VIEWER DISCRETION: You will need sunglasses to look at Zulu The Doberman, because…
Her coat GLOWS!
Zulu is one of our Antinol Puppas that started their Antinol journey on day 1 coming home at 8 weeks.
Tell us about yourself, have you always been a Dobe lover? What attracted you to Dobermans?
I most definitely have always been a Doberman lover. I remember the first time I saw a Doberman so clearly. I was only a kid, out on a walk with my parents when I saw a beautifully trained Doberman and I’ve been in love with the breed ever since. They just look so regal, they’re very smart but also quirky and keep you on your toes at all times. The main thing that attracted me about the breed is their intelligence, their loyalty and the fact that they’re a “Velcro dog”, meaning they do not leave your side, to the point where you can’t even go to the toilet by yourself. They also seem to have a good sense of humour. It’s a shame they often get portrayed as evil, aggressive… Every day we try to break that stigma.
Who is Miss Zulu? How old is she, where is she from? What is her personality like?
Zulu is a very sassy and energetic girl that turned one at the end of September this year. She is a Walamara Doberman. Barbara has been breeding Dobermans for decades. She breeds show lines, but with the main focus on health and temperament. And you can absolutely tell!
Zulu is always full of beans, since the day we brought her home. She makes me laugh every day. She’s always up for a play, whether that be tug of war, chasing each other or even just running around the house like a lunatic. When she’s done with zoomies however, she turns into the biggest snuggle bug and will cuddle up on the couch with me. She doesn’t always realise she’s not a lapdog.
She loves having the last word when she’s doing something she’s not supposed to. She’s a very busy bee and my sole purpose in life is to keep her entertained, or so she thinks. Also, when she’s being quiet, you best believe she’s up to no good!
What do you love about her?
There’s so many to pick from, but I think my favourite one is how she “smiles” whenever she wakes up from a nap or she’s excited to see you. I also think how she catches ants is pretty funny, she’ll spot them from a mile away and dive on them with her front paws like a snow fox!
What do you find challenging?
To keep up with her brain!! She is such a ball of energy all the time. If I don’t give her a mental challenge, a good training AND play session, our whole house turns into a racetrack for her. She’ll sprint from our room, down the hall, on to the couch and back! She gets the happy zoomies at least once a day, and good luck if you want to try and stop her. Also in training, if it gets too repetitive, she’ll just get bored and give me sass instead. She needs constant challenges to keep her brain entertained, and sometimes you do run out of ideas!
What do you feed her?
She gets primarily fed raw. We usually keep it easy with Big Dog patties, as well as Prime100 raw bites and Prime100 cooked rolls (for training). All on a variation of protein so she gets all the goodies in. She gets raw meaty bones once or twice a week to keep her teeth nice and clean. She’ll get a whole array of add-ons like sardines, veggies, fruit, kefir, etc… as well as supplements: Antinol and My Doggie Weed (for teeth and oral health).
How long has she been on Antinol?
She’s been on Antinol since we got her, so since she was eight weeks old. Being a bigger breed, it was always my priority to look after her joints. Especially being the energetic pup she is. Check out our blog on the difference between puppies raised on Antinol and those that aren’t.
What are the most noticeable differences?
Hopefully the most noticeable difference will be when she’s old and grey but still running around pain-free like a puppy! But for now, the main two things I’ve noticed is the shine to her coat and her trainability: Everyone always comments on how shiny she is, and I’m convinced Antinol has a lot to do with that. I’ve compared her to other Dobermans that aren’t on Antinol and she is definitely shinier and also softer in the coat.
And her intelligence and trainability: as previously mentioned, Zulu picks up on new things so quickly. As a puppy she would learn tricks sometimes within barely two minutes!
Have you noticed any differences between her and her siblings?
All her siblings are absolutely gorgeous. I do notice a difference in their coats perhaps. Zulu seems to almost glimmer in the sun. I also feel like Zulu is quite a bit more work driven then the usual show line Doberman. She seems to be the only sibling (I know off) to be involved in a lot of sports and obedience training, so that could be where the trainability comes in place.
Do you do any dog sports?
We only recently got into scent training. She absolutely loves it. And she seems to be really good at it too. The steps that should take months to learn, she got the hang off in a couple of days. We’re only three weeks into training and already doing full searches, so I’m hoping to start competing in January.
When we find a bit of time, we want to get into GRC. She had her first go on the slat mill this week, so that is also something we could compete in. I think she’d also be good at the wall-climb or spring pole. But that’s something we’ll need to explore.
This is all on top of group obedience training every Saturday as well as life-style training Tuesdays and Fridays, along with my own training during the week with her.
Do you have any goals for the future with her?
My main goal is for her to live a long and happy, healthy life, and to have lots of fun along the way. We want to get into lots of dog sports and explore what we really enjoy. My goal for now is to get even better at our scent training and hopefully win some ribbons while we’re at it!
