Obedience Training: Top Tips For Training Your German Shepherd Dog
The first step to completing obedience training successfully is identifying the cause of the barking.
Those of you who own a puppy or a rescue with no vocalization issues do not have to start here.
This step is a must for pups who already have barking issues. The root of it may lie in some of the aforementioned causes. Make sure you scroll up and check which one is possible.
Furthermore, positive reinforcement is the next tip for an obedient puppy.
Praise, pats, play, and treats beat punishment anytime!
Punishment or negative reinforcement creates fear and results in misbehavior.
Positive training is crucial for a dogs intelligence, especially for this dog breed.
Positive reinforcement is the only safe way, basically, the only way you should go.
Of course, some aids could assist you with the training. For example, the clicker.
This is a small, handheld device that produces clicking sounds that a dog can associate with certain things, such as praise, a reward, a pat, or something else. When the dog hears the click, he will know what to do to get the desirable reward.
Finally, consistency is crucial.
Dogs very well know when you begin to slack off in training. These dogs love to learn and are fast learners. You might even say theyre smarter than some humans!
If you maintain consistency, you will get results in the form of a well-trained GSD.
Stress And Anxiety Barking
Just like us, dogs can feel stressed too. When your dog feels too much stress, he would bark excessively. Some of the most common stressors are:
- Feeling lonely
- Malnutrition
Feeling Lonely
Your dog is a social animal that needs a lot of interaction. If you have a full-time job from 9 to 5, you may want to consider a pet sitter or a doggy daycare to help take care of your dog when you are away.
Confinement
If you confine your dog for more than 4 hours a day, it is a good idea to give him dog toys to play within his crate. You can also take your dog to doggy daycare several times a week where he can get a new entertainment and socialize with fellow dogs.
Also read: 11 Fascinating Facts You Should Know About Dog Crates
Lack of Exercise
German Shepherd is a dog that needs to exercise regularly. Your German Shepherd dog needs to have at least 2-4 hours of exercise each day. It doesnt matter what kind of exercise, you can do a simple walking, or play a game such as a tug-of-war. The purpose here is to burn up your dogs excess energy.
Too many exercises
Too many exercises on a daily basis can bring your dogs stress levels high. When his stress levels high, your dog will bark excessively. Make sure you give him a proper balance between exercise and rest.
Feeling Threatened
Malnutrition
German Shepherd Barking At Strangers
Theres nothing more embarrassing than a german shepherd barking at strangers. Not only are they incredibly loud, but because theyre so big they can also scare a lot of people.
While you know theyre not going to do any harm to people, other people arent so sure. And it can often result in people trying to avoid you.
If you want to stop your german shepherd from barking then keep reading to find out the 3 best ways to fix it, as well as the situations you should use each training method.
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German Shepherd Barking: Curse Or Blessing
Is your German Shepherd barking too much? And yetdo you secretly like that he is keeping the burglars away? Following, I want to share with you tips and techniques that can help you have peace and quiet as well as protection from your German Shepherd dog.
The secret, and I will spill it out now, is to use positive training methods. These are efficient, fun and can be used to raise a dependable and friendly dog that will bark on command if needed.
I have met several German Shepherd dog owners that tell me they want their dog to be friendly with kids, family and friends -but not with strangers. This is a hard concept to understand, specially if you are a dog. Besides, you do NOT want a dog capable of hurting people near kids, family and friends.
That said, it is possible to have a friendly dog that can PRETEND to want to hurt people when told to. I think this is a pretty neat compromise that is also fairly easy to train. Lets get started!
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A German Shepherd Barking: A Perfect Guide To Train Your Gsd
- Pin
The sound of a German Shepherd barking is a sound youll never forget. This is one of the kindest dogs in every possible meaning. These dogs have a unique character that glows up from even the early stages of their lives.
Theyre quite vocal, and they love to speak, even when theyre not asked to. So, how do you stop this kind of annoying trait?
Surely, there are situations where barking isnt appropriate, but we cant keep a dog from barking. Or, can we?
Controlling barking is very possible, but it requires plenty of time, patience, and treats! YOURE now in for a treat because, in a few steps, youll learn how to tell the cause of the barking and learn how to control it.
Ready? Steady! SPEAK!
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Train Your German Shepherd Early
As much as possible, you should begin the training process early on in your dogs life.
Puppyhood is the perfect time to start training your dog as this will help to strengthen the positive behavior.
We recommend that you spend a few minutes daily when training your GSD pup. Do this consistently until adulthood and once a desirable behavior has been reinforced.
Do Not Yell At Your Dog To Stop Barking
Dogâs donât speak your language. If he starts barking and you start yelling at him to stop, he isnât hearing âHey dog, stop barking!â Heâs hearing, âIâm tense, too! Something is causing us both tension!â Yelling and screaming at your dog will not help him stop his barking behavior.
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Dont Hide Your German Shepherd
As well as rewarding their dogs actions by accident, a lot of people also choose to hide their german shepherd. Instead of taking them out, they leave them in their homes where they dont get socialized.
As you can imagine this often ends up causing them to become even more problematic. Especially in cases where they are barking because theyre scared or havent been socialized enough.
Not only will the chances of their behavior worsening increase, but theyll also not get the exercise that they need.
Dont Reward Your German Shepherds Barking
A lot of people get embarrassed when their german shepherd starts barking so theyll immediately offer them a treat. However, this is another terrible idea. When you do this youre only rewarding your german shepherds negative behavior.
Instead of stopping it youre going to be reinforcing the idea that they should bark when they see strangers.
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How To Stop Your German Shepherd From Barking
German Shepherds are loyal, energetic, and affectionate working dogs that have a lot going for them personality-wise. A common problem that German Shepherd owners are faced with is the amount of time this dog breed spends barking at seemingly harmless people or animals.
The truth is the German Shepherd is a protective dog breed and barking is a way of communicating that they think something is up. Before reprimanding them for this natural behavior, it is better to find positive ways to discourage unwanted barking.
This article will help you control your German Shepherd when it comes to barking and other similar behaviors.
How To Fix Territorial & Aggressive Vocalization
You can prevent aggression and territorial behavior by practicing recall and doing lots of early socialization in puppyhood. Start at home by inviting close friends, family, and their dogs over so that your dog can learn the rules in a safe environment. You should also try to interact with as many friendly dogs and people as possible on walks, especially for the first few years of their lives.
Practice recall by calling your dog randomly throughout the day and rewarding them heavily for coming to you. This should increase their impulse to come when called and overtake the need to investigate other dogs or bark at passersby. In fact, any kind of obedience training is great for stomping out aggression, because it means your dog is more likely to listen to you should you need to get them away from another dog.
You can reduce dog aggression by reinforcing that socializing is good. If there are any family dogs that your German Shepherd gets along with, arrange supervised playdates in a safe, controlled environment and reward your Shep for their positive interactions.
When approaching an unknown dog on a walk, do not tense up. Your Shep will sense your anxiety and assume the dog is a threat, which could encourage their aggression. Instead, keep calm and keep moving. Take a toy to distract them if necessary, and then reward them with a treat every time they manage to walk past another dog without reacting aggressively.
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Why Is My Gsd Barking Constantly
To control that annoying barking sound your GSD makes, you will first need to get to the root of it.
You cannot stop your dog from barking if you dont know whats causing it to bark in the first place. Many GSDs constantly bark because they do not like being alone. If you leave your dog alone for long hours and sometimes off the schedule, your GSD will react to it. It is natural for a dog to get upset if you do not give it the time it needs.
Your GSD might also bark when:
- It sees new faces in the house.
- It feels threatened by someone or something.
- It sees strangers.
- It sees a stranger entering your home.
- It hears another bark.
- It feels isolated or lonely.
- It wants your attention.
- Its suffering from separation anxiety.
- It is locked outside the house.
Start Obedience Training Early
The best way to have control over your GSDs barking habits is to include it in its obedience training lessons. If your pup doesnt bark, it doesnt mean that you can sit back and relax. Its territorial instincts can kick in at any point and then youll be left with no option but to suffer. Obedience training is the best type of training that turns a wild GSD into a home dog. Due to the success of obedience training methods, many people around the world prefer buying GSDs for their homes.
- Use a clicker to train your dog to bark and when to stop.
- Say No when you dog barks without your consent.
- If your dog is exhibiting good manners during the training, praise it.
- Keep the barking to commands only, which means that allow your dog to bark when you give it a heads-up.
- Set rules for barking.
- Make your GSD learn to alert you to certain conditions. For example if a stranger enters your property, if someone breaks into your home, if someone in the family is hurt, etc.
- This training method will help you use your dogs barking for appropriate things only.
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Step : Increase The Timing Of The Quiet Command
Keep practicing the quiet command by increasing the length that your dog is quiet and the timing of your reward. The goal is to have longer periods of quiet in-between rewards and praise.
Repeat the techniques learned in Step 4, letting your German Shepherd bark two to three times, then moving towards them and giving the quiet command.
Repeat this procedure regularly over a period of several days until your dog starts understanding what the command means. Your goal is to have your German Shepherd stop barking at strangers almost immediately once you say the quiet command for as long as you need.
Give the quiet command and wait for a longer time before rewarding your GSD with treats and praise. Gradually extend the waiting period to five seconds, then 10 seconds, then 20 seconds and then 30 seconds and longer.
Finally, work up to the minute mark for the waiting time until the reward.
This is a long time for a dog, so have patience and keep working up to a longer and longer quiet time before offering your dog the reward.
Invest In Obedience Training
If your dog does not stop barking when you tell him to , it is time for more obedience training.
Dogs are going to bark itâs what they do. They should be obedient enough, however, to back off when given the command. If he doesnât do that, he needs to be taught a command that gets him to do that.
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Why Does My German Shepherd Moo
Believe it or not, your dog being relaxed is a common reason for groaning. My German Shepherd groans often when she is laying around in a relaxed state. Groaning while relaxing is common as they are trying to find a comfortable spot to snooze, or they are just waking up from a nice nap.
Teach Your Dog To Speak
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Summary German Shepherd Barking Problems
German Shepherds were originally bred as herding and guard dogs. For this reason, barking is a breed-specific function for German Shepherds.
They are not known for excessive barking for no reason. If your German Shepherd is barking a lot at anything that moves or every sound they hear it is a training or other behavior issue.
The tips and techniques discussed above will help to identify the causes and triggers of their barking and find a way to solve the issue.
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Dont Respond To Barking Dogs
Many dogs will bark to get your attention, ask for food, or to tell you to open the door or let them out of the crate. Dont respond. Wait until your dog is quiet to give them what they want. And be sure to recognize the behavior you want i.e. provide positive reinforcement to your dog when hes lying down quietly.
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Your German Shepherd May Just Have A Compulsion To Bark
Some german shepherds bark simply because they like to bark, or for no reason at all. They may bark when someones in their territory, when theyre excited to see people, when theyre scared.
This is one of the reasons its important you learn your german shepherds body language so you can figure out which barks theyre using and gauge how theyre feeling.
With compulsive barking your german shepherd may begin barking when a stranger is around however, they will continue barking even when no strangers are there anymore.
As well as that youll also notice other repetitive behaviors such as constantly nibbling their own body, and pacing.
There are also lots of different reasons behind compulsive barking including personality disorders and stress from past ordeals.
Unlike other types of barking on this list which you can solve yourself, if your german shepherd is a compulsive barker then its best to take them to a dog behaviorist.
Why Do Puppies Bark
Wolves rarely bark, preferring to remain as invisible ghosts of the wild. However, domesticated dogs have long since lost their need for secrecy. Domestic dogs have enthusiastically embraced barking as a helpful communication strategy.
Puppies and adult dogs will bark for a variety of reasons:
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Allowing The Stranger To Give Them Treats
Do not allow visitors to give your dog treats or food. Burglars use this tactic to poison dogs upon entering the house. Teach your dog not to accept food from strangers, just like you would do with children.
This also applies to not giving them a treat when a visitor is in the house. This may encourage them to bark at people because they associate the treat with barking.
Barking To Get You To Play Or Go Outside
German Shepherds are playful dogs. Have you ever noticed that if you have your dogs toy and are playing with them, sometimes they let out a bark? Or its time to get outside and they start barking? Our dogs get so excited when its time to play or when they want to play or go out for a walk, so sometimes they will bark to let us know they are ready for fun!
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Other Causes Of German Shepherd Barking Problems
German Shepherd barking problem is one of the most common and annoying problems that German Shepherd dog owners have. I remember when my dog was 7 months old, he gave me quite a headache by barking at every dog that he met outside the house.
Out of confusion, I punished him and that made his behavior even worse. That is my first lesson: never punish, shout or using bark collar to control your dogs excessive barking. All of those methods will create negative feelings in your dog, the negative feelings that will turn into even worse aggression.
So I started to search for the causes of his barking. Heres what I found: