KETELOVE

This beautiful little Doberpup is truly a sweetie, but she’s still a little off balance from the recent changes in her life. She came to us from a home where her human had apparently taken her in from a prior owner. Mind you, she’s only nine months old now.

Here’s how her most recent human describes things:
“I was led to believe this was a well-behaved, well-rounded dog who walked on a leash with a small child; she will walk on a leash but lunges on occasion. She can be a sweet dog and will lie down to be petted, but she doesn’t have any manners yet. She is destructive when left alone; she likes women but acts scared around men. I contacted the previous owners about taking this dog back but they refused, saying she had never acted that way for them. She does not obey any commands. I’ve taken her in the car. She rode well until she pooped in my car. She doesn’t know any games to my knowledge.”

The frustration of her more recent owner is plainly evident in her comments. While I’m sympathetic, you can see she thought she was getting a finished, trained, and mature dog (at 9 months!) rather than the untrained pup she took in. That’s just unrealistic. Young dogs cannot be crated all the time, either (and really, no dogs can). Apparently, this dear pup has had two homes where little or nothing was done to train and guide her as she grew. This is unkind and unfair to the dog, who will no doubt mature into an excellent companion once she’s in a home that recognizes a puppy needs to be nurtured, loved, and trained properly.

If a human had a baby and just fed it and made of it some but offered no guidance and training, you know what would happen. (You see evidence of it all too often, come to think of it!) In my experience, if you want a totally trained and finished dog, you can buy one from a reputable breeder/trainer for many thousands of dollars. If you don’t want to spend the money, then you must invest the time and energy on your own. As good as they are, dogs don’t just automatically turn out being models of decorum. OK, down off the soap box.

In short, this is a very attractive, lovely bit of raw Dober material. In a nurturing home where she fells secure and loved, she will, with a bit of time and patience, learn what is expected and will be eager to please. She’s a good, good girl; she just needs a patient human with realistic expectations.

Observations from our volunteers:
“Boy, this is one beautiful Dobe. It’s going to take a while to win her confidence though, as she is a bit skittish. I spent time in the corral with her and, try as I may, she wouldn’t come too close to me. I decided to spend time with her in her kennel later on to see how she was. In the kennel run she was nervous when I first stepped in, and I slowly sat down and talked quietly to her. She came closer and laid her head on my leg as I talked reassuringly to her. She seemed to be at ease but ready to move if anything changed. One thing that I’d like to mention is that some dogs will be defensive when they are skittish, but not Ketelove. She was a perfect lady the whole time I spent in her kennel.”

And Carol adds these observations:
“She will jump on you, but we are working on that. She loves attention and needs a little work on manners. She‘s almost like having a pup with a clean slate and starting from zero on training. She wasn’t even house trained at first. She is not chewing anything but paper that is down in her run. She has stopped pooping inside, and now we‘re working on occasional peeing overnight. (Great progress!) She‘s doing well on leash walking, and we‘re working on her jumping up. She‘s still petrified of strange men for whatever reason, but once she‘s familiar with them, all is well.”