A good way to cleanse them without bathing too frequently is to make a mixture of 1/3 Listerine Mouthwash, 1/3 glycerine and 1/3 water and put it in a spray bottle. Spray the dog daily and wipe down with a soft cloth. This will keep the dandruff and shedding to a minimum and give your dog a sleek, shiny coat year round. A healthy, parasite free, clean Doberman will shed the least possible.

Doberman Puppies Merseyside

What health issues should I ask about?

The Doberman unfortunately, like most breeds, has its share of genetic problems so there are many health clearances which breeders can and should provide. At a minimum ALL breeding stock should be tested and/or certified against:

Cardiomyopathy – to include a Holter monitor EKG and an ultrasound or sonogram done by a veterinary cardiologist. Cardio tests should be conducted annually or 3 months before a planned breeding. This type of testing should be done in Dobermans as it is better than nothing and you can know that at the time of the breeding or the time of the test whether the heart tested normal; that there were no heart murmurs or abnormally skipping heart beats.
Von Willebrands disease via DNA test – a blood clotting disorder
X-rays for hip and elbow dysplasia, certified by at or after the age of 2 years
Annual blood panels for thyroid, kidneys, and liver
Annual eye exam done by a veterinary ophthalmologist

Doberman Puppies Merseyside

Aigburth

Ainsdale

Aintree

Allerton

Anfield

Barnston

Bebington

Belle Vale

Bidston

Billinge

Birkenhead

Blundellsands

Bold Heath

Bootle

Bowring Park

Brighton le Sands

Brimstage

Broadgreen

Bromborough

Caldy

Chadwick Green

Childwall

Churchtown

Clock Face

Clubmoor

Crank

Cronton

Crossens

Croxteth

Dentons Green

Dingle

Dovecot

Earlestown

Eastham

Eccleston

Ecclestone Park

Edge Hill

Fairfield

Fazakerley

Formby

Frankby

Freshfield

Garston

Gateacre

Gayton

Grange

Grassendale Park

Greasby

Halewood

Haydock

Heswall

Higher Bebington

Hightown

Hoylake

Hunt’s Cross

Huyton

Ince Blundell

Irby

Kensington

Kirkby

Kirkdale

Knotty Ash

Knowsley

Litherland

Liverpool

Low Hill

Lunt

Lydiate

Maghull

Marshside

Melling

Meols

Moreton

Moss Bank

Mossley Hill

Netherley

New Brighton

New Ferry

Newton le Willows

Norris Green

Old Roan

Old Swan

Orrell Park

Page Moss

Parr

Pensby

Port Sunlight

Prenton

Prescot

Princes Park

Raby

Rainford

Rainhill

Roby

Rock Ferry

Sandfield Park

Saughall Massie

Seacombe

Seaforth

Sefton

Sefton Park

Simonswood

Southport

Speke

Spital

St Helens

Stanley

Stockbridge Village

Stoneycroft

Storeton

Sutton

Sutton Leach

Sutton Manor

Tarbock

Tarbock Green

Thatto Heath

The Burrows

Thingwall

Thornton

Thornton Hough

Thurstaston

Toxteth

Tranmere

Tuebrook

Upton

Wallasey

Walton

Waterloo

Wavertree

West Derby

West Kirby

Whiston

Will protection training make my puppy doberman vicious?

Protection sport training is probably the most misunderstood training in existence. Many people think that sport protection training makes dobermans vicious and aggressive towards people. The dogs are not taught to bite the person, but to bite the fabric. In the basic training the dog or puppy is taught to play with a burlap sack, sort of a tug of war. The doberman (or puppy) is then graduated to seizing a tube of burlap/fabric and stuffing. Then the dog is graduated to a leg sleeve and then to a decoy suit or sleeve. If the decoy, the man in the suit, were to take off the suit and shake it around, the dog will grab the suit and start a tug of war, in the same manner as he/she did with the burlap sack. If the decoy were to run away holding the suit, dangling from an out stretched hand, exposing the rest of the man to the dog, the dog would grasp the suit and pay no attention to the man. The doberman is taught to grab the fabric. The decoy is friendly towards the dog and many times, in training, the dog will climb up in the decoy’s lap and lick his face, immediately after the protection session is over. Puppies, dobermans seem to be particularly keen to start young, can start in a very small way from an early age but of course a puppy needs to mature into adult before progressing.

Doberman Puppies Merseyside Dog Portraits