[Zvonimir]

Hi Staskies, was there a particular reason to choose Dogo Argentino, and specifically a puppy from the back of the litter? This is not meant to be a judgement at all, but rather a concerned reply. Don’t get me wrong: considering that you are unsure what to do, that the situation left you confused, I’m concluding that particular combination of breed and puppy is perhaps not the best choice for your family.

Early age humping is not a good sign overall – the puppy is already taking over as a pack leader and must be corrected immediately, because you have a dangerous dog in the making. Sometimes with male puppies, testosterone can hit them as early as month and a half. Older dominant dogs as well, regardless of their sex, will try to mount other pups, people, and kids. That is just one side of dominance; the aggression will be next, because the dog will assume leadership, and begin correcting everyone around.

When it comes to family dogs, with kids around them, then consider your kid’s school friends, neighbours, wider family, etc., it is best to get a puppy and a breed you can comfortably steer through all of it. That is, a puppy that will be comfortable with its lowest position in the pack and that position deems that it becomes friendly to everyone. But you have the opposite of it.

[Zvonimir]

They say, first ever service dog used for seeing issues was a German Shepherd, some 100 years ago. But GSDs are more compliant and calm and can be trained in that field. A Malinois to be trained as a service dog in that field, would require a different approach from usual which may, or may not, yield in the desired outcome.

Usually Labradors are preferred for that because of their calming psychological effect in public; they do valuable service, but are not perceived as typical service dogs. So when you walk down the street with a service dog, a Malinois or a GSD would produce a different psychological effect on people than a Lab. Let’s face it: people associate Malinois and GSDs with war dogs and prison break movies, but they associate Labs with fluffy toys and fabric softener commercials. It’s about perception, which is outside of our scope to correct it or change.

Then the reactiveness of a Malinois to the distrustful, suspicious, or even fearful public will manifest differently. Will that dog be trained sufficiently to resist constant fear or distrust from the public? Well, that is the question. One is certain – the level of training can’t be the same as for a service Labrador. If the trainer(s) has succeeded in producing, say, 20 Malinois dogs for that particular service and duty, and all of them passed the tests and are employed, then it would be a good start. But if that’s not the case, then it’s not too late to reconsider; that Malinois can still be someone’s good pet, but you may benefit more from a breed of dog and trainers that were specialised in that valuable service with decades of success.

[Zvonimir]

Re. the ear infection, you took him to the vet, right?

Just to mention, to have in mind; skin diseases, arthritis, gum disease, ear infections, obesity, etc. can be linked to improper nutrition. You had him for 2 weeks only, so please take good care of him, treat his ear infection carefully, and give him best raw food you can. Raw food is easier on dog’s stomach and dogs generally feel more relaxed when on raw food. He will recover much faster.

Dog’s ears are his prime sense, and he is traumatised not because of your handling, but because of his confusion with the transition, affected hearing, probably some pain, missing his litter mates, mother, etc. Avoid touching his ears for now when handling him, lower the voice when calling or handling him, lower the noise in the house for now (his ears are super sensitive now) and provide him plenty of water.

[Zvonimir]

Another idea: oftentimes for ear infections vets prescribe some antibiotics. The problem is that they are generic treatments and often too strong for a puppy, which may influence his digestion, irritability etc. I would suggest you also treat the ear itself with specific balms and drops, like this one from GreenPet (they ship internationally): https://www.greenpet.com.au/product/greenpet-herbal-ear-drops/

Like skin itch, ear infections may repeat on a regular basis if not treated specifically, so this can help in the long run.

[Zvonimir]

When you adopt a dog, you must learn some history about her; who was the breeder, why was she given away by the previous owners, etc. Maybe the dog suffers from anxieties which aren’t immediately detectable, but are present. Not all issues are ‘trainable’ on dog; some issues can be cured with a different diet, additions to food, owner’s own training (very few people do that). Although some suggested they don’t meet other dogs for various reasons, that solution may turn against you as soon as your circumstances change, or if your dog is forced outside that comfort zone. Training is a challenge, of sometimes doing things we don’t like, but for the good of the dog.

[Zvonimir]

Young dog = small expectations.

At 3 months, the dog is still a baby. Literally a toddler in human terms. If it’s going to help you, using a corresponding “dog age —> human age” table puts dogs behaviour and our expectations in some sort of realism; what “realistically” can we expect from puppies?

Doberman 3 months = human child at 3 years

Doberman 6 months = human child at 6 years

Doberman at 12 months = human kid at 12 years

Doberman at 16 months = human kid at 12 years too

Doberman at 2 years = human ‘kid’ at 19 years.

In the next few months, set up a good strategy for future training of whatever kind training you desire. But in the meantime, toilet and crate train your puppy, socialise your puppy as best as you can – take the puppy with you EVERYWHERE, to see all sorts of NEW things and situations. Build up his experience with new objects, animals, people, sounds, environments, etc.

[Zvonimir]

Sorry, just to mention a couple of small details;

• I don’t give treats during walks or training. But when our morning / afternoon walks and training end, I sit next to him, say under a tree, and I drink my coffee from the bottle or eat a crunchy bar. I begin first, that is important. He looks at me, and then I give him some jerky and water from his bottle. I want food eating to be a bonding session, in which the proper structure is also established.

<font face=”inherit”>• With Don’ts, and Okays, you can construct commands to be interesting, and as if you were speaking with a human person. Say, “Sit, stay” becomes “Sit, don’t move”. Which is kind of same, but sounds better because it combines two specific things and a word from the learned correction. What comes after Don’t, is associated with previous corrections. Don’t + “Move, Go, Jump, Bite, etc”. If he was corrected for jumping at people, then if you used “Don’t .. don’t jump .. don’t jump … don’t ..” during correction (always </font>emphasise<font face=”inherit”> word DON’T), it sounds nice, and the dog will respond next time. </font>

Dogs respond to contexts. With Okays too, for example, “It’s okay, Come here” if you restrained him previously with “Don’t move” next to a busy street and you have already crossed the street before him. But, if you are still next to him, he stares at you when you observe the road left and right, and then you follow up with “It’s okay. Let’s go”.

[Zvonimir]

Hi, thank you for the reply.

Sure, ‘Don’t’ concept can be confusing at first. But it is meant to give the dog 1) elastic boundaries without too many corrections with sharp ‘No’s’, 2) opportunity to focus on your eyes and the sound of your voice.

When the dog is tempted to do something for which he was previously corrected with a sharp ‘No’ plus pulling of the leash, using Don’t in a normal voice is reminding him to slow down, and >correct himself<, while looking at you carefully, waiting for your further input.

That’s the establishment of self-correction and growing attention. Simple No can’t do it.

“Don’t” works with a previous No. When you set No for something undesirable, and the dog is corrected and won’t do it again that moment, you introduce “Don’t”. By immediately tempting the dog to do something undesirable again (which otherwise he would be corrected with sharp No), at that moment the dog will refuse temptation. He is still under the impression of the previous correction with No.

Repeat “Don’t .. Don’t” in a slow, normal voice while tempting him and the dog will respond by firmly 1) staying in place, 2) refusing to indulge on his impulse, and 3) looking at you.

When you introduce “No + Don’t” for, say: biting hands, nipping shoes, jumping on people, crossing the street impulsively, etc. which is all undesirable behaviour, you will notice that the dog turns his head to make eye contact with you often, whenever he is facing something new.

If the dog faces something new, and you say “Don’t” he will not indulge and he knows he >won’t be corrected<. He self-restrained himself calmly.

This principle is simple and can be applied in, literally, hundreds of situations. For example, for my 4 1/2 months old GSD, I set:

• 3 hard boundaries around the house (3 house doors, 1 large garage door. At each, he stops, looks at me to get approval to move out, or disapproval and he then stays in. He can freely go inside the house from the outside but is not allowed to leave the house without okay.

We did “No + Don’t” for each boundary

• We do the same when crossing the streets. Now he sits firmly on the sidewalk, and even if I step on the road and pull him with a lead to move on while saying “Don’t …”, he resists, pulls back, and won’t move forward. I check if there is traffic coming, he is looking at me attentively, and if I okay him to move, only then he goes.

• To show you the diversity of use: the game of fetching the ball. I allowed him to fetch the ball for a while without any intervention, and he enjoyed it. I wanted him to love the game first without restraints, then introduce some restraints. I introduced “Don’t”, so that he runs after the ball only when I approve that he may go, not every single time. I throw the ball while saying “Don’t go”; he is watching it, then makes eye contact with me, waiting for me to what to do.

I wait for a little, I then disrupt eye contact by looking sideways, then look at him again and release him with “It’s okay, Go fetch.” And he runs to fetch the ball.

All of that is done without a single treat.

What would be an alternative to Don’ts and Okays from above? Treats. Here is the answer to your question. However, treats do nothing but artificially draw a dog’s attention; it usually becomes ‘hand contact’ only, and ‘food smell contact’, because the dog follows treats in our hands and sniffs around our pockets, not quite listening to our voice, or observing our eyes. Treats severely divide the dog’s attention.

With treats, it may appear that the dog is learning faster, but his loyalty and bond diminish or never properly establish. With Don’ts and Okays, the progress seems to be slower in the beginning (because the dog doesn’t do crazy tricks following our hands), but his TRUST in you grows, and the bond becomes stronger. In the long run, which is better?

Regarding the collar, I still use a flat, wide, normal collar (padded leather) because I don’t yet train the puppy to keep an exact distance from me or an exact formation. I use a long leash, allowing him to sniff around to learn more about the environment, plants, objects, animals, etc. to recognise them by shapes, scents etc. Sometimes puppies bark loudly at common objects because they don’t recognise what they are; long lead allows him to go around and sniff and look, then look how I touching unknown objects, etc. That is what I’m focused on.

For now, more freedom, longer lead. In several months, when he learns more about different situations, I will begin shortening the lead, pacing him more to keep exact distance. For that I may use either a German-style chain collar, or a slip lead; I have both, but I’ll see what works better for him.

I’ll keep you posted if you wish. Thank you.

[Zvonimir]

If it’s a fungal problem, then this comes in two formulas (bacterial and fungal, you choose): https://www.greenpet.com.au/product/ear-support-prescription-pack/

In any case, treat him well and watch for (possible) additional issues or complications. Ta.

[Zvonimir]

That’s a very nice kit, Bill. For hiking with dog(s), and general outdoors exercises and training, I might suggest (just in case):

1. a few capsules of activated charcoal (if the dog swallows something odd or potentially toxic, you give it to dog);

2. a 10 ml syringe with a dose of injectable vitamin C (if the dog is bitten by a snake for example, or is exposed to paralysis tick, you may syringe it down dog’s throat, or in the worse case scenario, inject it in between dog’s shoulders);

3. some small spray with bug, tick and insect repellent (which you spray into dog’s coat).