My doberman pup is only one year and three months old, as of saturday, the 5th, and when he was younger, he was such a handful, I didn´t think I could handle him! He eventually got better - no longer having his fits of trying to prove dominance - but for about a month, give or take a week, he´s been going backwards! it´s like he´s eight months old all over again! He´s neutered, and everything, so it´s not hormones. Does anyone have a doberman, or a "gladiator breed" as the dog whisperer calls it, that may have some advise? Is this normal? He gets an hour of exercise every day - does he need more??

Do you provide him with daily obedience training so that he has mental stimulation and develops a habit of obeying you? When I had my collie Chester, I trained him 3x a day.

First of all, I don´t agree with what the dog whisperer calls a dobermann. They are not ´gladiators´. Depends on how a dobe is brought up. Dobes are sweet and loyal family dogs. Visit us at the Amazing Dobermanns club for some infos on the breed that might help.
I think your dobe is trying to dominate you. Are you very lenient with him? Try to show him that you are the alpha in a positive manner. Never let him get away with misdeeds. A good trainer will be a great help too. Dobes are like that. They are dominant and if you don´t impose your will on them then they will take over. Remember, only positive reinforcement will help.

I agree with Dob - they are wonderful companions and family dogs and have nothing worrier like or gladiator like about them- but would like to ad one thing. You say that your dog gets one hour of exercise a day and you want to know if he needs more - well that depends how does the rest of his day look like? They need space to move and play around. So if he gets one hour of good workout and then is looked indoors the whole day then he definitively needs more. If he gets one hour of exercises and spends the rest of the day roaming outside chasing birds and playing then he should be fine. Basically more info is needed to give you good advice but above all as Dob said he needs rules that you have to impose upon him. Good luck with your companion.

Do you provide him with daily obedience training so that he has mental stimulation and develops a habit of obeying you? When I had my collie Chester, I trained him 3x a day.
Unfortunately, I don´t have time to train him every day. I go to work at 7 in the morning, and get home at 7:30 in the evening, when I exercise him. When I play fetch with him, I make him sit, and I taught him "right paw" "left paw" and "double paw" which he´s very good at, then I throw the ball. He walks right next to me, and other than off leash training, he´s really obedient

Can I ask what he´s doing? You say that he´s being a handful but what exactly does that entail? Very often owners that come to me for training have picked up these catch phrases from television shows such as the dog whisperer and believe their dog is being "dominant" when in reality the dog is just confused, sick or bored. Please elaborate on what behaviors exactly are dominant and what behaviors you are having trouble with.

It is a pitty that you cannot train him every day. If he is left for so long to his own devices each day, he is bound to become more independent, which will result in a tendency to try to be the pack leader. Can you not spare him 10 minutes? Just do some basic commands, it will reassure him of your pack leader qualities. I do tend to think, that dogs, who are trying to take over, sometimes are simply lacking in confidence in their owner, because they do not interact with them sufficiently.

First of all, I don´t agree with what the dog whisperer calls a dobermann. They are not ´gladiators´. Depends on how a dobe is brought up. Dobes are sweet and loyal family dogs. Visit us at the Amazing Dobermanns club for some infos on the breed that might help.
I think your dobe is trying to dominate you. Are you very lenient with him? Try to show him that you are the alpha in a positive manner. Never let him get away with misdeeds. A good trainer will be a great help too. Dobes are like that. They are dominant and if you don´t impose your will on them then they will take over. Remember, only positive reinforcement will help.
Before I got him, I´ve done tons of research, and I follow everything that numerous sites have instructed, along with the "firm, but loving hand", which I do. I let him on the couch only when I say it´s ok. He doesn´t jump on me, or beg for food. The only thing he does wrong, which I can´t stand, is he´ll throw a fit when people don´t pet him or pay attention to him on his walks. How do you brake them from that? I´ve even gone so far as acting as though I´m a dog, and when he´d chew on my arm - never broke the skin - I´d bite him right back and hold on until he lets go and submits. Is that the wrong thing to do?

I agree with Dob - they are wonderful companions and family dogs and have nothing worrier like or gladiator like about them- but would like to ad one thing. You say that your dog gets one hour of exercise a day and you want to know if he needs more - well that depends how does the rest of his day look like? They need space to move and play around. So if he gets one hour of good workout and then is looked indoors the whole day then he definitively needs more. If he gets one hour of exercises and spends the rest of the day roaming outside chasing birds and playing then he should be fine. Basically more info is needed to give you good advice but above all as Dob said he needs rules that you have to impose upon him. Good luck with your companion.
While I´m at work, he has full roam of the house and backyard. It´s not very big, about the average size backyard. I´ll start taking him out for two hours, and see if that helps at all

Can I ask what he´s doing? You say that he´s being a handful but what exactly does that entail? Very often owners that come to me for training have picked up these catch phrases from television shows such as the dog whisperer and believe their dog is being "dominant" when in reality the dog is just confused, sick or bored. Please elaborate on what behaviors exactly are dominant and what behaviors you are having trouble with.
When I take him on walks, he usually ignores other people and animals, but when someone stopps to chat, and doesn´t really pay attention to him, he throws a fit when they leave, and does what I call a shark dive - he stands on his hind quarters and dives from side to side, and more often than not he grabs onto my arm in the process. When he does that, I usually bite the back of his neck, at the same pressure he´s biting me. After several minutes, he´ll give u, but he´ll do it again as soon as someone else stops to chat.

It is a pitty that you cannot train him every day. If he is left for so long to his own devices each day, he is bound to become more independent, which will result in a tendency to try to be the pack leader. Can you not spare him 10 minutes? Just do some basic commands, it will reassure him of your pack leader qualities. I do tend to think, that dogs, who are trying to take over, sometimes are simply lacking in confidence in their owner, because they do not interact with them sufficiently.
Whenever I take him on walks I go over his training. He walks at my side, ha sits, lays down, shakes, and even waits for my command "cross" to cross the street. And before I leave the house in the morning, I tell him to get his toy, and bring it to me. Once I have it, I´ll tell him to sit and give him pets and brush his teeth, then give him the toy and one last pat on the head, and I go to work

By doing that you are being submissive to his demands. He obviously wants to have attention always. Try to instill in him that he could not always have his way. Try to impose on him the word ´no´ so that when he hears that he would understand that it is not alright to do such things that you don´t want him to do. When he´s doing wrong, make eye contact and say ´no´.
It is alright if he would chew on your arm but only for a certain time and never try to play bite back. You will only encourage him if you do that. My Dobe Ghia loves to do that and I let her since it´s her way of welcoming me and showing she is very happy but when I say ´no´ she stops and goes on to sit infront of me. Try training your dog to do that.

By doing that you are being submissive to his demands. He obviously wants to have attention always. Try to instill in him that he could not always have his way. Try to impose on him the word ´no´ so that when he hears that he would understand that it is not alright to do such things that you don´t want him to do. When he´s doing wrong, make eye contact and say ´no´.
It is alright if he would chew on your arm but only for a certain time and never try to play bite back. You will only encourage him if you do that. My Dobe Ghia loves to do that and I let her since it´s her way of welcoming me and showing she is very happy but when I say ´no´ she stops and goes on to sit infront of me. Try training your dog to do that.
I don´t play bite, and I do say no. When he starts getting worked up, he doesn´t listen to anything, and nothing seems to get his attention. Alot of people that live near me say that he´ll get better when he´s about two, but what I don´t get, is how can he do so well, then start doing worse, even when the routines are the same?

I love Dobes

It sounds to me like he is bored. You walk him and care for him, you have trained him and you are watching out for typical mistakes like an engagement into the who is the dominant dog by bite power games but you still are out for 12 hours a day and he is on his own. Is that so? Is he alone in the house and yard/garden?

He might act out like this similar to children who will go from "good" to "bad" simply because it gets them more attention.
Dob´s are smart and they need love and attention and they need company and caresses like they need to breath. You can tell by the way he acts out when overlooked by others on walks.
It sounds like your dog is lonely and bored and would do anything to have you focus on him a 100%.

Now if my guess is right you will need to find him an companion. An other animal or a dog sitter - I am not sure. After all it is just me guessing.

Good luck to you guys.

Don´t worry, I´ve been through it, too. Your dob is now a teenager and behaves accordingly.
Just act as usual and don´t relent: training and exercise as usual. As a teenager he challenges your authority. Dobermans develop slowly - he´ll be a quiet well behaved dog when he reaches 3 years. And as Runo says - he wants your attention. I wasn´t as strong as I should be and now I have a charming but spoiled brat of a doberman on my head.

Don´t you have a friend with a dog? If you could go out together, once, twice a week - it would improve the situation immensly - dobermans can´t be left all alone all day long, they are pack dogs. In solitude they can develop psychic problems. I´ve got a solitary dob, but I work at home. I even don´t need to play with him, I´m just here and he always stays within 0,5 m from me - won´t even go out into the garden without me - and I have a big one.