Following the collapse of Frederick V's policies in 1620 and the occupation of his territories by imperial troops later in 1620, Dohna fled to Küstrin. He later moved to Spandau, where his wife was entitled to an appanage. He spent the years between 1624 and 1628 as living privately on his ancestral estate at Carwinden (Karwiny).. In 1628, he was forced to flee from there when the Polish–Swedish War spread onto his property, going first to Emden.