Stupid question.

[hisdestiny63]

Hi:
This might seem like the dumbest question ever asked but, I have heard dobe's rarely bark. I have heard (from hubby who has raised them before) that they never bark and if they do it's kind of like a quiet woof and that's it. I have also heard that dobe's are really, really smart and are very easy to train. My friend had a dobe mix and had him housetrained within a week. Can it be so?

[Sue J]

Hi: I don't know about other dobes but mine sure barks loud. Sometimes she woofs but most of the time it's sorta like that old commercial--when she opens her mouth everyone listens. After raising 5 dobes and working on my 6th, I certainly believe they are highly intelligent, generally easy to train, and have high desire to please their humans, but that doesn't mean that one doesn't need to spend the time and energy to do it. I've never had any dog that fully house trained in a week though.

BTW, welcome to the forum.

[jelly8bean]

My older girl, Sara who is under 50 lbs has the biggest bark around. You wouldn't believe the sound, but my biggest girl (rottie) has a woof woof.. no one suspects her size till they see her. Dobies are very smart and really enjoy learning new stuff, house trained in a week? Maybe there was a head start somewhere else (ie shelter, home she was raised in whatever) cause I have to agree.. takes a bit longer normally.

[magtie]

yeah the dobs i've met make full use of their barks heheh

[violator]

my dobie is generally quiet, like when someone comes to the house and rings the bell he wont bark, my mix takes care of that lol, but when he sees something out the window by god he barks, and it really is some bark, its a "do what i say!!" bark, and being a dog trainer i can tell u that house breaking in a week is a no go.

[apollo]

Apollo barks at any strange noise which is fine by me. It took us about 3-4weeks to housebreak him, it goes by so fast you don't even realize it. Remember there are no stupid questions we are here to help.

[Kane08]

Hello! Just wanted to throw in my experiance...Kane is a talker! Oh my...When company first gets there..when the kids are walking home from school (we live right next to the HS)..but one thing I am trying to limit him on is barking when the neighbors dog is out..the dog is older and does not bark at all but goodness Kane goes nuts!! He has made a path (bye bye grass) around a tree and the lengh of the fence running and barking at the poor dog. He loves to be outside but when the neighbors dog is out we call Kane in cause I dont want to annoy the neighbors with barking madness ya know???:eek:

[Bob J]

My dobe rarely barks. The only time I hear him bark is when we go to my friends house and he plays with my friends' dog. But then again he is only 4 months old.

Oh, I had my pup house broke in 3 days. The only accident he would have would be in his cage at nite. Poor little guy just couldnt hold it all night.
But he was only 8 weeks old. He never has made a mess in the house since the initial 3 days. I think I'm lucky on that point. I don't really think he is any smarter than most dobies and my older Belgian Sheppard has been a good tutor for him.

[Big Dogs]

I agree that dobes are really willing to please and our dobes bark 3 or 4 times to let us know some one is there and they quit most of the time unless there is something odd going on. I agree that they are easily house trained ours have the Idea down really well withing a couple of days, but when there puppies they sometimes get carried away playing or there not so attentive owners forget to let them out frequently and you will have an accident. Bob having an older dog around will excellerate his learning curve and it being a Belgian is a bonus as they are another great breed to train.

[fritz'mom]

I would say that both barking and house training really depend on the individual dog and the way that the owner responds to each. My boy barks when someone comes to the door, but as long as I let him check out the person if they come inside he is fine. He has started something new the past few nights. When it gets dark at night he will go to my glass door off the kitchen and stand there and bark, like he's warning whoever might be out there that they better not even try it! He will go from the glass door to the living room window "on alert" until he is satisfied that nothing is going to try to come in. Then he settles down and is fine for the rest of the night, unless he hears something.

As far as house training. I think Dobe's are exceptionally smart animals, but I wouldn't expect them to pick up on potty training any quicker than another similarly intelligent dog breed. Again, it really depends on the individual dog and the time that you spend training and supervising your dog.

[Dobs4ever]

He was very lucky - Mine are ever on the alert for anything that moves or breathes.