Dog obedience training can be a daunting task, but with a German shepherd dog, it is a fun and rewarding experience.
The German shepherd is a very intelligent breed which makes them easy to train.
The German shepherd is eager to learn new things and thrives when kept active and given a job or a task to do.
Training your shepherd will be a growing experience for both of you.
The time spent training your German shepherd is an excellent way for you to bond with your dog, learn their personality, and build trust.
Obedience training will allow your shepherd to learn boundaries, develop their full potential, and become a well-mannered companion to you and everyone else in your family.
It is best to expose your German shepherd to obedience training as early as possible.
Start with basic training commands like sit, stay, here, and down.
Keep training sessions short, fun, and positive.
The German shepherd breed is smart, and it will not take many repetitions before they have mastered a skill.
Take notice of this and always be ready to introduce something new to prevent your smart dog from becoming bored with the same old routine.
Remember These 5 Training Tips for German Shepherds
- Patience
- Authoritative Firmness
- Consistency
- Positive Reward
- Fun
1. Always be patient when conducting obedience training. Every dog is unique and learns different things at different speeds.
German shepherds are intelligent but are also known to be stubborn. Expect your shepherd to test you and your patience from time to time.
2. German shepherds are a beautiful, intelligent, powerful breed. They respond well to an owner who has a command presence with authoritative firmness.
Be firm when training your shepherd and be a leader. If you give them an inch they will take a mile, so you have been warned!
3. One of the most important things to remember when training any dog is consistency.
Consistency will eliminate confusion and frustration. Choose commands and boundaries that every member of the household uses and understands.
Consistency will keep your shepherd from being confused as to what is expected from them and from whom.
If your training expectations are not consistent and sometimes you make your shepherd obey a command and sometimes you do not…you have just given this smart dog an inch.
4. Be sure to lavish your German shepherd with treats, play, praise, and positive attention for a job well done.
Positive rewards and attention encourage positive behavior.
Your shepherd will thrive, knowing that he has done well and will continue to want to please you.
A stern and strict training approach to obedience training with this breed will not allow this dog to be the best that he can be.
5. Lastly, and most importantly, have fun and enjoy your German shepherd while training.
You do not want to think of training your dog as a daunting task.
To keep your dog’s attention span, you need to keep your training sessions short.
Your German shepherd is extremely smart and will feed off of your body language and moods.
If you keep your training time light and fun, your shepherd will enjoy learning new things and look forward to training time.
Use what you have learned from this article, and before you know it, you will have a loyal German shepherd who is outgoing, well-adjusted and well-mannered.