Zeus on the loose
When I first got Zeus, I knew absolutely nothing about Dobermann's - it's not a breed I had ever had an interest in owning, so I had never had any reason to learn about them. Once Zeus arrived though, things had to change, so I started reading anything and everything I could find about the breed - with the Internet being so huge, that was a lot of reading.
A lot of what I read was fairly standard to all types of dog: basic care, nutrition, exercise requirements, and potential health problems (some which Dobermann's are more prone to than others). There was a lot of information about ear cropping... I'm not prepared to get into any arguments about it, so please don't email and shout at me, but to me, ear cropping just seems very, very wrong. A lot of the sites I read stated that Dobermann's need more exercise than a lot of other dogs; one clearly said, and this has stuck in my mind since, that they need at least four miles exercise every day, and that some of this had to be spent running.
For the first few weeks that Zeus was here, he seemed depressed. Everything about him, his posture, his facial expression, his general self - it was all depressed; except when he was outside, exploring and having fun. Zeus loves to run at full speed, but he is a clingy boy who doesn't like to leave my side, and there's no way I could run fast enough to let him properly stretch his legs - this is why I decided to see what he thought of bike riding. The first time I ever took him out, it was obvious he was the perfect dog to run along side me as I peddled! Problem was, after a very short distance, I got a flat tyre and had to walk my bike back home before going back out to walk Zeus. As soon as that tyre was fixed though, we were off! I biked all around the lake where we often walk. Progress was slower than it would have been had I been on my own, as Zeus wasn't very fit - but I had never seen him looking so happy! At the end of our ride, Zeus was exhausted, but very happy, and he has never looked back since that day. He is now fit enough to run ahead of me as I peddle; sometimes he races me, and these days, he more often than not wins too! What's more, he is now a very happy dog.
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