Dobies can be great dogs, intelligent and sensitive, energetic and family oriented - you should have a great time.
Things I have learned after 27 years of dogs owning me:
1) Never hit a dog. You don't need to and hitting means you have failed, not the dog.
2) Keep a dog on the lead until safely in a wooded or park area, then let it off. Never keep a dog continually tied up, this is a good recipe for a dog who will never come when you call. Then when they finally come, the owner hits the dog out of frustration and of course, the dog never wants to come to the owner when loose.
3) Do socialize your dog with others dogs - this is highly recommended by dog behaviourists and me from my own experience.
4) If you can find a crowd of dog owners who habituate to a certain location, this is good thing, as you will meet some really nice people this way, and yet better, their dog exercises your dog.
5) Many times take the collar off your dog when in the house to remind you that a dog isn't property but family.
6) Remember to set out a Xmas stocking for the dog.
7) According to Consumer's Report, Ol Roy brand dry dog food at Walmart was as good as the expensive brands of dog food, as proven in independent studies, feeding the dogs over a one year period. Needless to say, this study upset the expensive brand of dog food companies.
8) Dogs throw up, pooh, pee, and chew... just who they are. Occasionally it will happen in your house.
9) Discover the miracle of Fabreeze. Good for the car if it ever starts to smell like dog.
10) Taking your dog for a walk will transform from a chore into special time. This will take several hundred walks to discover.
11) When you discover what a woman magnet puppies are, you will kick yourself for not buying one when you were eighteen.
12) One day you will have to say good bye to your companion.
