German Shepherd Training

German shepherds are trained to perform duties and serve man. This is the reason why German shepherd training classes are popular not only to serve their purpose, but also because German shepherds crave for training more than anything else. If you’re ready to do your own German shepherd training then follow the steps below.

 

1. Be the alpha dog. The first thing you must do is to let the dog know you are the leader of the pack. German shepherds naturally live in packs. You must therefore stress that you are the alpha dog otherwise your German shepherd will assert himself to the role. If this happens, training your dog would barely be possible since he won’t be following your orders or commands as he would not see you as the leader.

 

2. His attention must only be on you. German shepherds are naturally trainable dogs. However, they are still vulnerable to being out of focus during the training. Upon establishing yourself as the alpha dog, you must then teach the dog to focus his attention on you or else there will be less progress in your training. Choose a training place where no objects can distract the attention of your dog and make sure his attention is only in you.

 

3. Consistency. German shepherd training also aims to teach your dogs how to please you as their master.  But in order for them to do this, they must be able to understand what you want or need from them. The key to this is to be consistent in giving out orders or commands. Use words in your commands that only mean one thing. If you use commands to mean two different actions, they’ll be confused and frustrated because they don’t know or understand what they should do to please you.

 

4. Start training when the dog is eight weeks old. At this age, he’ll be mature enough to learn actions such as going outside to eliminate waste or not to bite or jump.

 

5. Leash training. You do leash training of your German shepherd when he’s ten weeks old. This is one of the first things that your dog must be trained to do since you’ll be walking him from time to time. If you can’t do this properly, you’ll have a hard time controlling your dog and you’ll just be dragged along by him whenever you walk him. How many times have you seen this happening when an owner is out walking their German shepherd dog?

 

6. Attend a basic obedience class with your dog when he’s four months old. You’ll be able to teach him essential commands such as sit, come, and stay down. This should be easier now since you’ve established yourself as the alpha dog and you’ve trained him to focus his attention on you.

 

7. You must understand that a German shepherd can be trained at any age. This means that you can teach him any trick throughout his entire life and he’ll never get tired of learning. He’ll even be bored if you do not keep teaching him basic commands or tricks.