Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Thorne enjoying warmer Spring weather....


Finally it's a real Spring day here in New England and Thorne is relaxing on the patio after running in the yard with Maggie. He looks like an adult but still very much a puppy (playful and happy puppy at that!)....
He is recovering well from his neuter and umbilical hernia surgery. Keeping his excersise to a minimum has been very difficult for this energetic boy. He seems to have calmed down slightly from the neuter so far (he used to pace in the house and pant a lot more) ....His hormones are slowly diminishing. I will update the progress of just how much his neuter will affect him in the next few weeks. Here's a pic of our happy boy :)
(click on photo to view larger)

Thursday, April 02, 2009

Thorne is getting neutered today....



I am writing this after midnight, can't sleep yet, worried about my boy :(   It's been a long journey with him thus far and he's such a sweet boy who has so much potential to be the most amazing carefree dog. 
 We decided not to wait any longer on neutering... he's been developing some escape/roaming habits right in front of us in our own yard (keep fixing the fence) and he's an inside dog, it's not like he's out in the yard all day or anything, just for playtime and potty breaks while we do yard work, etc. 
We have a few unspayed females doggies in our neighborhood as well, which is very distracting for Thorne ;)  On his last Tufts walk, he wanted to mount a dog and he's getting more hyper due to the Testosterone, we believe. His growth has been great up to this point and I think neutering at his age (9 1/2 months and 98 lbs) should be ok. We are not expecting behavior miracles with his neuter but maybe more focus on the continued training and desenstizing of his fear aggression with some dogs. 
He's reserved and a bit shy with people (he'd rather approach and sniff hands than be approached) but not to the point of aggression like he sometimes can be with other dogs. The Doberman standard is that they are reserved with people other than their owners.  There is a Dobie at Tufts and when we try to pet her, it's not happening either...she definately doesn't care for being pet by people. 
We have tried the "socializing" method since he was first brought home as a pup with us 'till now and we do train him at home to sit before he goes out, to sit before he eats, to lay down when we ask him, to stay...etc. He does very well and he's very loving with us and Maggie, our other dog. 
The ironic thing is that Maggie was supposed to get more confidence (she was very timid when we rescued her) with a new confident pup around that was going to be brought up properly. Well, we brought him up by the books, did everything that a new pup needs for social development and he's still struggling in many situations.  Maggie has come a long way since we first got her and she has MORE confidence than Thorne. This has been extra difficult for us due to the fact that we never had shy dogs like this before. Our dogs prior were friendly and outgoing and we had them for 12-13 years. 
I found a wonderful and hopeful trainer on the web that worked for years at Doberman Rescue Unlimited in NH. She rehabbed and trained many, many Dobes over the years and knows the breed very well. She still owns Dobermans as well and her and her colleage opened up a school called Fortunate K9 in NH. The articles she wrote on her website were eye opening and finally I feel like Thorne will get the proper help he needs from someone who understands the breed. She replied to my email about Thorne and explained how it's unfortunate, but that many Dobermans have a temperment deficit of shyness. I am not saying our breeder has bred shy puppies at all, in fact his brothers and sisters from the litter seemed very outgoing compared to submissive Thorne. He just happen to maybe get that one gene which could be from far back in his bloodline of relatives or his littermates bullied him too much. Julia's (of Fortunate K9) article called The Shy Dog Primer is excellent! I also have contacted a Doberman Talk Forum member who has gone to Fortunate K9 and she highly recommends them. 
My husband and I have made up our minds on this school being our next step to help Thorne live a much happier life. He's happy as a clam at home and on walks also, as you can tell by his expressions in his photos Off Leash but he has those very fearful moments that basically set him back from remaining relaxed and happy. He deserves the best and to be free to enjoy all that life has to offer without anxiety.