Mans Best Friend

Training your German Shephard

I have had the wonderful privlage of training a couple of German shepherds in my time. German Shepherd training, if done right can be a relatively easy task. Make sure that you start to train your dog at an early age to refrain it from undesirable habits. It is very important that you become the pack leader of your pet because it can be dominant and take over that role if you don’t. You need to gain the dogs respect by consistent love and lots of obedience training.

Obedience training will not only enrich your relationship with your pup but it’s a great way to establish the social hierarchy in your home between your dog, yourself, and your family. You can make your dog sit and wait to be fed (this is the easiest thing to start with in my opinion-can you say motivation), or make your dog wait for you to walk out the door first.

Training your German shepherd helps your dog to acknowledge your role and leadership because you make him wait to get what he wants until he obeys your commands. Just like any other dog, good behavior must be recognized and rewarded with positive reinforcements during training. To prevent him from becoming a one-man dog, make sure that all family members in your household take part in the training. This is a very important step and you will be sorry if your dog ends up not taking commands from anyone else.

The German Shepherd breed is known for having an intense sense of bonding with its’ owner(s). They need consistent attention and deep affection to prevent its behavior from turning negative. They can have a tendency to get goofy and get a little out of control when no one is looking or paying attention to them for long periods of time.

A German shepherd is a working dog so give it a daily job or an activity to do to keep him from finding his own, which could eventually lead to trouble (with a capital T). The real test of training is where your dog actually performs the commands with distractions all around at any given time and any place. During training once you feel comfortable with your dog obedience command progress, practice these commands in different areas of your yard and your home. Make sure you set a daily schedule, keep your sessions short and sweet, and make dog training fun for your German Shepherd.