Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have been researching the breed, on and off, for quite some time. I have decided that based on my personality and lifestyle, a Doberman would be perfect for me. I have one reservation, and that is my work schedule. I work 12 hour shifts, at night, from 6pm to 6am. This is only 2 to 3 days in a row, and then I'm off for 2 to 3 days. On my working days, when I get out I come home, stay up for a few hours (and could exercise/train/spend time with the dog, and then I sleep, and usually rise an hour before it's time to go to work again. My days off are, of course, more flexible. The reason I'm getting into details about my schedule is that I see that these dogs require a lot of attention, and I am concerned that I will not be able to give them the attention they need to feel loved. Basically, I'm asking for opinions. I should add...I live alone, so crate training with a young pup for 13 hours at a time would be bad on the days that I have to work. I'd be happy to attend obedience training, but my schedule fluctuates once a week, so that I only have the same days off in a two-week period. This would make it hard to attend such training. Your feedback would be appreciated.

ALSO- On a side note: breeders. According to the terms of service on this site, it is unacceptable to post negative comments about a particular individual or breeder. It's also unethical to post shameless pluggings of any one breeder, so I ask this simple question...have any of you heard or experienced anything POSITIVE with the following breeders?
-Elite Family Dogs
-Dutchmeer Dobermans
-Amaris Dobermans
-Von Wolf Dobermans
-Kimbertal
-Von Arian

-Thanks a lot, sorry for being so long-winded, I'm making an important decision

There's nothing wrong with asking for references for breeders. Typically people would respond to your post off forum iwth a reply- positive or negative.

It's good to ask questions before jumping into something.

Your schedule is not ideal for dogs- maybe an older dog (over 2 years)- but still 12 hours in a crate is tough even if it's only 3 times a week. You can make it work out, but you would probably want to hire a dog walker on the days you are working to take the dog out at least once, but the timing of that would be I'd say about 10pm so most businesses are closed at that time. Maybe a neighborhood high school student looking for some cash?

I know in my area we have some drop in obedience classes that you pay for a pass of 10 and go in when it's convenient- so for classes it may be ok.

I'm personally of the opinion, if a person is creative enough and flexible enough, they can make a situation work out. Yet, you have to be dedicated to it and sometimes it requires some extra money that you hadn't anticipated. For me, that was solved by setting aside money from my check into a savings account for them so I use it when I need to and don't feel guilty.
-----
Chelle and the rest of the crew including, but not limited to Kita and Taiko (the shiba inu wrestle maniacs), Adi (reserved and dignified tabby cat), and all 28 reptiles

>>I have been researching the breed, on and off, for quite some time. I have decided that based on my personality and lifestyle, a Doberman would be perfect for me. I have one reservation, and that is my work schedule. I work 12 hour shifts, at night, from 6pm to 6am. This is only 2 to 3 days in a row, and then I'm off for 2 to 3 days. On my working days, when I get out I come home, stay up for a few hours (and could exercise/train/spend time with the dog, and then I sleep, and usually rise an hour before it's time to go to work again. My days off are, of course, more flexible. The reason I'm getting into details about my schedule is that I see that these dogs require a lot of attention, and I am concerned that I will not be able to give them the attention they need to feel loved. Basically, I'm asking for opinions. I should add...I live alone, so crate training with a young pup for 13 hours at a time would be bad on the days that I have to work. I'd be happy to attend obedience training, but my schedule fluctuates once a week, so that I only have the same days off in a two-week period. This would make it hard to attend such training. Your feedback would be appreciated.
>>
>>ALSO- On a side note: breeders. According to the terms of service on this site, it is unacceptable to post negative comments about a particular individual or breeder. It's also unethical to post shameless pluggings of any one breeder, so I ask this simple question...have any of you heard or experienced anything POSITIVE with the following breeders?
>>-Elite Family Dogs
>>-Dutchmeer Dobermans
>>-Amaris Dobermans
>>-Von Wolf Dobermans
>>-Kimbertal
>>-Von Arian
>>
>>-Thanks a lot, sorry for being so long-winded, I'm making an important decision

>>>>>>>>>>>

The main thing will be elimination relief for the dog during the long shifts. It is not going to work for a dog of any age to have to hold it for 12 hours. This leads to problems such as separation anxiety, urinary tract infections, and even kidney damage. These are serious, expensive problems that cause the dog to suffer. If you can make reliable arrangements for the dog to be relieved while you're working long shifts, it might work. Otherwise, no, I really do not believe it will.
-----
Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47

I would look into finding someone who could let your dog out sometime during the 12 hours. I know it is tough time wise - I have a sister who works that same kind of schedule. She is a nurse and works the 7p to 7a schedule. Truthfully, her dogs have done fine with it, but when she had a puppy, she had someone let them out till they were older. In fact, she might have left her puppy with my other sister on her shift nights sometimes. The good thing about the evening work schedule is that once they are past the puppy stage, they will sleep most nights anyway........ IMHO not as stressful on them as a daytime shift.

As far as the breeders go, NO NO NO NO NO! Do not do your shopping on the web. Start by doing your research about the breed on the DPCA (Doberman Pinscher Club of America) website. www.dpca.org I will tell you truthfully, that the majority of the good breeders out there do not have a website.