Doberman that Doesn't Listen!?

Question

I have a 2 year old Doberman that doesn't listen. His attention span is very short. You tell him to lay down and he does for about a minute or two and then is back up. I get very frustrated with constintly telling him to lay down. Any advise???

Answer 1

I had the same problem with my dog the problem is probably bigger than him just not staying put. He does not see you as the dominant one. Try a few exercises with him after a long walk to get rid of excess energy. Large breed dogs need lots of exercise. Be sure if you take him on walks that you do not let him walk in front of you out the door or down the street. Once the walk is done bring him home and set him down praise him for a job well done and try not to use words, dogs don't understand them they understand attitude. Then make dog lay down and put your hand out palm facing in a stop position and say Stay if ya want to. Be sure you still have leash on dog Once dog has laid down step on leash so that he can not raise up on front legs, he will try and you need to correct him with a sound do not use word no confusing instead try using a loud sound like shiiish and snap your finger and point to ground once the dog has relaxed to staying down reward with pat on head and then say stay or put hand out in stop position walk away a couple of steps if he stays go farther and farther. the idea is for him to know he can not get up until you say so you are the boss you must act like it or they will take over I recommend you watch a show on Nat. Geographic called the Dog Whisper it is very informative and helpful. Good luck

Answer 2

Dobermans are very head strong and want to be the boss. What you have to to is when hes down, keep you eye on him, and when he does get up say, NO! and STAY! and for a minute he'll look at you as if wondering how much pot you smoked, but eventually he will get the idea. But, it just may be because he dosent want to stay down the whole time. Crate train him. With all my dobermans, i did.

But if its something that you insist, then take a shoelace, or something short that you can tie him down. When you say down, you have to make sure and say STAY, and tie him. And stay like that for about 1-2 minutes. Then say GOOD BOY! give him a treat, and untie him. Do this about 2-3 times a day, and increse the time by one minute every week.

If this dosent help go ahead and e-mail me. My father is a doberman trainer, he taught me how to train them, but somethings i cant master like him, and im sure he can tell me and i could write it back to you. I have had Dobermans since i was a baby and i know exactly how they are, and im having a few training problems with my dobie that i rescued in september. So i know exactly what your going through!

Answer 3

Hi, Dobermans are very head strong. You must be very persistent . They are very intelligent and are very willing to learn, but they are a breed that wants to be the boss. Just stay on him and it must be repetitive. Dobermans are a great dog and they are my favorite. Have you had him since he was a pup? He should have been trained by now. Why do you want him to lay down and for how long?

Answer 4

It's lack of training. Likely when you or someone taught him to lay down, they didn't make him do more than lay down before he was given a treat or a ' good boy ' You just need to work with him and make him lay down longer before he gets a treat etc.. You have the short attention span.

Answer 5

Dobermans are very tough dogs they are like naughty small children and they will test you to make sure you are the one in charge. If not they will do excatly as they please and could care less what you say.
Firm consistant training is very important with them.
They are a breed that was bred to work independantly and think on their own. So sometimes they get bored easily and quickly.
I work mine about three times per week on basic stuff and special things twice per week. They get plenty of run time every day. Does require tons of running exercise or hard playing time. Mine get at least two hours per day.
Try to train at least three times per week and have some run time every day if you can get it in.
Also at two they are still very puppylike and some are about 5 before they calm down some.

Answer 6

The best solution is probably to attend a training class. You will teach him to stay but, more importantly, you will learn how to be the leader and get him to respond to you.

In the meantime, why do you want him to lie down? If you are expecting him to lie down for awhile so that you can get stuff done, give him a chew toy or rawhide. He's going to get bored just lying there - of course he'll get up. Make it worth his while to stay put.

Answer 7

Doby's are very stubbourn dogs and like to do what they want, yes you can train them and they are very obedient and loyal you just have to have a lot of patience with them. I had a doby and the 2 year thing is the same as a child having the 2 years tantrums they do grow out of it and are wonderfull loving dogs when they learn to obey, just keep going and don't give up on him he's just testing the ground to see how far he can go

jeanette

Answer 8

I think your Doby might just be bored and want to play. Try playing with him first thing in the morning, get him all riled up and excited. Then, have him calm down. Give him a chew and put on some quiet music.

If your dog is having trouble listening, you may have to try teaching him it again. Calmly say "Lie Down" and if he does, give him a treat (doesn't have to be anything big). Make him lying down a "fun" and "rewarding" thing for him to do.

Also, when you tell him to "Lie Down", don't yell it!

♥

Answer 9

A minute or two is a pretty good while to expect him to just lie there. Maybe an older dog would do it, but he is still pretty young and energetic at 2 years. Give him a toy or something to chew on to keep him occupied if you need him to lie down for a while.

Answer 10

I had a Doberman once.They are very beautiful dogs.But,boy they sure are dumb and clumsy.He's just a puppy too.They have allot of energy.He'll grow out of this with time.When you spade animals it slows them down some.Talk to a vet about this.