I've got a Dobe who turns 9 this month. She's a senior as far as dobe's are concerned. She has been the most wonderful dog in the world. Smart as can be, and was extremely difficult to train in the beginning. Once we began seeing eye to eye she picked up on everything almost immediately. I can trust her 100%, but I also put in countless hours training her beginning at 16 weeks. We can go anywhere (without a leash) and she will not leave my right leg. She does what I tell her to do, immediately, and won't stop until I tell her to stop. For example, if I tell her to "down", she won't get up until the "up" command regardless of what is going on around her. She's not attack trained, but I did train her to bare her teeth on command. What I like most about having a dobe is everyone respects the dog. Especially if the dog is extremely well trained, people immediately think the dog is attack trained.
She's has a wonderful termparment, great around people, and other dogs when out in public. Cautious, reserved, and suspicious of strangers in or immediately around her house. She's much more aggressive towards strangers when I'm not around, and it's just my wife and daughter at home.
She's been nothing but a joy after she hit 2 years. It saddens me to watch her get old. She now has arthritis and both ACL's have snapped in her hind legs. She can't get around like she used to, but she still has that sparkle in her eye, and when you look at her you can just see the wheels turning inside her head. She still thinks she's 3 years and invincible, unfortunately I see the ravages of time taking its toll on her. Below is a baby picture of Bella and a shot of her when she was in her prime. I'm going to miss the hell out of that dog when she's gone.
