German shepherds are surely among the cutest puppies you can have. They are even lovelier when trained properly. On the other hand, untrained puppies may lead to frustration. Training your German shepherd as early as possible is of course advisable, but choosing the right timing for every new tricks in the German Shepherd training is more important.
The good news is that German Shepherds are among the cleverest dogs. As long as the training is designed properly, you will not have many problems in training them to have good behaviors. Studies show that they can understand new commands very quickly. You just need to repeat a new command 4 to 5 times, and the German Shepherds can get them. However, they obey almost 95% of the first command. Therefore, you need to repeat and reinforce the commands before they are familiar with them
More interestingly, most owners of German Shepherds are success in training the dogs on their own. Therefore, it is unlikely that you will need help from a canine behaviorist because of the problems in training the new habits. Unfortunately, their intelligence may pose a different problem for the master. Sometimes, they can be stubborn. Therefore, you need a smart approach for how to train a German shepherd.
How to Train A German Shepherd: 8 to 16 Weeks
As mentioned above, training a German shepherd can be a fun thing to do as long as you can choose the right timing. Age of the German shepherd puppy determines what kind of training you can give. You are lucky enough to have a German shepherd puppy, as you can start the training earlier. The ideal time to begin training is when the puppy is 8 weeks old. At this age range, the following are the guidelines for you:
Socialization
Most breeds of puppies can be better in socializing when they are trained to do so at earlier age. The German shepherd is no exception. Experts say that dog’s socialization window mostly closes at the age of 12 to 16 weeks. Therefore, make sure that the training for socialization begins at earlier age. Otherwise, you will have problems in training and reinforcing new behaviors for them.
When the socialization begins at older age, the masters will be facing more problems. By nature, they are protective guardians. Early socialization is crucial to allow them determine which strangers are actually friends. They are observant animals. As a result, the way they react to strangers (new people, other animals, or even new situation) may depend upon how you react.
Since the age of 8 weeks, it is good if the German Shepherd puppies are exposed to many different situations. Show them that the new people or the new situations are not threatening. This way, they can be confident that you are not in a threatening situation. The key to success of training in this stage is confidence. Exposing them to new people, new smell, new sights, and even new smells is important. Do them in a calm way, and the German Shepherd puppies will eventually react in the same way.
The training may include a number of activities, like engaging the puppies in short but fun games, taking them to new places, introducing them to new tools like nail clippers, combs, brushes, and many more. The socialization step is called successful when the puppies do not go aggressive or restless in new situation, among the family members, or even at uneven surfaces.
Crate Training
All breads of puppies need proper crate training. If you want to have this for the German shepherd, make sure to start the training at this age range. Of course, you cannot always be with the puppies. Make him acclimated to be alone at home by means of proper crate training. If not trained properly, the German shepherd puppies will develop separation anxiety and even may bark all the time when they are left home alone.
Crate training strategies for the German shepherd is mostly similar to those used for other breeds of puppies. You need to choose crate of the right size, and get the puppies familiar with crate in a step-by-step way. Make sure to set the schedule for feeding and for taking them out.
How to Train A German Shepherd: 3 to 9 Weeks
At this age range, there are a number of training sessions, which you can begin for the German shepherd. They include obedience training, recalling, and impulse control.
Obedience Training
This training session is important for all breeds of puppies. The obedience training aims at teaching the puppy to act properly at home or in other settings. This is only the way to fix bad habits, which the dog had developed before they came to you.
German Shepherds are working dogs and they excel in terms of obedience. If you begin the obedience training at the right age, you can encourage their best working traits. At this step of training, you can teach basic commands like come, sit, stay, and walking on a loose leash. The following are some basic but essential skills you must teach since the puppies are 3 months old:
- His name. Throughout the training sessions, you will call his name, right? If the puppy does not respond when you call his name, training will be much troublesome. The first thing you have to do in the obedience training is getting him to know his name. As he hears you calling his name a lot, the dog will be able to recognize it. When he can respond properly as you call his name, treat your German shepherd properly.
- The command “Come!” This is also a basic command for the German shepherd puppies. Teaching this command will be much easier when the puppy recognizes his name well. As soon as he looks at you when you call his name, say the command “come!” If he is successful and coming to you soon, give him some treats. However, if the puppy ignores you, you may need higher-valued treats like his favorite toys.
- The command “sit!” Even though this is a basic command you need to teach the German shepherd, you may need extra efforts as well as extra treats for this. If the treats are interesting enough, the puppy will keep eye contact on them, rather than on you. Hold the treats lower and call the command “sit!”. Hold the treats on if the puppy jumps on it. Instead, give him the treat if he sits down like what you ask him. Keep practicing this until the behavior becomes his second nature.
Controlling Impulse
The ability to control their impulse is important for the German shepherd puppies. Improperly trained German shepherd frequently poses the master with behavior problems, such as digging, excessive barking, or aggressive chewing. Inappropriate chasing is another impulse-related problem commonly found in German shepherd. They naturally love chasing thing. However, inappropriate chasing may lead to problems.
Training the puppies to control impulse may be challenging, but most masters are successful in it. The key is having the puppy focus on you. Ability to control impulse is similar to patience training in other breeds of dog. Train this from the early stage, for instance:
- Ask the puppy to sit while you are preparing the meal. You may give him his favorite toys or let him play around. Do not let the puppy to jump to the meal. This is an important part in obedience training; otherwise, the puppy will intimidate and demand the food impatiently.
- Never put the puppy on his bag as a way to teach the command “sit!”. This may lead to injury. Physical interference mostly leads to negative behavior. So, try your best to use physical interference when training the puppy.
How to Train a German Shepherd Puppy : The Tricks
As your German Shepherd puppy shows pleasing results in the basic training sessions, you may proceed to the trick training. This training aims at boosting the puppy’s self-confidence and encouraging the bond between the master and the puppy. The tricks work by stimulating and challenging their natural instinct and capacity. At this step, you may see how intelligent the puppy is. The following are some tricks you need to teach the German shepherd puppy.
Using His Mouth Properly
Some owners of the German Shepherds might see that the puppy chews their shoes, bites the toys, the pillows, and even bites their hand. These could make the owner lose their mind, right? Actually, all puppies bite. This is their normal behavior, since the puppies are still exploring things around them. Using their mouth is the natural way for exploring things.
However, when the habit is let uncontrolled, they German shepherd will bite and chew things, even your precious stuff, in the future. Therefore, you need to know how to stop a German shepherd puppy from biting and for using his mouth properly. The following tips may help you:
- Tidy out the spaces commonly visited by the puppies. Keep things like shoes, pillows, or other things that may interest the puppies in the right place.
- Call the puppy while he is biting or chewing something, and than take the object away. You may use gestural signs to ask him to stop, and treat him when he is done.
- If the puppy keeps biting, do not get upset and yell at him. Instead, refrain yourself from giving him the treats. Give the treats only after the puppy shows the desired behavior.
Stopping the Puppy from Jumping
Besides knowing how to stop a German shepherd puppy from biting, you need to know how to stop the puppy from jumping. Perhaps, he looks cute when jumping to you when he is a puppy, right? However, wait and see few months later. The habits will challenge your nerve. It is annoying to see the adult dogs jumping on you or on other people. Therefore, start teaching the dog not to jump since it is a puppy:
- Ignore the puppy when jumps on you as you come home. On the other hand, greet him when he stays calmly and looks at you. Ignore him again, if he jumps again. Do this repeatedly.
- Never push the dog when he jumps. There is no need to knee.
- If he keeps jumping, command him to “sit down!” The puppy should have been familiar with “sit!” command, as you have trained him about this at the basic steps.
Walking on a Leash
German shepherd training also includes training the puppy to walk on a leash. This training aims at teaching the puppy to walk properly and preventing him from pulling on the leash. Introduce the puppy to the leash as early as possible. As he is familiar with the object, proceed to put it on his neck while at home. Let him familiarize with the leash on his neck and allow him to walk. See how the puppy responds. Treat him for the desired response.
On the other hand, if he begins to growl or bark, ignore him. Treat him when he is calm. Then, ask him for a short walk at the backyard of your house. Then, you can increase the duration gradually. Show the puppy that you are the leader. Do not let him to walk in front of you. Reward him if he walks properly and calmly behind you.
General Tips on How to Train a German shepherd
Training the German Shepherds is mostly similar to training other breeds of puppies. However, the German Shepherds have some distinguishing characteristics, like their working nature, protecting instinct, and intelligence. The following tips may help in encouraging the training sessions:
- Always prepare the treats before the training begins. The treats may be foods or the puppy’s favorite toys. Treat the puppy for any good behaviors.
- Never do bad things, like physical interference, as a form of punishment even though the puppy does not behave, as you want it.
- Never yell at the puppy, as it may confuse him. Yelling or shouting may reinforce the negative behavior, since the puppy does not really understand the meaning of your shouting.
By applying those ways on how to train a German Shepherd in a patient and consistently, you will likely get the desired results faster.
