Training Considerations

Obedience
Obedience is the cornerstone of everything you do with your dog. If you don't have obedience, you don't have anything. People try to put obedience into two camps: Positive Training Techniques and Negative (or Compulsive) Training Techniques. Volumes have been written about pros and cons of the two approaches. In reality, neither approach works by itself. I've found that mostly positive, with very limited compulsive techniques work best for Bahnhof Dobermans.

The original works by William Koehler are very compulsive (Obedience, Tracking, Protection). Karen Pryor is known for being a proponent of positive methods. I highly recommend her books, Don't Shoot the Dog and Reaching the Animal Mind. I've read all of these books, Koehler's and Pryor's works, and many more on training dogs. Additionally, I've worked with many world class trainers. The successful trainers base their training on positive methods. The honest trainers admit to using limited compulsion with their dogs, even if their base is positive.

Some breeds like Rhodesian Ridgbacks shut down when compulsion is used.

I've found the best thing to do when training my dogs is to start with food. Food is calming. It allows for precision and does not get the dog too "amped up." Once the dog knows an exercise, then a toy can be used, which if done correctly, does not lose the precision that the dog learned when food was used. Toys, with Bahnhof Dobermans, are so motivating, that precision is difficult during early stages of learning. Start with food and transition to a toy for motivation.

Additionally, regarding negative (compulsive) techniques, I don't stick my hand in flames, walk in front of speeding trucks, or jump off cliffs. Why? I know hot things burn me. I know stepping in front of big, moving things hurts. I know that falling hurts. Dogs, when in pursuit of a rabbit or just running around sniffing, can miss the fact that an oncoming truck is speeding toward them. Thus, for them to learn that certain words mean, "Watch out! Look at me right now and do as I say right now!" can save their lives. Because I love my dogs, I teach them that when a certain word is uttered, a they must pay attention to me, NOW. Thus, I use compulsive techniques in a very limited way. Such training provides the most safety for my dogs.

It is well known that people who are born with an inability to feel pain, often get killed when they are children because they do not know what situations will harm them. We feel pain for a reason: It protects us! In my opinion, to use pain to protect my dog from serious injury or death is a permissible use of force. Thus, I use VERY LIMITED use of pain in order to preserve my dogs' lives.

That being said, a steady diet of compulsion will ruin the Bahnhof Doberman. Bahnhof Dobermans love to fight, and eventually a steady diet of compulsion will be seen as conflict by the dog, which eventually becomes a fight. As this dog matures, he will become dangerous. I do not recommend using ongoing negative methods with a Bahnhof Doberman, or you will be making a phone call that you must return him because he is "too aggressive." For excellent coaching in obedience, see Ivan Balabanov's DVD's entitled Obedience without Conflict: Playing the Game.​​

On this same topic, alpha rolling is NOT a good idea with a Bahnhof Doberman. There is absolutely NO reason to EVER alpha roll a Bahnhof Doberman. Again, these dogs love to fight and alpha rolling just starts the fight, early. I believe it was Temple Grandin in Animals in Translation, who pointed out that people believe their dogs know that cats are not dogs and rabbits are not dogs, but somehow, don't know that people are not dogs. As she points out, this kind of thinking is absurd. Your dog knows that you are not a dog, so why would you ever put yourself into his pack structure? You control all of his resources. You do not need to alpha roll him. Use his food, his play, his time with you to manage his behavior. You do not need to insert yourself into his pack structure. Additionally, when in the studies that highlighted pack structure, the non-alpha's were waiting to become alpha. How does that translate into your household? It means when you are not watching, of if you are having a day when you appear to be "weak," such as if you are tired or injured, the beta wolf attacks you. It is not healthy to be the alpha wolf in a wolf pack.

Avatar, Calderon, and Chantilly were all returned due to being "too aggressive." By the time Calderon and Chantilly returned I had learned that positive was better. I also learned that anxiety cannot be "corrected." If you punish anxiety, the Bahnhof Doberman will only fight more.