Soraya's puppies are due soon.  Poor girl, Soraya asks to go outside a lot.  Her bladder doesn't have as much space as it did before!  All soon-to-be mommas love having their stomachs rubbed, they get this "Oh, poor me!" expression on their faces.  I'm happy to oblige them.  After all, I wouldn't want to be in their place, birthing a litter of puppies! 

It's still raining a lot, keeping the yard soggy.  Every time Madde and Miss Priss go outside together they need a bath from wrestling in the puddles.  Rain also means a lot of extra mopping, and dogs are a lot more reluctant to go outside.  All in all, rain isn't a favorite thing around here! 

Lauren

Shredder

   It's perfectly warm and the sunshine peeks gently through the windows shining beautifully on the Doberman's black coats. The puppies are playfully growling and barking at each other. The view of the mountains is reminiscent of the opening scene of The Sound of Music, and surprisingly evokes the urge to sing "The hills are alive with the sound of music.." but there's just one thing wrong with this peaceful scene. In a corner of the room, huddled over a medium sized black box, is a girl. It appears as though this girl is simultaneously speaking soothings words to this black box and pulling her hair out. Whatever could elicit such behavior? Upon closer inspection, we see the cause for such emotional distress is indeed the paper shredder. 

  A testy little thing, this paper shredder has been cause for more stress and frustration than I've been privileged to feel in many months. Although it appears to work perfectly for Steve (that doesn't mean much though..  as it seems that almost everything in the Dog House works perfectly for Steve) the cursed black shredder rarely works when I need it to. It's encouraging little rumble when I switch the power on is a trick, for when I cautiously tease it with some newspaper it refuses to shred. No matter how many powerful words of persuasion, jiggling of the door to make sure it's in place, or button pushing you do the shredder will not shred. On occasion, when it feels like it, for no apparent reason other than pure random chance the shredder will lower itself off it's high horse and do it's job. And on occasions such as this, you better not stop shredding until that little shredder's head pops off because you never know when it'll feel like working again. 

  I apologize to the puppies for occasionally having less than the optimum level of shredded newspaper in their kennel...I blame the shredder.

-Brittany

Family dobes and their workers have seen a new side of Texa, she is now more loving and will actually give you kisses when you ask one from her. Truly this is abnormal behavior from our beloved Texa and we are truly confused with the way she is acting now. I have to say that I do miss her ruff and rugged behavior though it is nice to be less stressed when it involves her old behavior. Dont get me wrong I know for a fact that if her pack was in danger she would be first in row for the crotch shot, I have no doubt about that. It is just great to see a more gentle side of Texa.

Abi

 I checked all of my sources and it really is April 29th and yes it really is snowing. Notwithstanding "Priss" was out of her posts today and insisted on going out to play with her mother. Her ears were gorgeous, and the look in her eye was too powerful. I gave in and let them out for a Romp and I couldn't beleive how stunning she was. I had to take some pictures snow or no snow. Hope you like them and think these Mother Daughter pictures are as precious as I think they are. Mother is CH Medeia Beteleges ZTP and Daughter is Family Dobes Alluring Priscilla "Miss Priss" born 01/26/2011

I have to say one of my favorite things about working for Family Dobes is "bragging rights" (along with adult dogs and snuggling puppies :)). When ever I take one of my dogs for a walk and someone stops me to drool at my Doberman I cannot help it I have to brag about how I enjoy the job I have at the kennel and of course the dogs and puppies who could ever forget that!! Many people that I meet that way say what a great job are they hiring and of course I agree and tell them to keep their eyes open for a posting on craigslist. I also cannot resist talking about the great training program that Family Dobes does every Saturday and what it could offer them and their dog (great time spent with their four legged friend)!

Abi

Which One..Which One??  

Sometimes it seems like whichever mom has her babies becomes my favorite, probably partially because I spend a large lump of my time with them. It started with Medeia Betelges (Medeia), I'd just been hired and everything was new and exciting, and she was definitely my favorite Doberman. Then Lavina Ljubvi De Grande Vinko (Lavina) had her puppies, and they were cute and precious and she was definitely my favorite Doberman. Shortly after Lavina had her puppies Texas Von Karpatia (Texa) gave birth to hers. And I'm sure if she'd let me near enough to see her precious babies I would have loved them too. And now there's Baracuda Liborium or Coco. And she is most definitely my favorite Doberman. She is sweet, and concerned, and so stinkin cute, and SUCH a good mom. Steve wasn't lying when he said on familydobes.com that Coco was "perhaps one of the most loved Dobermans on the planet" I couldn't agree more. She's perfect. And I love her.

-Brittany

Coco is such an amazing mother. I got one of her puppies out of their box to encourage Coco to lay down, but she just licked the pup and looked back in the box. I added another pup. That was a no go, a lick and the box again. I had to take the rest of the puppies out and Coco had to double check the box before she laid down! She wanted all of them under her watchful eye. If a puppy crawls under her arm, she'll hold that arm off of the puppy until we move him. If she had hands, Coco wouldn't need us at all!

Lauren

One of my great friends Tommy Lightfoot Garrett is a great writer, and as evidenced throughout his life has great ...   more »

You know thing I learned most through dog training, is how better to train myself. When I was a horse trainer I learned more about people than I ever could have learned studying people, and with dogs it has really been the same. I learned how easy it was to teach myself something, or get me to do something. I have even gone way out on a limb and given my wife this information to use against me!!!! Why would I do that many of you men ask? Because just like a dog, ultimately all I really want is a reward. If the person who can give the reward doesn't know that, then I never will get it. Just like with dog training, letting a dog self reward seldom shapes them into what we would like them to be. It is the same with men. While I believe we need to self reward occasionally, the burden to be responsible for this escapes most of us. We don't mind rewarding ourselves at all, we just often choose to do it at the wrong time or for the wrong reasons, leading to reinforcement of the wrong set of behaviors. That is why a clever spouse or significant other should be the teacher, they can often times be more objective. Notice I said often... This implies a spouse or partner that is objective, fair and consistent just like we need to be when training dogs. How differently do we communicate with each other when we have a referee in the room for example? It is the same with dog training, all of your training should be done in front of someone else so you are on your best behavior.

When it comes to shaping behavior, canine or otherwise the best tool I have found is what I have heard one life coach call the Jelly bean principle. It is simple. For example if you want your man to take out the trash for example, and he does, and you give him a "Jelly Bean" he is likely to repeat the behavior. More importantly, when he wants  "Jelly Bean" he is likely to volunteer the behavior in anticipation of the reward! Notice I said man.... This doesn't seem to work on women, they are much more complicated, just like cats. I will stick to training dogs and myself for now! Anyway, enjoy this clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Em6jmcM4j0

Family Dobes Newsletter

Well there are plenty of good updates to send out, it has been a very busy time ...   more »