Welcome to the Von Hohenhalla Dobermans' Family
Congratulations on your Doberman Puppy from Von Hohenhalla Dobermans! We are so excited for you to start on this adventure with your new companion!
The following contains some important information regarding your puppy.
First, we want to tell you that raising puppies is an absolute joy! We are extremely passionate about our breeding program! As your puppy’s breeder, we absolutely feel that your puppy is forever a part of our family; therefore, we offer lifetime breeder support to you as the puppy’s new and forever owner! Please contact us with any questions or concerns regarding your puppy. We are here for you as a support, with guidance, and as someone who loved your puppy for the first few weeks of life. We love receiving updates – seeing our puppies happy in their new homes brings much joy to us!
Your puppy was raised in the heart of our home and was loved and cared for at all times from birth until s/he was picked up by you! Your puppy was introduced to a daily household routine, exposed to various noises and surfaces, and began socialization! Your puppy was started on basic obedience including being introduced to his/her name (if name was selected prior to pick up). Your puppy has also started on potty training, crate training, and bite inhibition.
A typical day in the life of your puppy, at our home, included waking up, going potty in the backyard, getting some breakfast in the kitchen, going potty again, romping around the house, playing with his/her littermates, chewing on some toys, spending one on one time with us, going potty again, taking a nap on the couch or dog bed, and then waking up again to repeat the cycle until it was bedtime! Your puppy will quickly adapt to your lifestyle, but if there are any problems or concerns, please contact us!
All photos of your puppy are online and can be downloaded for your personal use! At this time, your puppy will continue to have a page on our website as our progeny under his/her litter. We are already so proud of your puppy and would love to be able to update his/her litter page as s/he ages with photos and words from their beloved owners!
We love planning playdates for our dogs and would love to meet your puppy again (we’ll bring our camera)!
The following includes information regarding Feeding, Health & Veterinary Information, AKC Registration, Training, and Socialization.
The following contains some important information regarding your puppy.
First, we want to tell you that raising puppies is an absolute joy! We are extremely passionate about our breeding program! As your puppy’s breeder, we absolutely feel that your puppy is forever a part of our family; therefore, we offer lifetime breeder support to you as the puppy’s new and forever owner! Please contact us with any questions or concerns regarding your puppy. We are here for you as a support, with guidance, and as someone who loved your puppy for the first few weeks of life. We love receiving updates – seeing our puppies happy in their new homes brings much joy to us!
Your puppy was raised in the heart of our home and was loved and cared for at all times from birth until s/he was picked up by you! Your puppy was introduced to a daily household routine, exposed to various noises and surfaces, and began socialization! Your puppy was started on basic obedience including being introduced to his/her name (if name was selected prior to pick up). Your puppy has also started on potty training, crate training, and bite inhibition.
A typical day in the life of your puppy, at our home, included waking up, going potty in the backyard, getting some breakfast in the kitchen, going potty again, romping around the house, playing with his/her littermates, chewing on some toys, spending one on one time with us, going potty again, taking a nap on the couch or dog bed, and then waking up again to repeat the cycle until it was bedtime! Your puppy will quickly adapt to your lifestyle, but if there are any problems or concerns, please contact us!
All photos of your puppy are online and can be downloaded for your personal use! At this time, your puppy will continue to have a page on our website as our progeny under his/her litter. We are already so proud of your puppy and would love to be able to update his/her litter page as s/he ages with photos and words from their beloved owners!
We love planning playdates for our dogs and would love to meet your puppy again (we’ll bring our camera)!
The following includes information regarding Feeding, Health & Veterinary Information, AKC Registration, Training, and Socialization.
Feeding
Your puppy is currently being fed three times a day (morning, afternoon, and evening).
In regards to diet:
In regards to diet:
- Dobermans have a very high metabolism. Do not feed your puppy based on the feeding instructions or weight instructions listed on your puppy’s bag of food. Following the instructions on the bag will not provide enough calories for your puppy. We recommend feeding puppies between 2-6 months of age three meals per day. For each meal, we recommend feeding your puppy as much as s/he will eat in a 20-minute setting. Refill his/her food bowl as needed during these 20-minutes. Promptly pick up the remaining food and do not feed your puppy until his/her next meal (treats and chews are okay in-between meals). Make sure your puppy rests for 60-minutes after eating a meal to prevent bloat. Once your puppy is 6-months old, we recommend feeding your puppy twice a day, but continue to follow the eat-as-much-as-s/he-wants in 20-minutes rule. If your puppy is looking thin, we recommend adding another meal to their day. If your puppy is starting to gain excessive weight, then measure out an allotment of food per meal. Once your puppy is an adult, we recommend feeding a pre-measured portion of food twice a day. At this point, you will know how much food provides a good weight balance for your dog with his/her activity level.
- Unless highly researched and overseen by an experienced veterinarian, we don’t recommend feeding a raw diet as malnutrition can occur if not balanced correctly. Please contact us with any dietary questions or concerns.
Health & Veterinary Information
Your puppy has been age-appropriately vaccinated, dewormed, and put on preventative medications. This information will be provided to you in your puppy’s Health Record. Additionally, your puppy has been seen by our veterinarian and has passed a health exam with a Letter of Good Health. We recommend discussing a preventative plan and schedule with your veterinarian. Please take the puppy’s Health Record & Letter of Good Health with your puppy at his first visit with your veterinarian.
AKC Registration
We take great pride in producing registered puppies that follow the breed standard. Your puppy will be registered with the American Kennel Club (AKC). Your puppy will have a specific registration number and will have a registered name agreed upon by both you as the owner and Von Hohenhalla Dobermans. We will take care of all the registration fees and paperwork after pick-up. Look for your puppy’s AKC Registration Certificate in the mail after a few weeks, if you have any questions or concerns regarding your puppy’s registration, please reach out to us.
Training
Obedience Training
We require all puppy buyers to read Before and After You Get Your Puppy by Ian Dunbar. You can find a free download link here.
With obedience training, we use a lot of praise as well as toy and treat rewards! The process of training your puppy creates a strong foundation for future training and greatly strengthens your relationship! Your Doberman puppy wants to please you! Doberman puppies are intelligent and highly driven which makes training a pleasure! It is important to stay positive while training and to use positive reinforcement with your puppy. When teaching your puppy a skill, remember to be patient and to go slow. When your puppy does what you have asked, praise them with a happy voice, lots of pets, and a treat or toy! Short training sessions are best for a puppy’s attention span. Multiple short training sessions throughout the day are the best way to train and tire out your puppy. After you have finished a training session, give your puppy a large reward such as a session of play with you or a special treat that they only get once finished training. Do not use negative reinforcement or punishment in training, especially do not use prong or shock collars. They are meant to have their confidence built up, not beaten down. For more obedience training advice, please contact us.
With obedience training, we use a lot of praise as well as toy and treat rewards! The process of training your puppy creates a strong foundation for future training and greatly strengthens your relationship! Your Doberman puppy wants to please you! Doberman puppies are intelligent and highly driven which makes training a pleasure! It is important to stay positive while training and to use positive reinforcement with your puppy. When teaching your puppy a skill, remember to be patient and to go slow. When your puppy does what you have asked, praise them with a happy voice, lots of pets, and a treat or toy! Short training sessions are best for a puppy’s attention span. Multiple short training sessions throughout the day are the best way to train and tire out your puppy. After you have finished a training session, give your puppy a large reward such as a session of play with you or a special treat that they only get once finished training. Do not use negative reinforcement or punishment in training, especially do not use prong or shock collars. They are meant to have their confidence built up, not beaten down. For more obedience training advice, please contact us.
Crate Training
We recommend crate training your puppy. When done correctly, your puppy will enjoy his/her crate. A crate will quickly become a place of relaxation for your puppy where s/he can go chew a treat or toy and take an uninterrupted nap. Crate training is also the best way to potty train. Your puppy isn’t prefect with potty training yet and needs supervision to prevent making mistakes. If your puppy cannot be supervised 100% during portions of the day, we recommend crating your puppy during these times. Most importantly, we recommend reading Ian Dunbar’s book After Your Get Your Puppy for training advice as we follow and swear by his methods. You can find it here for download for free. This book is free online through Dog Star Daily. We do not recommend potty training with potty pads as they teach your puppy that it is okay to potty in the house, and they often make the house training more confusing for your puppy. Keeping potty training simple is not only the best way, but the fastest way! Please contact us for more potty training advice.
Bite Inhibition
Doberman puppies are high drive chewers! This can make them very “naughty” as they may chew anything in sight or within their reach if not supervised and taught the rules. Doberman puppies are also “mouthy” meaning they like to play with their owners by chewing on fingers, feet, hair, clothing, or even your nose. To teach your puppy what is acceptable to chew and what is not, including your precious household items and your body, we have started your puppy on bite inhibition. Bite inhibition and socialization are also tied together – with more socialization, your puppy learns more bite inhibition and with more bite inhibition, your puppy is better at socializing. Your puppy must learn what items are theirs to chew, which items are off limits, and how to properly behave in regards to their mouth contact with humans and other animals.
There are three main aspects of bite inhibition:
Bite inhibition is a process that takes a lot of patience and repetition, but it provides a great reward: a dog who is adjusted, trusted, and teachable! For more information and recommendations about bite inhibition, please contact us!
There are three main aspects of bite inhibition:
- Your puppy must learn the appropriate chewing outlets. Provide your puppy with a variety of toys and high-quality chews such as dried tendons, ears, tracheas, or bully sticks. Keep these items throughout your home so your puppy has an acceptable chewing outlet in every room. Encourage your puppy to chew on these toys by using the toys while playing with your puppy. If you find their toys interesting, so will they! Always supervise your puppy, if you cannot supervise for a period of time, have the puppy take a break or nap in their crate with a favorite toy or treat. Not only does this prevent your puppy from chewing on one of your belongings, but it prevents any potty accidents. Without supervision, it is impossible to establish consistency with your puppy. When your puppy is out and about and goes to chew on something off-limits, replace the off-limits item for one of their toys and treats. When they start chewing on this item, praise them! This is how their behavior is re-directed. This method takes repetition, but your puppy will learn the chewing rules of your house for the rest of his/her life! Chewing is a part of a dog’s life and is instinctual – chewing is a healthy and natural habit that keeps the teeth and gums clean as well as an activity that is enjoyed by dogs – a puppy just needs to learn your chewing rules.
- Your puppy must learn how to appropriately play with other animals. During puppyhood, your puppy is learning social skills. Your puppy has been started on socialization. Growing up with their littermates, they were both learning and teaching each other what play methods were acceptable and which were not. Puppies are often overly enthusiastic during play – this can often be mistaken as rough housing. By having your puppy play with a more mature dog, they learn how to appropriately convey their enthusiasm and play by the rules. Your puppy was started on dog socialization from birth with their littermates, sire, and dam. It is important to continue to socialize your puppy with strange dogs to keep the learning progressing. If socialized properly, your enthusiastic puppy can become a well-adjusted adult who will play well with other dogs for the rest of their life! We recommend puppy training courses, doggy daycare, or joining a puppy group in your area to establish safe socialization sessions for your puppy! For local recommendations, please contact us! We do not recommend taking your puppy to a public dog park as the risk of injury and exposure to disease to both you and your puppy is often highly unpredictable.
- Your puppy must learn how to appropriately play and interact with humans. Puppies love chewing and your fingers are one of their favorite toys! When puppies bite, they are biting out of play and not aggression. Puppy teeth are sharp and their bites are stronger than expected. When the puppy play bites, you must respond in a way the puppy understands. When the puppy bites, make a puppy yelping noise, pull the body part away, and briefly ignore your puppy. This registers in your puppy’s head that s/he hurt you! Ending the play session and ignoring your puppy sends a strong message to your puppy that they hurt you and that biting you ends the fun and is therefore not acceptable behavior. If you keep using this method whenever your puppy play bites, the puppy will slowly bite softer and then stop biting all together. Never hit or yell at your puppy – this will not teach your puppy not to bite, instead it will make your puppy fear you and potentially bite out of fear. As an adult, if your dog is in a fearful or new situation or environment, they will not bite out of fear because they were taught bite inhibition as a puppy. This keeps you, your family members, and everyone else your dog will be in contact with safe throughout your dog’s life! It is important to note that your puppy does not understand aggression at this age and therefore when he or she bites you, it is out of play and not meanness. Growling is also a playing behavior at a young puppy age.
Bite inhibition is a process that takes a lot of patience and repetition, but it provides a great reward: a dog who is adjusted, trusted, and teachable! For more information and recommendations about bite inhibition, please contact us!
Socialization
Dobermans are the ultimate companion breed! The breed is often referred to as “Velcro dogs”, as they often stick to their owner by following them around the house, and never letting them out of their sight. The Doberman is the only breed to have been specifically bred for personal protection. In order for the Doberman to succeed as a protector, the Doberman must bond deeply with its owner. Unlike other working breeds, the Doberman needs and thrives on human interaction. Dobermans are very social beings, socialize your puppy with as many humans and canines as possible. We recommend socializing your puppy in safe environments with constant supervision. Enrolling your puppy in a training course is a great way to socialize! Training courses provide a safe environment with other puppies that are appropriately vaccinated. Avoid dog parks or high “dog traffic” areas until your puppy is fully vaccinated!
Your puppy has been prepared to transition as easily and smoothly as possible to their forever home. However, when hiccups occur, please do not hesitate to contact us (day or night)! We truly enjoy helping owners be successful with their new Doberman addition, so please contact us with any question, concern, or situation - we are here for lifetime support, encouragement, and problem solving!
