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Dogs get bored quite easily. Especially if it is a working breed like the German Shepherd.
Their ancestors would herd and protect livestock and todays line have the role of guard and companion.
So, you could easily see how a German Shepherd could get bored. Staying busy all day long is in their genetics!
Solution
Providing toys is not enough to occupy your dog. To stop boredom barking, you must from a young age teach your dog how to entertain himself.
However, in addition to toys, you must also give your dog adequate quality time and playtime in the backyard.
Failure to do so will lead to more issues relating to disobedience.
Speak Training German Shepherds To Bark On Command
When you figure out what makes your dog go on, you can use it for something better: like training him to bark on command!
Many dogs bark at the doorbell ringing or door knocking, so this could be the best example to use.
After reading the following eight steps, youll be ready to start the speak training.
1. Sit with your dog behind the front door. Have someone ring the bell when you say SPEAK.
2. Your dog should bark when he hears you say SPEAK.
3. Say your marker word, ex. GOOD BOY or YES. This will be his reward. You can even add a pat on the head or a belly rub if you want to.
4. Now its time to be silent. Say the QUIET command and immediately put a dog treat under his nose. He will focus on food and forget about the barking.
5. As soon as hes quiet, use your marker word for praise and give him the treat.
6. Repetition, repetition, repetition! This cycle should be done 10 to 20 times a day. You can even prolong the silence by stretching the marker word or delaying the treat. Something like when we say staaaaaay.
7. Youll know youve done it the moment your German pup starts barking after your cue and before the doorbell.
8. This previous step can be applied to many other situations. Command him to speak when someone walks on the sidewalk, when he sees another dog, or simply when something noticeable happens around you.
The whole point is to let your dog know when its okay to bark and when not to bark.
Keeping Your German Shepherd Dog Calm Outdoors
If your German Shepherd Dog barks at other dogs when you take them for a walk, carry lots of treats.
When you see another dog approaching, hold a treat in your hand and allow your German Shepherd to smell it, but not eat it.
Redirect your dogs attention to you and to the treat, away from the other dog If your dog stays silent as the other dog passes, give them the treat.
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How Do I Get My German Shepherd To Stop Barking
If you feel irritated because your GSDs barking is out of control, you want to make it stop. You can do it by first identifying the reason. Once you identified the reason, you can address the root of the problem.
Here are the possible solutions:
- Guard GSD/Territorial GSD
If your GSD barks at your visitor, assure him that the visitor is not a threat. When you open the door and let your visitor come in, show youre friendly with the visitor. If your GSD stops barking, give him a treat. Repeat this until he learns to control his barking.
If its not effective, teach him to be quiet on command. When your dog starts to bark, ignore him. When he stops, you say quiet then give him a treat. Repeat this process several times so your GSD can learn to become calm with strangers.
- Bored/Alone GSD
Aside from going outdoors for a daily run or walk, have regular training such as obedience training and agility training. Dont forget stimulating his mind by playing puzzle toys and mind games such as finding the treats around the room.
- Aggressive GSD
Start training your GSD at a young age. Put your GSD on a leash and go to public places like parks. Expose him to the company of other dogs. If he remains calm, reward him with a treat. If he becomes aggressive, stop praising him and ignore him. Repeat this several times until your GSD creates the connection and learns to stay calm whenever hes around with other dogs.
How To Teach Your German Shepherd To Bark On Command
An excellent way to fend off any people or animals looking for trouble is to teach your German Shepherd how to bark on command. You should start by observing the cases that trigger your German Shepherd to bark.
You might notice that your pet barks every time you give it a treat. To start training it, create an obstacle between you and your pet and then offer it the treat teasingly. It will attempt to get the treat but will not able to because of the barrier. Since this is something that it wont like, it will naturally bark. As soon as it barks, you must give it a treat and make a distinct sound.
Keep repeating this process until your pet learns to connect its bark with your sound signal. Your pet will understand the meaning of the signal. Once that happens, you should offer it a treat without any obstacle. When it barks, give it a treat and give your sound signal.
Teaching your German Shepherd to stop barking or bark on command is necessary, especially if barks a lot.
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How To Train A German Shepherd To Be A Guard Dog
Although German Shepherds are considered natural guard dogs, they still need to be properly trained to follow commands. If your German Shepherd isnt trained at a young age, it may begin to take on guard dog duties without you knowing what its intentions are, which can lead to aggressive and dangerous behaviors.
When training German Shepherd puppies to be guard dogs, keep in mind that each dog is an individual, so your training will need to match the German Shepherds personality. For example, a dog with a very submissive and shy temperament will require more patience and praise than a dog with an outgoing and confident nature.
How To Make It Stop
Hearing a dog bark constantly is very annoying and totally unbearable. When you get the first complaint from your neighbors telling you that your dog couldnt let them sleep, act immediately. Take notice of the situation and try to figure out what pin-pointed this behavior. If you continue to get complaints from other people, try the following techniques.
- Try to understand what your GSD really mean when it barks.
- Is it angry or just wants to play? This will help you deal with the situation in a more effective way.
- If your GSD starts barking whenever you have a visitor at the door, take help from voice commands.
- The commands you can use to tell your dog that barking is not appropriate are No, Stop, and Quiet.
- If your dog continues to bark, try to distract it.
- When a GSD barks at visitors, this usually means that it is trying to protect its family and territory.
- If so, let your dog know that it is in a safe environment.
- If your GSD stops barking once you let the visitors in, offer it a treat as a sign of appreciation.
- Repeat this for several times until your dog creates the connection and learns to stay calm whenever someone rings the doorbell.
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What To Do About Your German Shepherd Not Barking
If you want to get your German Shepherd to bark more then there are a number of things that you can do which I will mention below.
If you would like some more tips on how to train your German Shepherd, take a look at the .
Give it time
If your German Shepherd has not had much time to adjust to its new surroundings then its probably not feeling comfortable enough to start barking. If this is the case then you can wait a few more weeks to see if it starts barking as time goes by and it starts to get more comfortable.
Make it comfortable
If you think that your German Shepherd is not feeling comfortable then you can help to make it feel more comfortable. You can do this by giving it treats to play with, taking it out for walks and giving it lots of attention.
Make sure it isnt a medical problem
If you think that your German Shepherd might not be barking due to illness then you should take it to a vet and find out. If you find that it isnt ill then try the method below.
Train it to bark
If you want your German Shepherd to bark more then you can try training it to bark more.
To do this have some treats that the dog loves in your hands, give one of them to the dog so that it knows that you have them then keep the other just out of its reach until it barks and then give it to it.
Youll probably find that it wont just begin to bark straight away so start out by rewarding slight growling and then gradually require more and more until it starts to bark.
Your German Shepherd Feels Threatened
If your German Shepherd feels threatened in any way, you can expect your dog to start barking.
The same holds true if your dog perceives that you are being threatened. Because the German Shepherd has such as strong guarding and protective drive, your dog will always be on the lookout for potential threats and will likely bark as a way to alert you.
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The Barking Dog: All About How To Reduce The Problem
The Internet offers you many tips and tricks on how to reduce the barking problem. Sometimes, the abundance of something can cause a problem because you dont know where to start.
Amazon offers plenty of books on dog training, as well as on how to reduce your German Shepherds barking. Make sure you dont forget to visit this website!
However, heres what you cant do before your Amazon book order arrives.
Exercise your dog. Feeling bored or not challenged is one of the biggest reasons why dogs bark. Its his way of telling you he needs something more. He needs plenty of action.
Every GSD requires daily exercise and mental stimulation. There are numerous ways you can tire your dog! Go on longer hikes. Try putting on a doggy vest that weighs no more than 10% of their body mass. Let him go swimming in the lake!
Try playing fetch, too! This would be a fun way for the two of you to bond, and the dog will get the much-needed exercise.
Still, if youre too busy to spend lots of time working out with your pooch, hire a dog walker. These people often tend to walk more dogs at once, meaning there will be lots of opportunities to play with other dogs.
Step number two to reduce the problem is get your dog to switch the focus on you.
Your dog has to learn to look at you for guidance before he starts barking. This is the way that gives better results.
Eventually, your GSD will connect the two dots and behave to get the yummy stuff!
How Do I Teach A German Shepherd To Bark On Command
Teaching your GSD to bark on command is a good way to ward off any people or animals looking for trouble. Start by observing the situations that trigger the bark. For example, you notice that he barks whenever you give him a toy. To start training him, put a barrier between you and your GSD then offer him the toy playfully. He will attempt to get the toy but he cant get it because of the barrier. He will naturally bark when that happens. As soon as he barks, give him a treat and say speak. Keep repeating this process until he associates his bark with your speak command. Once she understands the meaning of speak, offer a toy without a barrier. When he barks, give him a treat and say speak. GSDs are intelligent beings so your GSD will figure it out fast.
Training your GSD to stop barking or to bark on command is essential for GSDs especially those with barking issues. Follow the tips above and soon you can control your GSDs barking. Not only you, but also your neighbors will be happy.
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Barking Because They Sense A Threat
GSDs will also bark if they sense something or someone that is threating. This is also why they bark when they see a stranger outside, or someone rings the doorbell, they dont know if that person is safe or a threat to their family.
Dogs also have a good sense of judgment for bad situations and people with bad intentions, so sometimes they bark at times when you may not sure why because they sensed a threat from someone or something.
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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When Does A German Shepherd Puppy Start Barking
At 2 to 4 weeks old, you might notice your German shepherd puppy trying to vocalize by grunting or whining. Then hell start yipping at around 2 months. When he reaches 4 months old, a German Shepherd puppy usually starts barking properly. Some GSDs may start barking earlier or later than 4 months due to temperament differences.
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# : Use The Appropriate Training Program To Stop German Shepherd Barking
The following barking problems should be addressed before formally teaching your dog to bark on command and sometimes this is not recommended at all.
Fearful German Shepherd barkingGerman Shepherd anxiety may first appear as a barking problem. These are dogs that are truly afraid of something and pushing them to face their fears will only make matters worse. The best techniques involve slowly teaching your dog to change the emotion state of fear to one of joy in the presence of the fear trigger. Most fearful dogs will never become completely relaxed, so you will always need to be on the alert and manage the environment to prevent aggression from arising. I highly recommend you do not train a fearful dog to attack or bark on command.This link will help you get started on a training program to diminish your dogs fears. |
Resource guarding in German Shepherd dogsAlso known as food aggression, resource guarding is a type of fear, in this case it is the fear of loosing something. Common things dogs will guard are toys, furniture, and even the owner. Because this also falls under the fear category you must be very vigilant and avoid situations that will make your dog become food aggressive. Follow this link for more information on this issue. Stress and anxiety barking in German Shepherd dogs |
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How Do Guard Dogs Work
Theres a difference between watchdogs and guard dogs. A watchdogs main purpose is to bark and let you know that someone is approaching your home or property. But a guard dogs job is to deter a threat from getting near your property. If this cant be done, then the German Shepherd will take action and attack to cast out the threat, such as bluffing and charging.
German Shepherds are one of those breeds that can excel at both watchdog and guard dog tasks. Some people claim that female German Shepherds make better personal guardians due to their maternal instinct, while male German Shepherds make better patrol dogs because of their territorial nature. This may be true for some individuals, but in general, male and female German Shepherds can be great for both jobs.
If you want to know if your German Shepherd puppy has developed this guarding instinct, watch for the following signs: