Our contract requires that adopters attend obedience classes within 6 months of adoption. There are obvious exceptions to this requirement and the foster will let you know if they do not feel you need to attend. The Dobe is a working breed that needs mental and physical stimulation. They need a strong owner that sets limitations and creates a respectful relationship with their dog. To insure that obedience classes are completed on some of our more challenging dogs, an obedience deposit of $150 will be collected at the time of adoption and returned upon completion of the class of your choice.
All dogs less then 1 year of age do require this deposit. Not only is obedience good for their manners, but it is a great tool for the socialization that very young dogs need.

The Joy of Training Class

There aren’t a lot of us who “loved” school in general, but at some time in our lives
we’ve taken a class or attended training that was really fun. We looked forward to
going. If there was work outside of class, it wasn’t a chore. We wished the class
would last longer or that it would occur more days per week. We felt a little
excitement as we approached the building. This is what training is like for a
Doberman Pinscher.

Dobermans are very smart and love to have an outlet for that. Whether the training
is obedience, agility, rally, whatever – they LOVE it. They get an hour of their
owner’s undivided attention, praise, treats and challenging exercises. It’s a slice of
“Dober-nirvana” for them. They love the practice sessions between classes just as
much.

Training is important for these dogs as well. They need to go to a public class so
that they know that their owner can be around other dogs and still love them. It
strengthens the bond between the owner and the dog. They need to learn to obey
amid distraction. They need to know that they have to perform for their new owner
as well as they did for their foster home.

Owners need training classes as well. Dobermans have breed traits, but they also
have their own personality. Most trainers can give owners very good insights into
the individual personality of their dog. Besides that, once an owner has attended a
class, they have that trainer as a resource from then on. Any behavioral issues or
specific training that might need to be addressed will be much easier with that
resource available.

For all these reasons, Illinois Doberman Rescue (IDR) has made a basic, public
obedience class a REQUIREMENT for most adoptions. The few dogs returned to our
program are almost always ones that were not taken for training. Also, the very few
dogs that end up with a bite history are those not taken for training. A large,
untrained dog is a liability for everyone.

We realize there is a cost involved, so we’re flexible on where the owner takes the
dog as long as the training is reward-based (ask us for suggestions). There are a lot
of training centers that give discounts for rescue dogs. Ask about discounts, use
whatever resource you find economically feasible, but make sure your dog goes for
training.