Each of us, including the dog, has a natural birth-given drive. We know folks who are so easygoing that we can hardly hold a conversation with them without looking at our watches every few minutes. Others seem to be so wound up that they have trouble standing still long enough to hear us out. This must mean that if we were Hoytt Dobermans, we would be called actives. And on this note we ask that you look over the three key variables that follow, and choose the level that you would prefer in your next dog.

• LAID-BACK ... is not easily excited about things going on around it. Going for walks is fine with a little coaxing but if you go get the ball, Frisbee, or rope, it will sit back and watch you play. An excellent choice for a quiet environment where its second most favorite past-time is eating. Not the choice where interaction with the 'kids' will be an expected part of its life.

• MID-ACTIVE ... logically the most requested level. A mid-active Dobe may take a bit longer to adjust to a home schedule where it must eventually be on its own eight-plus hours a day, but when you are ready to head out for your morning run or walk around the park, the kid is ready. This is the right level when there are children with similar energies. It is an "I'm ready when you are" Dobe who can be patient in one situation, laying on its bed at your office or at your feet in the evening, or found waiting by the door when it thinks you just might be willing to take it BYE-BYE one more time.

• ACTIVE ... the type of energy one wants in their CEO's, that CEO's prefer in their management staff, optimum in Triathlon competition, and in Dobes who are to join an active family. These Hoytt Dobes are for those folks who may be considering competition obedience, Agility trials and/or the conformation ring as well as walking or running miles instead of blocks; a Dobe who is ready to go on a word. In the end, a Dobe with energy that never seems to wane yet is not hyperactive.

Advisory Adding even the most regimented training program will not drastically alter the basic energy level of a dog; it only adds control. Once freed from a direct command the dog returns to its basic level. Training can at best only improve personality flaws, not eliminate them. The ultimate way to go is selection based on needs. One more reason the most demanding buyer turns to the House of Hoytt.