Know Your Gsds Temperament
If you are purchasing a puppy, question the breeder carefully about protection titles in the pedigree, whether the breeder personally knows any of the dogs holding those titles, or has seen those dogs perform in person.The best thing to do is contact a few breeders of German Shepherds who do protection work, and get an idea of what they usually have available. Breeders can also keep you on a waiting list for a younger adult, if you are OK skipping the puppy stage and cost isnt as much of an issue.
Show Your Puppy That Biting Or Nipping Ends The Play
If your German Shepherd is aggressively biting you, show them that this behavior ends the play.
When your German Shepherd puppy bites or nips you during play and its too hard and painful, show them that playtime is over.
Youve already learned to stop all play for 5 seconds and to resume play when first teaching your dog to not bite. But hard bites that draw blood or break your skin mean no more playtime.
Easy Tips On How To Train An Aggressive German Shepherd
German Shepherds are still one of the most popular breeds and with good reasons.
These stunning dogs are intelligent, brave, and loyal.
Theyre eager to have a job to do and are so versatile that theyre equally good as police dogs and family companions.
However, German Shepherds are powerful and muscular dogs with strong protective instincts.
While no one pays much attention to a barking/growling toy dog, an attacking German Shepherd can scare even professionals.
As such, its important to curb any aggressive tendencies as soon as possible.
Otherwise, you and your German Shepherd can get into a lot of trouble.
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Speedy Ways To Train A German Shepherd
Are you excited to begin training your German Shepherd and wondering how to train a German Shepherd because youre eager to get started?
Ive trained German Shepherds and will show you the quickest ways to get the behaviors that you want
While having fun and bonding with your dog!
Advantages Of Brain Training For Dogs
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How To Quickly Discipline A German Shepherd For Biting: A Step
Knowing how to discipline a German Shepherd for biting and nipping will not only help save your hands and legs from tiny razor-sharp teeth
But teaching your GSD puppy to stop biting can also help you with valuable training skills!
Skills that will not only help you control and stop your German Shepherds bites and nips without force or fear, but have a better behaved dog overall.
Lets get down to business teaching you how to discipline a German Shepherd puppy for biting or nipping.
You dont have to live with a baby Jaws on the loose any longer!
The Key Takeaways Here Are:
- For effective German Shepherd training, you must be a good leader in your dogs life.
- Leadership is about using brains and NOT brawn to train your German Shepherd.
- Understand what your dog is not , learn to speak your dogs language, and get inside his head.
- Always be patient and consistent with your training and reinforcement.
- Aggressive methods are not effective when training your German Shepherd. You will see little to no results, it will cause trust issues and youll break your dogs spirit. Always be kind!
- Positive reinforcement and training will bring quicker, long-lasting results. And build a strong relationship of trust and love between you and your German Shepherd.
Check out this article to learn how to teach your German Shepherd not to jump on you or your guests.
The part of your article that mentioned consistency and why it matters when training dogs was definitely one part that was helpful to read. The last thing I want to happen is that my dog would be let loose thinking that they would behave and they suddenly act aggressively towards my family because we gave the wrong command. Ill make sure I focus on this aspect of training when I find a dog trainer in the area that can help me train my german shepherd.
Hi Roylena,
Im so sorry, I totally forgot to drop the link to my article on jumping here for you to check out. Here it isHow to stop a German Shepherd from Jumping on You.
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Absence Or Lack Of Mental Stimulation
A bored, mentally understimulated German Shepherd might act out and need brain games.
German Shepherds, even puppies, are highly intelligent dogs with a never-ending supply of stamina. While many owners are focused on exercises for their German Shepherd, your dogs mind needs training, too!
Brain activities and mind games give your GSD the mental outlet they need to not only learn new problem-solving skills that are essential to their growth but also reduce their energy levels .
Mental stimulation exhausts their minds and bodies!
A pup that lacks proper mental stimulation finds themselves looking for ways to keep their brains busy, which generally means getting into trouble.
Giving Your German Shepherd A Comfortable Place To Sleep Means:
- Giving them the best German Shepherd dog bed to avoid joint issues and provide them a deeper rest
- Keeping them away from cool drafts or hot zones
- Stopping kids and visitors from interacting with a cranky German Shepherd to avoid nips, bites, and scratches
- Moving your dog away from the excitement and boisterousness
- Using a white noise machine or a sleeping aid with an automated heartbeat and warming sensation to soothe your dog and quiet them down
If you havent seen your puppy sleep in a while and theyre acting too excited, then placing them down for a nap might be just what you need. Many dog and puppy owners swear by the behavioral aid snuggle that mimics a mothers heartbeat and provides warmth.
Using these strategies to create a quiet zone will help your puppy recharge and become its sweet self again.
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Never Use Physical Mental Or Emotional Punishment
This means no hitting, yanking the leash, holding their mouth shut, pulling their ear, grabbing their tongue, or putting your hands on your dog that might hurt them.
It also means you should avoid mental and emotional stress, such as intimidating your German Shepherd by yelling at them or chasing them around when theyre afraid.
Recent studies show that even mild aversive training caused stress levels to increase in dogs and they showed signs of stress, as well as pessimistic behaviors that prevented them from learning new tasks easier .
In contrast, dogs that were offered positive training were less stressed and had overall better welfare.
Adapting To Social Routine
Since German Shepherds are capable of barking at friends that visit until they become more comfortable with guests, it is wise to socialize your GSD immediately upon arriving home for the very first time when they are a puppy.
If you happen to adopt an adult GSD, you should slowly introduce friends and relatives to your dog.
How to socialize your GSD puppy:
It is rare, but if you notice that your pup is experiencing extreme stress, anxiety, fear or anger in social situations seek help from a trained professional.
Licensed dog training specialists have the ability to focus on the behavior problems and offer a solution.
They will teach you how to correct your dogâs behavior by providing you with helpful tips and tools. Following the professional dog trainerâs advice is essential to your GSD pupâs behavior improving.
If you find that the training is not helping, visit the veterinarian for further assistance.
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How To Teach Your German Shepherd To Stay
You can watch the video below to see, clearly, how it is done.
Are German Shepherds Good Guard Dogs
One question that always comes to mind when deciding on whether or not to have a German Shepherd as the family pet is whether or not they are good guard dogs.
Well, the German Shepherd is much more likely to be a worker dog and enjoys working hard and making his owner and pack happy.
However, German Shepherds also learn extremely quickly.
If you want your German Shepherd to protect your home, they can quickly and easily become great guard dogs.
This is especially true thanks to the fact that being protective of their owners is in their DNA and they will stop at nothing to ensure their loved one is protected from harms way.
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When To Start Training A German Shepherd Puppy
Your puppy is capable and ready to learn at 6 to 7 weeks old many simple obedience commands. But you shouldnt pressure a puppy this young with perfect obedience. A 1 minutes session is long enough for a young puppy.
After a couple of weeks, your German Shepherd puppy should know to sit, stay, and down, as well as its name. Although a reliable off-leash come usually takes about 6 to 8 weeks of proper dog training.
Leash training is rather quick when you gently place the leash on your dog or puppy, use food rewards or play, and dont use the leash to jerk your dog around the house or neighborhood.
It took me only about a day to train my German Shepherd to sit using lure and reward training. This means, I use one of the best, tasty treatsto move her into the position I want, and then reward her with the food.
My GSD took about 7 days to sit and wait at doors before barging out, but
She only takes a day to unlearn this behavior if I relax on it and let her out without waiting!
A simple trick, such as spin took me only a day, but more complicated tricks could take weeks or months. Something complicated like staying in place with tons of distractions might take you at least 6 months to work up to.
Think of it this way: In school, you didnt start with calculus. You started with basic math, then geometry, algebra, and so on. Dont rush the learning or youll take longer to train your German Shepherd.
Training Your Dog To Alert Bark
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Training Goal #: Impulse Control
Learning to control their impulses is important for all puppies, and for the GSD, it can be one of the most important ways to curb problem behaviors to which this breed is prone if allowed to become bored: behaviors such as excessive barking, digging, aggressive chewing, and inappropriate chasing .
The key to impulse control is getting your dog to focus on you. This will have beneficial effects for all the rest of your training efforts, especially in AKC dog sports like Obedience and Rally.
Require that your puppy sit before getting food, playing with an exciting toy, going outside to play, or any other favorite activity. As your GSD puppy advances in obedience training and knows more commands, you can require more advanced commands or tricks in order to receive treats or play.
Give Your German Shepherd The Right Things To Chew
Help your German Shepherd stop biting you by giving them something else to chew on.
Your German Shepherd will most likely chew on everything you dont want
Unless you show him what you DO want him to put his teeth on.
You already know your German Shepherd is biting you, so anticipate the biting behavior and substitute a toy for your hand or ankles. Instead of just telling your puppy no let them know whats OK to bite and chew if they start nibbling at your fingers or toes.
Even better
Keep a few small toys in your pocket to offer them as they race around the house.
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Tackle These Next Four Commands After The First Four Are Mastered
Just like children, all dogs are different. They all have their own personalities and characteristics. They also all come with different bad habits.
Therefore, deciding which commands you teach your puppy and when is a very personal decision.
We went with go potty, comesit and walk because these commands were important to us. Potty training is a no-brainer. That should be number one.
Come is a command needed to keep your puppy safe. It is also necessary during socializing, which, if you remember, is the number one goal at this age. But sit and walk was out of necessity because Greta would nip at my feet and tug on my pants while I was walking.
No was also a necessity.
So, the next four commands we will be teaching Greta are:
Why we will practice these four next
Dog training experts generally recommend keeping commands to one word. But I have been a dog owner my entire life and kennel up and drop it always work for me.
Teaching Greta no is another necessary evil. I do not teach her no during training sessions it is a command I can teach in our day-to-day life, as Greta is always getting into things she should not be.
I use no when she nips at my heels and toes, tugs at my pants, chews on my rug, gets into my flowers, and nips at the boys.
I may also use another command, such as out or drop it at the same time. No signals to Greta that she needs to stop immediately, and the second command tells her what to do once she has stopped.