Rescue Doberman - Today's Meet & Greet

Rather than hijack the "Doberman" thread in the working dogs forum, thought i'd start a new one here.
For those of you who arent aware, the OH and I put our names down for a young male Doberman in our local rescue centre...

Ok, took our existing 2 to meet "Joseph" this morning. He was totally fine with Jed (our 2 yr old BC who is a well mannered, calm chap) and for the most part paid him little attention. We walked round the exercise area with both dogs on a lead and they were brilliant, they checked each other out and Joseph respected Jed.

However, Flynn was a different matter as I thought he would be. Being only 9 months old, he's very excitable and vocal and as a consequence is set upon regularly by other dogs. I've said this many times but he's a very easy target for older and bigger dogs and they know this. Joseph immediately picked up on Flynn's vulnerability and greeted him with no respect (although there were no hackles raised). All he wanted to do was pin him down and show him who was boss. Flynn was very intimidated and didnt want to go anywhere near Joseph.

The result of Joseph's frustration was much jumping at my OH (who was walking him) and lots of mouthing at arms, the lead and clothes, ripping the OH's coat in the process (with teeth). The young female volunteer tried to convince us that he only wanted to play, that 2 energetic dogs would be good for each other and that he was only young and would grow out of it.

However, it's very clear to me that the similar energies of Flynn and Joseph would create hostility, not friendship. He saw Flynn as a target, not a playmate. We're going back tomorrow to have another go but i'm not optimistic. I will try another approach and thats to have Flynn sat calm and waiting when Joseph is brought out (which is what I did with Jed). Today Flynn was second to meet him and he jumped out the car all wound up and excited which Joseph obviously saw.

Like I said, i'm not optimistic but I feel I owe it to the Dobe to give him another chance tomorrow. If he acts the same again then we'll have our name removed from his reserve. It's a shame as he has great potential and deserves a home which will challenge him and if Flynn wasnt in the equation then we would have taken him on. He needs a home where he is the only dog or where the other dog is older and calmer.

Thank you to the likes of Colin, Borderdawn, fluffybunnyfeet and everybody else who offered me advice in that thread, it came in valuable today. I will give another report after tomorrow's attempt!

Shame it didn't go as well as you had hoped. I hope tomorrows meeting goes better between Flynn and Joseph. Fingers crossed.

I think it is wonderful you are going for a rescue Dobe. If it doesn't go well tomorrow don't be too upset, I am sure you will get to meet the right dog for you soon.

Maybe if Flynn is a bit flighty he needs an older dog who is more steady?

Best of luck to you xxxx

Well done for giving it another go. I did think Flynn might be a bit "gung ho," its what prompted me to post in the first place. Similar temperaments often cause problems. best of luck.
Dawn.

What might be worth a try bearing in mind that Joseph might not get out much as he is in kennels is for him to have a good run first with just you and your OH and then when your both fully satisfied that he has claimed down a bit, get him to sit with one of you and then go and get Flynn for their introduction.

Keep Joseph on his lead to start of with, but let Flynn off so if he wants or feels the need to get away then he can. If things go well then you an always let Joseph off.

I really do wish you luck for tomorrow. But just remember that it has got to be Flynn that controls the relationship.

Good luck Hun.........rely on your own instincts too. I understand what everyone has said, but remember that your th one bring the other dog home...and that they willl then be confined.
Hope today is different

good luck will be thinking of you

Good luck.Looking forward to hearing about how today goes.

Well, today the script was flipped a little bit but in a positive way.

I had both Jed and Flynn sat together whilst Joseph was brought out and we had a walk round the exercise area and all went fine. Flynn and Joseph had a sniff with each other and there was no hostility there and both managed to control their urge to jump around quite well.

The volunteer suggested we go to somewhere enclosed and let them off so we ended up inside this building. Flynn was let off whilst the other 2 were on leads and he didnt really pay the Dobe much interest, he was too engrossed in sniffing around. The good thing with Flynn is although he is a bit OTT when he greets a dog, once he's said hello then he's happy to forget about them.

Then we swapped and had Flynn on a lead with Joseph off and the same thing happened. So then we decided to let them both off and they were completely fine and didnt go all crazy running round like i'd expected. However, this room was where the food was obviously prepared and there were bits of kibble dotted around the floor. Both dogs happened to spot a bit of kibble under the table at the same time and both went for it. I thought this was going to be the point where all hell would break loose! Anyway, Flynn is terribly greedy and snapped at Joseph who immediately backed off. Flynn thought he'd just make sure he'd got enough space so pushed Joseph back a bit further with a few more snaps and surprisingly, Joseph didnt attempt to argue. He simpy went back to the volunteer!

They did say though that if any of the other dogs have a go at him he submits and is a bit of a coward really but i'm still not going to rush into a decision. I'm not sure if having all 3 dogs together was the key today and if Jed was the calming factor as he simply stood there looking totally bored with it all and completely uninterested.

I'm going back tomorrow but will just take Flynn to meet him as it's evident that there isnt going to be a problem where Jed is concerned. My OH would have taken him home today but we've had one good meet and one bad and i'm not willing to base a decision on 2 days alone. They've also said we dont need a home check so it seems everything rest on my shoulders!

I'm really pleased that today went so well for you Leanne.

Do they not have an enclosed open space for the dogs to run around in where there are less distractions (i.e.: food all over the floor) because that would mean that they either have to concentrate or totally ignore each other.

Leanne as you know all to well distractions regardless of what it is will always give you different results to the norm. So my suggestion is that when you go back tomorrow ask to take them both out to a secure field and see how they behave then.

If all goes well in the field then you will need to see how they both behave being put in a room together where the space is limited.

Good luck, but please don't look on Saturdays meeting as a bad one just because Joseph was all over Flynn and being overly excitable and boisterous. A bad meeting would have been a fight between the two dogs and as that never happened in my opinion you have had two very good meetings beween Flynn and Joseph.

I`m glad today was more positive. Good luck with the next meet.