Train Your German Shepherd To Alert Bark
First of all, choose a word to say to the dog to command him to bark. For example, choose simply bark and try also to do a body signal along with it. Body language is an important part of the training because when your dog will learn to bark on the command you can cut the word and try to order him to bark only with body language. This will be useful when your dog will become older and his listening power may decrease.
Once you have chosen the word that triggers German Shepherds bark, say it with the same tone every time.
To start just tie your dog with a leash in the garden and hide from him. And every time he barks or makes a sound while you say BARK go to him and give him a treat. You can keep practicing several times.
When the German shepherd will get comfortable with barking on command in the garden or at home, take him out and try to command him to bark when you are jogging or walking around in a park.
The important is to be clear with the command. Lets say if you went to the park to play with your German shepherd dog.
German shepherd to be a guard dog,
To take your German shepherd training to the next level, create a scenario.
When you have trained your dog to bark, try the same door knocking exercise with your friend.
Ask a friend to knock or ring your door. When your dog will learn to bark at strangers. it means you are doing a great job to train the dog.
Overview Of The Training Programme And Topics Well Cover
Just to make sure were on the same page, you were looking for the ultimate guide on training a German Shepherd puppy, right?
Good, then you wont be surprised by the long list of topics well be touching on:
- Sitting
- Coming when you call them
- Walking nicely on a lead
- Playing fetch
- Coping with being left alone
- Going to the toilet in the right place
- Teaching your German Shepherd puppy to not bark
Yep, youll most likely be using it all. But nothing to worry about weve made it nice and simple to follow!
Two: Progress To An Environment With More Distractions
Note that the environment you train your GSD in should gradually increase in the natural distractions to simulate a real off leash scenario.
Start of with few distractions and increase them as your GSD becomes more competent.
For step two, you may want to progress to your front yard for example.
In most front yards, there are people walking past, cars and general public environment distractions.
These are great natural distractions for your adult dog or puppy to be tested by.
You May Like: What Age Do Female German Shepherds Go Into Heat
Coupling Verbal And Gestural Cues Help Your Dog Learn Better
Most professional dog trainers will tell you to couple a verbal command with a gesture. The good reason for this advice is that body language is a canines primary mode of communication, and they have an excellent capacity to read visual cues.
Dogs will make out when you are sad from your face just as they will understand your hand and other body signals in training. This fact has been used to explain why deaf dogs will learn as well as those with optimal hearing capacity.
Research has confirmed that coupling your word with a gesture has a better impact on dog obedience, and this gets even better if the words and gestures are placed in a context. For example, telling your dog to search while pointing to the direction you want him to go will be more effective in a context where the search was done before.
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.
You May Like: Chihuahua That Looks Like A German Shepherd
Age Matters Or Does It
Im about to give you two conflicting statements but bear with me. Age matters when it comes to training a German Shepherd. But age also doesnt matter. Heres why.
Theres an old adage that states, You cant teach an old dog new tricks. The meaning of this is that once someone or something reaches a certain age, theyre no longer able to learn new behaviors. This stems from the incorrect assumption that older people and animals will be stuck in their ways.
While it can be difficult to train an older dog , its not impossible. Unless there is a physical reason why an older dog cant do a specific trick or task, there is no reason why they cant learn it.
That said, its definitely easier to train most puppies. This is why early intervention is important. A young German Shepherd will be primed and ready to learn. They will have lots of energy and be ready to please you.
But that doesnt mean an older German Shepherd is impossible to train. It just takes a little more time, effort, and a few extra tricks.
The bottom line on age is that it matters only in the way youll train your German Shepherd. Just dont give up on those older GSDs!
Your Dog Is Not A Person Your Dog Is A Reflection Of You
Your Dog is a Reflection of You!
As humans, we personify everything we love including our beloved dogs. And in my opinion, there’s nothing wrong with that.
As long as we remember that our dogs operate on instincts. And our emotions affect those instincts.
For example
There’s this Staffie names Apollo that has hydrotherapy on the same day as Charley.
Now, Apollo and Charley hate each other. None of us are sure why though!
So, a few weeks ago Charley was at her weekly hydrotherapy session when Apollo strolled past her massage mat.
The moment I saw him I tensed up. And within a split second Charley, who has just had hip surgery, jumped up on all fours and started barking madly.
She’s never had a problem with any of the other dogs around there. Even the owners 2 Jack Russell’s hang around her with no problems.
Both myself and the therapist never saw it coming. But looking back now, I should have known
Charley was reacting to her instincts.
But
My emotions played a big role in her final reaction. Charley was responding to me, but the results were not positive. Because I was tense and worried.
You may be wondering what you can do to encourage your GSD to respond to you in a positive way.
This brings us to the next golden rule
Also Check: How Much Should A German Shepherd Weight At 6 Months
Explaining Socialization Exposure For German Shepherds
You keep reading about exposure in this article, but I want to be sure were all on the same page. Exposure, when it comes to socializing German Shepherds, means safe and positive introductions to new things.
Never show your puppy or adult GSD something new and simply sit back to see what happens. Thats a recipe for disaster! Instead, be sure that all new exposures include a positive approach, praise, and most importantly your presence.
New exposure can include things such as new surfaces: concrete, wood shavings, sand, and grass, for example. It can include new sounds: birds chirping, lawnmowers, cars on the road, children playing, construction sounds.
New, positive exposures should include a huge variety of smells, too: all kinds of animals, people of all ages, foods, even garbage or other unpleasant things.
Train Your Recall Frequently The Right Way
If your German Shepherd doesnt listen to you outdoors and refuses to come when called, then youll find training them on a long lead with a distinct sound helps encourage them to return to you.
A long lead is a secure training line that allows your dog space to roam while keeping them safe and letting you stay in control of their recall.
Dont just jerk your dog around when they dont come back to you!
Instead..
Use the following techniques to get your stubborn dog to listen.
Don’t Miss: When Does A German Shepherd Ears Stand Up
How To Keep Your Dog From Barking
While German Shepherds communicate primarily through body language, their bark is another way for them to let others know what theyre thinking. Its unreasonable to expect your German Shepherd never to bark, but you should teach your dog when barking is acceptable.
A GSD is a guardian breed, and he will want to protect his family and his home from any danger. Thats why they bark when someone knocks on the door. But, they may also bark at other dogs, the TV, and other non-threatening stimuli.
What can make this behavior tricky is that you want them to bark to alert you when a stranger or other legitimate danger approaches, but you also want them to stop after youve confirmed that the family is not in danger.
The best way to do this is to follow these steps:
Give Your German Shepherd A Job By Teaching The Find It Command
If youre looking for something to challenge your dog and engage his brain, nose games are the perfect solution.
Dogs naturally excel at nose games and because they stimulate the mind, elevate boredom, help burn excess energy, they help prevent unwanted destructive behaviors such as, barking, chewing, digging, household destruction, etc. Every day, dogs use their incredible sense of smell to locate missing persons, diseases, mold, drugs, termites, explosives, fruits, vegetables and more.
Step one-introducing the Find It Command
Teaching your dog to use his nose starts very basic by teaching the Find It command. Find it is fairly straight forward. All it requires is choosing a fragrant dog treat and tossing it on the floor and when your dog goes for the treat, give the command Find It.
When the dog picks it up, click/praise and treat. After your dog connects the cue word, Find It with locating the treat, begin challenging your dog to find the treat by holding his leash and tossing the treat where he cant see it fall but within close proximity, not across the room.
Once your dog has mastered finding things on the ground, begin to raise them up higher so that he now has to use his nose to locate the treat on a higher level. Practice this and intermittently lower the treat so that your dog learns to search for things on all levels. Practice this however long it takes until your dog has learned the concept that he is searching with his nose for the treat.
Don’t Miss: German Shepherd Long Hair
Dont Yell At Your German Shepherd
Unless they have a physical impairment that limits their hearing, dogs have the perfect auditory ability. In fact, a dogs ear is wired for prey and can detect the highest and softest pitch sounds. That also means that they can tell the difference in your voice pitch, and they know shouting is an indication of anger and displeasure.
Yelling can cause fear and aggression in German Shepherds, which could make them turn against you with a bite, or they could just run away. With time, dogs may also adopt a form of indifference to your shouting and learn to ignore your yelling. This would imply that youll never achieve anything with them when it comes to training.
From a well-being approach, continuous shouting as a form of punishment can cause poor quality of life for your German Shepherd. This study found that dogs trained with aversive methods had poorer welfare than those trained with reward-based methods .
Rather than shout, therefore, you will be more efficient if you use a calm voice and make clear and confident commands.
Be In Tune With Your Dog
As you spend more time with your dog, pay attention and observe them closely. Youll notice that they have their own ways to communicate with you.
If you make an effort to listen and figure out what theyre trying to say, youll appreciate how communicative German Shepherds really are, and this is critical for successful training.
Also Check: How To Grow Long Hair For German Shepherd
How Do You Discipline A German Shepherd For Biting And Nipping
Follow these steps to discipline your German Shepherd for biting or nipping you.
To discipline a German Shepherd for biting or nipping, make sure you correct them during their bad behavior by saying Ouch!, pulling your hand away slowly to not excite them more, and redirecting the biting and nipping to an interesting chew toy. If they still continue to bite and nip, calmly get up and walk away to let them calm down. You can also get your puppy to stop biting by working on their impulse control.
Never use physical punishment, yell at your dog, or cause them to fear you. Instead, use reward-based training to teach your GSD what behavior you want them to do instead.
There is also extra information you need to know about disciplining your German Shepherd for biting, such as:
- Why your puppy bites and nips you
- How to avoid biting and nipping in the first place
- And what not to do!
Lets quickly talk about disciplining your German Shepherd, since its such a controversial topic in dog training and many owners are concerned about using corrections.
Introduce Your Dog To What She Will Be Guarding
For your dog to do her job correctly, shell need to understand what shes going to be guarding. Your shepherds natural instincts will help a lot during this process, so you may have an easier time than you think on this step!
You can introduce your dog to her object or space in a variety of ways, but one idea stays the same: Helping your dog understand whats in her territory will be the most important thing. If your German shepherd is meant to guard a person, she should first establish a bond with that person she may become naturally protective. For pups who are guarding a house, taking them on a walk around your homes perimeter will help hammer down the idea that your space is their space, too.
Don’t Miss: Why Do German Shepherds Whine So Much
Dont Use Physical Punishment
If you have a German Shepherd, its because you wanted him for a pet companion. That means you love your dog and want the best for him. Consequently, you would not want to hurt your dog.
If all that is true, then it is easy to indicate that you should never apply physical punishment on your pet, whether that means spanking, kicking, leaving him without food, caging or tying him for days, and other forms of punishment that could bring the dog some form of physical harm.
These forms of punishment do not achieve any good results. First, dogs do not have the reasoning capacity to associate punishment with their action and are, thus, unlikely to change. Instead, they will develop fear and aggression towards you, which could strain the relationship with your GSD.
Second, from an animal rights perspective, physical punishment is a form of pet abuse that could make you count among the thousands of people who are perpetrators of animal cruelty in the US, inflicting physical pain. To avoid these negative outcomes, seek the help of a professional trainer if you think that your dogs behavior is becoming too much for you to handle.
Social Distancing And Isolation Wont Hamper Your Dogs Socialization
I know it might be hard to believe, but social distancing and other kinds of isolation doesnt have to be the end of your dogs socialization training.
For sound exposure, you can play recordings of a variety of things: crowds, the ocean, forest noises, city noises, household noises that may not be common in your house.
You can go to Youtube and find just about anything and everything you could imagine. Simply play these sounds for your s and give lots of praise for calm behavior.
Check out this video of habituation sounds for puppies. Videos such as these can be extremely helpful as a training aid to acclimate your GSD to some of the many sounds that she will for sure encounter in the real world:
The same is true for sights and smells. This might be a bit trickier, but there are ways around social distancing and isolation practices. Plan trips to low-population areas during times when even fewer people might be around.
The smells of the people from earlier in the day will still be strong, so your dog will get the benefit of sensing these. You can also order things online, finances allowing, and let your German Shepherd spend time exploring the items.
Another option is taking your GSD for a ride in the car. Even though you wont be able to touch or physically interact with the world, youll still be showing your German Shepherd lots of new sights, sounds, and smells.
Recommended Reading: Beagle Shepherd Mix Size