German Shepherd Training
You’ve done your research into what breed you want and have decided to get a German Shepherd. You’ve selected the puppy and brought him home. Believe it or not, training your puppy begins as soon as you get him home.
Give him a name that everyone can agree with. Something simple like “Max”, “Kahn”, “Missy”, “Jade” and then call your puppy that. Take your puppy to his spot in the yard where he can do his business. When he completes the task give him praise. Maybe even a tidbit of food.
Show him his crate, put some food in there and when he goes inside praise him as you say the word “Crate”. Let him get comfortable in the crate. Every time he gets tired during the day put him in the crate. He will consider this his own personal room.
The two things you need to teach him is “Come” and “No”.
Come – Get a family member or friend to help you with this. Have them hold the puppy. Say his name and say the word come “come”. Make sure they are a few feet from you. Show him the food. When he comes to you praise him and give him a kibble of food. If he doesn’t, go get him and start over. Don’t chew him out or hit him, otherwise he’ll have a bad association and will think that he better not come to you at all, defeating the purpose of your training.
No – If you find your puppy chewing on your purse, shoes or something he shouldn’t be, go up to him and take it away, saying “No” in a firm low voice.
If he growls or snaps defending his procession, don’t back away. Grab him by the scruff of the neck and pick him up till where his hind paws are touching the floor. Say “No” take the item away, then give him a toy that will be acceptable for him to play with.
- Make sure you can take his food bowl away while he’s eating. This is important because he’s small and manageable now, but he won’t be in a few months.
- Don’t let him growl at you. Nor snap. If you do this will cause big problems later.
- Don’t let him get on your bed or couch without your permission.
- You are the leader, not him. He needs to understand this.
Some German Shepherd training commands you want to teach him once he’s potty trained are “Sit”, “Down” and “Stay”.
This will take time and effort but make it fun and enjoyable for you both.
Make sure that you start in a quite room when you teach him these commands. He’s a puppy and doesn’t have the mental ability to pay attention for that long. Take a break after a few minutes and play with him outside. Pups love playing with their pack – dog or human.
Enjoy training your puppy, it creates a bond between you two that will last a lifetime.
