Dotty is adopted.
Dotty is a wonderful spirited 5-year-old, who has flourished remarkably during her year with us at DRUE. She’s now eagerly awaiting a loving home of her own and someone to continue her training. She’s been overlooked for a year and we don’t want her spending any more time in kennels. Dotty arrived apprehensive and fearful of so many things, but during her time with us she has evolved to now have much more confidence and trust in those who interact with her. She was particularly reactive to other dogs and cars. She would often redirect and nip her lead or handler out of fear and stress. But now her reactivity is greatly reduced, she has really turned a corner and has become super affectionate, she loves a cuddle, particularly having mastered the ‘Dobermann lean’. She is a firm favourite with our kennel team who spend so much time giving cuddles.
She can walk calmly past other dogs, and has been off lead in a paddock with a dog present with no reactions. This said Dotty will not be a dog for you to take to the local park to run around playing with other dogs. She cannot be off-lead in public places, and we do not want anyone being over-ambitious about this by putting her in a situation she cannot cope with; it is for her safety if anything happens. If your neighbour has noisy reactive dogs then Dotty will react back which would be stressful on everyone. Dotty’s ideal family would appreciate her unique qualities, understanding that while she’s not suited for off-lead activities in public spaces, she offers so much more in a loving home. We think an ideal home for Dotty would be rural (purely to not overwhelm her as we do not want her to be set up to fail).
Here’s what makes Dotty special:
She thrives in a serene environment, ideally as the only pet and in a household without young children.
While Dotty would need to master house-training (have sympathy, she’s been in rescue for over a year), this presents a wonderful opportunity to bond through training, much like you would with a new puppy. Crating at night is advisable for a smooth transition.
Impressively, Dotty now shows she can pass horses or traffic with no reaction, as evident in her video. This is a huge step forward for her.
Her recall needs a lot of work; she gets easily distracted (living in kennels she is obviously full of adrenaline, showing her zest for life when she is out), again this gives an opportunity to bond through training.
Dotty’s vigilant Dobermann nature (she loves to patrol) makes her an excellent guardian for a rural home, where she won’t feel overwhelmed.
Her affectionate nature and signature ‘Dobermann lean’ make her a delightful companion for cuddles and love.
Please watch her video https://fb.watch/oI2eUUtIfR/
Please let us know if you are interested in Dotty – in the first instance by filling out our application form, then we can have a chat to answer each other’s questions in more detail.
Dotty was assessed by a qualified behaviourist on 19/5/23.
“Dotty greeted us in an excited manner but not over boisterous. She jumped up at the gate but showed no negative reaction. She greeted me in a prosocial manner and took a treat from me with no snatching.
I touched Dotty all over including ears, mouth, abdomen, tail, feet etc. She showed some wariness when I touched her hindquarters but there was no negative behaviour, she did try to move away from my touch, but did recover quickly and took treats.
She did not pull on the lead and walked past a dog at a suitable distance, her recall is poor.
Kennel staff report that Dotty has an issue with proximity to other dogs, she did pass dogs calmly while on the lead, and she also passed other dogs without reaction on exiting the kennel.
Dotty was happy to greet me and showed very good impulse control.
Dotty was motivated by the treats and toys but was not over-excited, she fetched a ball and brought it back to me for a treat, but she was easily distracted.
On a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being the lowest her reactivity was a 1
Although the kennel staff reported that she can react and redirect onto the handler I did not observe this, she behaved calmly when traffic went past.
Dotty was happy to release the ball or the tug toy and enjoyed playing. There was no guarding behaviour, and she did not snatch treats.
In summary
Dotty is trainable and new owners will need to work on focus and recall. She has good impulse control but does show some nervousness and is easily distracted.
I did not observe any negative behaviour, but the kennel staff indicate that she would be better as an only dog.
She engaged with me very well.”
Dotty video.
Dotty Video