What Age To Start Training German Shepherd Puppy

Principles And Facts Of German Shepherd Dog Training And Learning

Every good and well-behaved German Shepherd Dog you see around should immediately tell you of a dog well trained. While some people assume that dogs can guess what is in their mind and execute it, this is never the case.

Your German Shepherd puppy relies on your communication to become a well-behaved companion. But you need to train him to decipher the communication codes first. Also, training is more effective if rewarded positively and if commenced early during puppyhood.

The below five facts and principles explain the importance of the dog-owner communication dynamic in training and the need to use a positive approach and start early when training your German Shepherd puppy.

Are All Adult German Shepherds Potty Trained

No, not all adult German Shepherds are potty trained. Just because dogs are all grown up, doesnt mean they know how to eliminate themselves the way you expect them to. It all depends on what theyve been trained to do and what theyve gotten used to.

If youre welcoming a new adult German Shepherd into your home, theres a chance youll still need to potty train them. At the very least, youll need to get them used to your own home and your own rules.

Nevertheless, the general process of training an adult is pretty much the same as potty training a puppy.

Start Advanced Command Training

Its also a good time to concentrate on your dogs advanced training. To train your 6-month old German Shepherd puppy, start with two commands that will be most useful. LEAVE IT! is a command that tells your dog to let go of whatever hes chowing down on. This will come in handy if he grabs something he shouldnt, and its a great method to teach discipline.

The second command I recommend you train your dog is the WAIT! command. As previously stated, you will be exercising your German Shepherd much more frequently from now on. The wait command might assist you in catching up if your pet is running too far ahead of you!

You can teach these commands or tricks in any order from six months onwards until your German Shepherd is a well-trained adult.

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When Should You Start Training A German Shepherd Puppy

Training your dog becomes more difficult as he gets older, so you might think its ideal to start training a German Shepherd while hes just a few weeks old. However, there is such a thing as starting your puppys training too soon!

German Shepherd puppies should start training when they are 8 weeks old. This is when they usually leave their mother and littermates and matured enough to understand cues. They will have already picked up on good canine behaviors but now will learn more through association and positive reinforcement.

When it comes to puppy training, its preferable to err on the side of being later than eight weeks than the other way around. You have up to two weeks after the eight-week mark to start your pets training.

Even if youre two weeks early, you risk confusing or frightening him by bombarding him with stimuli before hes ready to make the proper connections. During this time, a traumatic experience might have a detrimental and counterproductive effect.

Read further if you:

• Plan to get a German Shepherd puppy or already have one older than seven weeks
• Want an approximate schedule for training your puppy
• Wish to train your dog using ethical training methods such as positive reinforcement
• Intend to commit to 1.5 years of casual dog training

Teach Your German Shepherd Puppy To Leave It When Out Walking

Leave it tells your dog that whatever he is checking out is off limits. This command is useful if you are out for a walk and the dog sees something on the side of the road that he wants to investigate, such as a dead animal, and you want him to ignore it.

Teach your dog to leave it during your day-to-day interactions. In the above example, if your dog tries to sniff at the dead animal, say, Leave it! in a stern voice. Immediately praise your dog when he ignores it.

You can also add come as a second command, to gather your dog back to you.

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German Shepherds And Children

Adult German Shepherds can range from being calm and patient to bouncy and boisterous, depending on their personality, training and socialisation. Some can make great family pets in homes with children of all ages, but dogs should always be supervised around young children.

Make sure you can recognise the signs of unhappiness or anxiety in your dog to help avoid any conflicts. German Shepherds can be nervous of strangers so make sure theyre never left unsupervised. Be careful if you are introducing a German Shepherd to younger children or adults unfamiliar with the breed as they often dont know their own strength.

My Puppy Barks At People Who Come To My House

I really dont want him to do that. How do I stop him from barking at strangers?

Barking is natural for dogs. They are doing their job by alerting their family that someone is coming. Its unreasonable to expect that a puppy will never bark. The key is that he should learn to stop barking once you have identified the issue and taken charge.

Acknowledge that theyve done something wonderful and then take a leadership role so the puppy can relax. Here are some specific steps you should take:

• As soon as puppy starts to bark, approach him to investigate what he sees.
• Tell him hes a good boy and ask him to sit.
• Praise him for the sit and answer the door.
• If puppy continues to bark, say all done and give him work to do and reward him for the work.
• In the future, the all done will come in handy to stop barking in many situations.

No matter where you live, owning a dog is a long-term emotional and financial commitment and it’s important to take your neighbors into consideration.

The AKC offers owners the following tips:

• Train Your Dog – Puppies need to be properly socialized and trained.

• Pick Up After Your Puppy – ALWAYS carry a plastic “baggy” to pick up any waste, then dispose of it properly.

• Exercise – Puppies need regular exercise or they may become destructive. Take your puppy for walks or throw a ball in the back yard for a few minutes.

• Prevent Nuisance Barking – Don’t let your puppy annoy your neighbors. Training and exercise can reduce barking.

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Important Tips And Technique About German Shepherd

The most important German shepherd training age tip is socialization. The key to socializing a puppy or a rescued German shepherd is to make sure while you are introducing your shepherd to new people and acclimating him to a variety of different settings, you are keeping the sessions positive.

These dogs know no fear. They are direct and alert. Their personality is bold and cheerful .They can be very obedient to their masters and show an eagerness to learn new training techniques. They are adaptable to dog kennels as an indoor or outdoor arrangement. They are very intelligent and possess a calm and confident attitude. These dogs need trainers who have an authoritative command over them. German shepherd training age includes the use of canine instincts and the dog should not be treated as a human but, it is necessary to give a proper training in their early age

They are strong and well-built dogs that can be fairly stubborn and show dominance over the owner if proper tricks for training them are not used. Our trainers are able to use a training guide firmly and display authority over the dog. Our trainer will teach the dog its boundaries and make it adaptable to society.

Basic Commands You Can Teach Your German Shepherd Puppy Right Now

You dont need to tackle all of this right away. That would be overwhelming to both dog and master. Its easier to teach your German Shepherd puppy a few commands at a time.

In order to move into more advanced training, however, your German Shepherd puppy should have these basic commands mastered by six to 12 months of age.

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How We Build This Programme: Push Drop Stick

Heres a good resource for you to have the Push Drop Stick game. I like to use this game to see whether puppies are ready to move on in their training, or if they need to spend more practice runs.

Did we need to remind you how intelligent German Shepherds are? Make sure to keep them stimulated by progressively making their exercises more challenging. They really do need to be given a job to do rather than allowing them to be self-employedwho knows how that can end up.

What is Push, Drop, Stick?

Push, Drop, Stick, is a way of systematically raising the difficulty of an exercise or behaviour.

If exercises are always kept too easy, then dogs will keep doing them correctly because they are being rewarded . However, progress will be slower as theyll get stuck at this level.

If lessons are too hard, then its likely that theyll give up since treats wont be coming as easy. Looks like theyd be quite good businessmen as humans.

Push Drop Stick can help avoid both scenarios by maintaining enough momentum: It will keep your puppy winning enough times to keep them interested and not quit, but not so much that they arent thinking about how to be rewarded by trying harder.

How does it work?

Push Go to the next level of difficulty

Drop Back to the previous level of difficulty

Stick Stay at the current level of difficulty

Potty Training A German Shepherd Puppy

Potty training a large breed puppy is one of the first things you will want to start with. Big puppies have the potential to create lots of mess! You also wont be able to pick up your puppy up as they get big quickly!

It will be important to make sure you are taking your German Shepherd puppy out regularly to avoid having accidents indoors. Although they might be a large breed and grow quickly, puppies still dont have good control of their bladder.

Remember to take your puppy out after:

• Waking up immediately!
• Eating as this will stimulate their digestive system
• Playing for any period of time

German Shepherds are spirited pets, so dont be surprised if they initially look like they are more interested in playing in the garden than relieving themselves!

Each time you take your pup to the garden, wait them out, and supervise them so that they go to the toilet!

Once he has completely finished, you should instantly reward him. For a German Shepherd, throwing a favorite toy or having some fuss with you will be a great reward !

Remember that this breed is very sensitive to any form of punishment.

Avoid telling your puppy off if they do have a mishap they will only learn that you are scary to be around when theres toilet evidence and will usually hide to go potty instead. If there is a mishap, simply tidy it up with a biological cleaning agent .

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Teaching Your German Shepherd Puppy To Lay Down

Handy for when youre watching telly and they wont stop blocking the screen.

How to do it

TIPS

· When you hold the treat, think about positioning your hand as if you were throwing a ball underarm it will make your puppys nose go over the top of your hand rather than trying to sniff underneath it, which will make them want to bend down

· If your puppy starts to go a bit frog like , try the same exercise but have them start in a stand position youre looking for them to fold back, almost looking like a sphinx!

Your Dog Wants You To Be Consistent

For dogs, everything is black and white they dont understand compromise. Remember this and you’ll have fewer bad habits to break.

Training your German Shepherd will be easier.

Heres an example of the types of mistakes owners make:

Change verbal commands from come to come here keep your verbal commands consistent throughout.

If youre trying to keep your pooch off the sofa, be consistent. If you allow it sometimes and other times not, youll confuse your dog and slow down the training.

How can you expect your dog to learn if you’re not consistent?

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German Shepherds And Barking

As with any dog, German Shepherds are likely to bark. Their main purpose was for herding and guarding so they can be quite vocal when people walk past or enter or exit the house, but how much noise they make will vary from dog to dog. If youre having problems with excessive noise or barking, we recommend seeking the advice of an accredited behaviourist.

Make It More Difficult

In this step, youll need to hold a treat in each hand. Close one hand into a fist, use that to lure your dog into movement and after about 5 steps, say heel. If your pup stays with you without being distracted for 10-15 steps or so, praise them and release the treat from the other hand.

Doing this will keep them from being fixated on the treat and theyll eventually realize that following your fist will still bring good things.

Gradually increase the steps after the heel command as you dog gets the idea. Once your dog can heel for 10-15 steps, increase it to 20-25 steps, and so on.

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Teach Your German Shepherd To Spin

By dangling a tasty treat in front of your German Shepherd and moving it in a circle until he starts to spin, you prime him for a command anchor. By saying SPIN! and giving him the treat, you associate the reward with this anchor.

After a week or so, you teach your German Shepherd to follow your finger without having first to use a treat. Of course, you will still need to reward him after he obeys the command. By the third week, you should be able to ask your dog to spin without using your finger to guide him.

It might take an extra couple of weeks, but I recommend this as an addition in the ninth month because it allows you to continue training your dog to learn previous commands better. You can train him to go to different places, hold or release objects, and fetch toys.

Practice With Distance Duration And Distraction

Remember to include the 3 Ds of dog training in your obedience lessonsdistraction, distance, and duration.

The 3 Ds help reinforce your German Shepherds training and give you more reliability over your dog.

They familiarize your dog with the many ways in which they might get asked to perform their commands. These extra steps are invaluable to the quality of your German Shepherd obedience home training program.

Examples of the 3 Ds of Dog Training

• Increase the time your dog is one position by taking a long time to offer the treat.
• See how long you can have your dog stay while you move into different practice areas and work on increasing the time.
• Try to keep his attention on you during his training despite other distractions in your room, inside your house, or outdoors.

If your GSD seems to have forgotten their command, take them back to the last place they were successful and begin training from there.

Its not unusual for you to have gone too fast or expected too much.

Not all of your days are perfect, right?

So, its not fair if you expect your German Shepherd to be perfect every day, either.

Adjust your training as needed.

Continue building on your dogs knowledge and your desire for a responsive companion and youll see amazing improvements in their good behaviors and

in your ability to control your German Shepherd.

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Introducing German Shepherd Puppies To Running

A Slow walk of puppies can help them to improve better bones and muscles. So we can take the puppy to walk inside the home premises like a balcony, garden, and backyard once they are practised with the short walk schedule. These puppies can be taken for a long walk. After the long walk practice, the puppy can be introduced to running. After introducing the puppy to running, the puppy cannot be forced to run for miles. The puppy can run for a short distance. The short distance running can make the puppy active, and it is an exercise to the puppys body.