Hello All!

Hadn't been by in a while and just wanted to stop in and say hi.

Sasha is just over a year old now and has grown so fast, I can hardly believe it! She was one of Zenny and Holly's pups, and is gorgeous. She gets props from just about anyone that sees her.

As far as training goes, we haven't been doing anything competitive as I don't have the time, but we do plenty of training for just for Sasha and Dad entertainment.
Her obedience training is a snap, and she is spot on (as far as spot on goes for a rookie) with everything. Her ball drive has become so strong, that it's all thats required to motivate her to learn anything.

If Dad doesn't provide enough mental stimulation, she takes to training herself. We have stopped kenneling her at night and have her at the foot of our bed. There was a bit of Alpha-Dogging that had to be learned but it only took a couple of days.

This is the really cool part, and exactly why I chose one of Steve's dobes in the first place...

Our nightly routine:
1) Sasha pokes dad relentlessly with her wet nose saying "I'm tired... you have to work tomorrow... its bedtime!"
2) She waits until we are both settled in, does a "House Check" through every room in the house at super dobe-sprint speed.
3) Comes back to the bedroom gives a couple of "Don't mess with me" barks for good measure.
4) Jumps onto her spot, lays down with her head up and here ears in "scanning mode" until the wife falls asleep.
5) Goes to sleep.

It's amazing the instincts she has without any training.
She is ever the watchful pup, and she has been granted the title of "Chief of Security" in our house. If me and the wife are on separate levels of the house, she frequently patrols back and forth.
She has taught herself to open any door in the house, and does NOT appreciate closed doors... She opens them up, gives a disapproving look and wanders off... LOCK THE BATHROOM DOORS IF YOU EVER VISIT LOL.

Still a few problems we are working on. She has in recent months gone into another "Chew Phase" and makes instant confetti of anything that isn't made of titanium.
She is still small dog agressive, except for our dachsunds, who frequently let her know whos boss.... Sad thing to pull two angry mini-doxies off of your scary looking Dobe hehe.
She is a bit jumpy around anyone she doesn't know, tall males in particular... If mom and dad don't greet them properly, she gets pretty upset. This is also something we are working on.

The major hurdle is finding enough socialization. She does play well with other dogs, as soon as she realizes they aren't a threat, but in the city it's been tough... and I'm convinced that dog parks are terribad places... mostly because of the other guys dog. Unfortunately she has had some bad experiences as a puppy with people letting their aggressive posturing dogs off leash (And not necessarily in a dog park, mind you) and run up to her sending her into a fear-frenzy.

When dad came down last Thanksgiving, there were a few issues. She would sit with him on the couch, eat out of his hand, fall asleep with her head on his lap, but as soon as he got up, she would bark relentlessly. I think deep down he was afraid of her, and she was showing her place in the pack by letting him know that unaithorized movement wasn't acceptable.

I told him to stand his ground, tell her "Quiet!" and move on with confidence. This didn't work so well... his posture just smelled of fear.
She does use an e-collar when we need to do quick and precise corrections, but the parents thought it was like a stun-gun and refused to let me use it...despite me letting them use it on me, to show them its set really low and doesn't hurt anymore than a tug on the leash.

Finally I had enough, put the collar on, and after about three corrections the problem was solved. Didn't really even have to activate it, she just knows that when the collar is on, it's "work and learn" time, and she goes into that working/learning mode.
They were best buds after that.

So far things are going great, and she impresses me everyday, even on the bad days. Although my lawn furniture might disagree!