My young Doberman was poorly socialized as a puppy. He was kept in an insulated trailer, alone, without any positive interaction until he was 5 months old. Took him against my better judgement only because I could not just leave him there. He was like keeping a wild animal. The question no one seems to really know the answer, what can we expect in long term, how much can be relearned and how much damage is permanent. I have a lifetime of experience training dogs, and Dobermans since 1981 and this pup has been the toughest so far. At nearly 11 months old, it's so hard to tell if his distractible, stubborn mind is just from his youth or if it's from such poor brain development in formative months. How is the dog mind impacted as far as training goes? He is boring to train, (simple leash work and games) lack luster and just not "with" me. Not a working dog mindset at all. The research out there is not helpful and only thing that would help is hard core Doberman person who has seen this problem more than once.
I'm so sorry to hear that your boy had to suffer that situation. Before we even look the lack of socialization from 7-8 weeks and onward, I want to focus on the weeks prior to that. Countless studies have demonstrated that infants deprived of anything more than the touch necessary for routine care (in other words not given loving/cuddling interactions) grow up to have severe issues developing bonds with care givers, higher cortisol levels and significant behavioral problems. This is generally irreversible, even if the child is given loving touch interactions later. When you couple this with the lack of socialization from 7-8 weeks onward, you can appreciate the compounding effect. While some rare dogs may be able to overcome such a past, I'm sad to say the majority cannot.
@@TheDobermanWay Thank you so much for taking time to reply. The people who had him were not deliberately cruel, he was in good shape from physical standpoint, shiny and well fed. But when I came to look at him, he was turned loose in the yard, all his caregivers were there and he would not approach any of them, not even for food. He would not play. I was wondering how we would catch him again. The father later arrived and he would approach the father . The man that bred the litter could not sell the puppies, so I know that they were shy at that point, then this other fellow took the pups and tried to sell them. Normally I would never have given this any consideration. After about two hours of trying to sum up his personality, I headed back to my car and told them thank you, but I'll pass. I went around side of our car and there was the puppy. I tried to bring him back to the owner but he followed me again back to the car. I kneeled down to pet him and he was being so shy and helpless, I didn't know what to do. My son was there, he grabbed the pup and put him in the car and said "we are taking him". So that is how I got this dog. I don't recommend getting a dog like this to anyone. It seems like a sweet story but it has been very hard. If he doesn't work out with me, I know he will not work out elsewhere, have put a lot of time and energy into him! He isn't so shy anymore, but he has trouble with attachment, just as you say. I have never owned a Doberman so strangely disconnected. I told my hubs, will give him till he's a year and a half and then make a decision. I hope that makes sense to you.
Beautiful dog. So cute just looking at you. ❤️
Thanks Betsy, she makes my heart go pitter-pat! I appreciate you watching!
My young Doberman was poorly socialized as a puppy. He was kept in an insulated trailer, alone, without any positive interaction until he was 5 months old. Took him against my better judgement only because I could not just leave him there. He was like keeping a wild animal. The question no one seems to really know the answer, what can we expect in long term, how much can be relearned and how much damage is permanent. I have a lifetime of experience training dogs, and Dobermans since 1981 and this pup has been the toughest so far. At nearly 11 months old, it's so hard to tell if his distractible, stubborn mind is just from his youth or if it's from such poor brain development in formative months. How is the dog mind impacted as far as training goes? He is boring to train, (simple leash work and games) lack luster and just not "with" me. Not a working dog mindset at all. The research out there is not helpful and only thing that would help is hard core Doberman person who has seen this problem more than once.
I'm so sorry to hear that your boy had to suffer that situation. Before we even look the lack of socialization from 7-8 weeks and onward, I want to focus on the weeks prior to that.
Countless studies have demonstrated that infants deprived of anything more than the touch necessary for routine care (in other words not given loving/cuddling interactions) grow up to have severe issues developing bonds with care givers, higher cortisol levels and significant behavioral problems. This is generally irreversible, even if the child is given loving touch interactions later.
When you couple this with the lack of socialization from 7-8 weeks onward, you can appreciate the compounding effect. While some rare dogs may be able to overcome such a past, I'm sad to say the majority cannot.
@@TheDobermanWay Thank you so much for taking time to reply. The people who had him were not deliberately cruel, he was in good shape from physical standpoint, shiny and well fed. But when I came to look at him, he was turned loose in the yard, all his caregivers were there and he would not approach any of them, not even for food. He would not play. I was wondering how we would catch him again. The father later arrived and he would approach the father . The man that bred the litter could not sell the puppies, so I know that they were shy at that point, then this other fellow took the pups and tried to sell them. Normally I would never have given this any consideration. After about two hours of trying to sum up his personality, I headed back to my car and told them thank you, but I'll pass. I went around side of our car and there was the puppy. I tried to bring him back to the owner but he followed me again back to the car. I kneeled down to pet him and he was being so shy and helpless, I didn't know what to do. My son was there, he grabbed the pup and put him in the car and said "we are taking him". So that is how I got this dog. I don't recommend getting a dog like this to anyone. It seems like a sweet story but it has been very hard. If he doesn't work out with me, I know he will not work out elsewhere, have put a lot of time and energy into him! He isn't so shy anymore, but he has trouble with attachment, just as you say. I have never owned a Doberman so strangely disconnected. I told my hubs, will give him till he's a year and a half and then make a decision. I hope that makes sense to you.
Absolutely Coffeehugger. We are the ones who know and understand our individual dogs the best.