German shepherd training is absolutely vital if you want to raise a well-behaved and loyal dog who obediently follows your commands without question. With proper training, you will be able to raise a german shepherd who doesn’t jump on your furniture or bed, won’t bark at strangers, claws at the rugs and scratches up your belongings, or uses the bathroom where he’s not supposed to. Contrary to what many dog owners believe, very little of this hinges on the dog’s personality; training is something that can be done with any dog, and german shepherds are dogs that are very responsive to training because of their breeding.
If you genuinely want to avoid the frustration of a dog that chews up all your furniture and poops all over the place, it’s very important to follow these german shepherd training ideas.
1. Begin the training from your first day
Do not waste any time with thinking your puppy is so cute and adorable that he does not need to be corrected when he jumps on you or your furniture. Of course that is the temptation, but you must avoid giving in to it or else your puppy will not be as responsive to training later on. After all, if you only correct him sometimes, how would he know when he isn’t supposed to do something?
2. Recognize the importance of positive feedback
A lot of dog owners think that dog training means telling the dog “NO” constantly and slapping them around or being abusive to the dog. That is very much not the case; in actuality, negative enforcement doesn’t work as well as positive reinforcement. This is absolutely crucial in german shepherd training. When you see your german shepherd doing something you want to encourage, give him a treat and some praise – and that will go a much longer way towards encouraging the behavior your want to see in your german shepherd puppy.
3. Socialize your puppy
This is one of the most vital of german shepherd training ideas. When you ensure that your dog is always in contact with other dogs and people, you are ensuring that he won’t be confused or startled when new people or dogs enter your house, and he therefore will feel no need to jump on them or bark. Your german shepherd puppy needs to get used to seeing new dogs and people all the time. Simply sign up for a dog training class or take some walks to your local park – preferably a dog park if you have one nearby. Your dog will love this, as dogs are naturally social animals.
Training a german shepherd puppy might seem like a lot of work, but you must remember that you accepted this responsibility when you got a dog. Dogs are a lot of work if you want to have a well-behaved dog – at least in the beginning. Eventually, as days pass, your training process will become easier both for you and the dog, as these good training habits will be second nature to you and your dog, and he will recognize you as the pack leader.