Training a German Shepherd requires a strong and experienced owner. You must always remain consistent when training a dog breed such as this. Reason being; they must understand who is in-charge and know their place in the pecking order.
An untrained German Shepherd will become naughty and restless, which often leads to destructive behaviour and in some cases; depression. During training your puppy or dog, you must show confidence and authority. Being too harsh won’t work and will stress your German Shepherd out. Instead, approach the training with a firm but friendly manner.
Training should start when they’re young and be consistent throughout their lives. Along with the patience you will need plenty of love and lots of yummy treats!
Listed below are six top training tips to ensure your German Shepherd grows up to be a strong, confident, happy dog.
Potty train your puppy correctly
Every time your puppy eats or drinks you must immediately take them outside and encourage them to do their business.
Often, it helps if you use a word associated with going to the toilet, it will help encourage them to go to the bathroom on command. If you catch your puppy in the act doing their toilet business in the house, then you should tell them off in a way that is not threating, non-abusive but with authority. You must also gently direct them to the correct place for them to go to the bathroom. If they have done their business somewhere in the house and you never managed to catch-him-in-the-act, then you must not tell them off as this will cause confusion and for your dog to become stressed.
Teach your puppy not to pull on their leash
Often, owners think their dog pulling on their leash is a new thing and they’re then confused why their dog won’t listen whilst they’re out walking and how to stop them from pulling on their lead. This behaviour is learnt from an early age and it’s during their puppy days that you teach them how to be on their lead and not to pull. You can do this by rewarding your puppy with a treat when they’ve walked like a good puppy. If they begin to pull, gently pull them closer to you and remain confident and upright in your stance and walking pattern. As you would with a child, you must ignore their naughty behaviour.
Learn to socialise your German Shepherd puppy
After your puppy has been fully vaccinated, it’s worth considering joining a puppy class for you both to learn and socialise. Socialising your puppy from a young age will help develop them further and enable them to grow into a strong, healthy and confident dog in later life.
Stop your German Shepherd from jumping
It’s hard not to find your puppy cute when they jump up and demand your attention, however, you will not appreciate this behaviour when they’re fully grown into an adult dog. If they attempt to do this you must ignore their behaviour, under no circumstances do you acknowledge them, make eye contact with, or, push them away. If you need to, you can turn-around each and every time they jump up at you.
Once you’ve managed to get their jumping under control, now would be a good time to get them to sit.
Use treats to train your German Shepherd puppy
Some would argue against this method of training, when, actually, this method of training works very well, as its one of the things your puppy loves the most! What better way to train your puppy to learn new tricks and commands with the use of treats. Of course, you can replace a treat with a healthy treat, which is a kiss, cuddle or some form of affection. It can also be giving them their favourite toy.
Reward their good behaviour
This rule applies to anything in life, whether you have a child, dog or both! When your puppy does well, you must reward them with attention or a treat, or both. If they’re naughty and do something that is forbidden, then the best form of action is to ignore this behaviour. Often dogs are naughty as they’re looking for their owner’s attention.
