German Shepherd Training
Congratulations on taking a step to train your German Shepherd dog! Whether you are looking towards getting a German Shepherd or already own one, the German Shepherd Training Academy is your best online resource to learn more about this breed! It is essential that you, as an owner (or soon to be owner) of a German Shepherd be able to understand the nature of your dog and be able to establish a good relationship which has been proven to help in training your German Shepherd. German Shepherds have been taught to do many things, from complicated tricks, to guide and service, search and rescue, and even training to assist police and other law enforcement officers! As such, the German Shepherd breed has often been noted to be one of the smartest and most intelligent breeds in the world. This website will be everything and anything about German Shepherds with most of the focus on German Shepherd training tips.
Thanks for visiting the German Shepherd Training Academy! We hope that you’ll enjoy the content on this site and we are looking forward to bring you valuable content for you and your German Shepherd. To get started, read on to get an overview to the ultimate guide to German Shepherd training. For more detailed articles, please visit our “Blog” page. In our Blog page, we share tons of German Shepherd training tips and tricks….what’s more, we often share these by creating infographics specially for our readers! We will be looking to conduct interviews with German Shepherd breeders to get a first hand look into their training methods, what worked and what didn’t.
Below, we’ll go over an overview of German Shepherds and essential tips required in German Shepherd training. Read on!
German Shepherd Training Overview
There are many different aspects of German Shepherd training that must be taken into account, especially if you are a new or potential dog owner. Training your German Shepherd is not as simple a task as many would think. Sure, if you follow the process step by step and utilize the right strategies and techniques consistently, it can be can not only be fun and enjoyable for your whole family, but the whole process will seem much more manageable. On the other hand, often times, dog owners would feel “stuck” with the progress of their German Shepherd training and as a result, they experience not only frustration, but also helplessness at times. This can lead to dog owners deciding to give up on training their dogs, and in extreme cases, completely give up on the idea of owning a dog. In such situations, some dogs are abandoned as a result of this. Therefore, the decision to own and train a dog should not be taken lightly since there are many essential factors that must be considered. The infographic at the top represents the key components or factors of German Shepherd training. These are explain in the following sections and more detailed information can be found at our Blog page.
The Nature of German Shepherds
A German Shepherd is known as a herding dog which descended from other herding dog breeds. A herding dog is also known as a stock or working dog and through selective breeding of humans, the original predatory behavior in herding breeds have been modified to better serve humans in herding activities. As such, herding dogs are typically very bright, intelligent and are also quick to learn since they are required to work with livestock every day. This is especially evident for German Shepherd dogs which have been trained as police and law enforcement, rescue and service dogs. Their intelligence however, can often be a challenge to their owners as German Shepherds are able to think for themselves and therefore do not entirely comply with their owners. In addition, as herding dogs are bred to work with livestock every day, they often seek time for daily exercise and things to do; without which, they often find tasks to amuse themselves by “herding” the family children or family cat. Also, if German Shepherds are left alone for too many hours alone without anything to keep them busy, they can act in a destructive manner – barking for hours, chewing up furniture and digging holes in the backyard of your house! If you’d like to know more about the history of German Shepherds to understand your dog’s nature before commencing with with training, you can read more here.
Understanding the background of German Shepherds in addition to pinpointing what triggers certain behaviors of your dog will put you in a better position to train your German Shepherd dog or puppy given that a healthy relationship between you and your dog will be established. This can certainly make training for both you and your German Shepherd not only an easier, but also a more joyous journey. For more information on what triggers your German Shepherd to act in certain “destructive” ways, check out our post on: Why Your German Shepherd Is Not Listening To You and Steps That Can Be Taken.
Many people would agree that dogs are “man’s best friend,” as they are loyal, provide us with unconditional love, enjoyment and joy. However, despite this fact, dogs have several destructive tendencies (as mentioned above) which can be troublesome for their owners and sometimes these tendencies make it difficult to live with them. Therefore, learning about the nature of your German Shepherd as well as how to train your German Shepherd is vital as it can improve your happiness as well as your dog’s happiness, enhance your bonds and ensure your dog’s obedience.
German Shepherd Training Tips and Strategies
German Shepherd training or dog training in general can be broadly divided into two distinct categories: positive and negative reinforcement training. Encouraging your dog’s good behavior through rewards and positive experiences is also known as positive reinforcement training. On the other hand, negative reinforcement training can be thought as a form a punishment training with the idea that because of the negative consequences your dog will experience, he would avoid repeating such bad behaviors in the future.
It is extremely important for dog owners to determine their German Shepherd training strategy before attempting to train your German Shepherd. This is so that you do not induce fear in your dog when incorporating too many negative reinforcement training into your strategy. For a more detailed comparison between both of these types of training, please click here. It is however important to note that you should ALWAYS be prepared to housetrain your German Shepherd from the very first day you get him. For more information on how to take care of your baby German Shepherd, click here.
German Shepherd Training Challenges
There’s no doubt that dog owners face many different challenges while training their German Shepherds. The most common ones related to German Shepherd training are commitment levels to train their dogs, monetary constraints, as well as not having the proper techniques required for German Shepherd training. While these are certainly valid challenges and concerns for dog owners (especially new ones), it is important to point out that experienced dog trainers have also at some point, experienced these feelings. For a complete breakdown on each of these German Shepherd training challenge, head on over to our blog page. Don’t forget that you could also hire a dog trainer if you think it would be helpful. Click here to find out more about the pros and cons of hiring a dog trainer and house training your German Shepherd: Should You House Train or Hire a Dog Trainer? Note there’s an awesome infographic we designed in the aforementioned post!
Setting Up Goals for German Shepherd Training
There are many different things that you can train your German Shepherd in. The most common one for most dog owners is dog obedience training. Typically, this type of training involves having your dog learn basic commands such as sit, stay, okay and so on, training your dog to understand your likes and dislikes as well as to obey your commands. Each dog owners have different standards as to which of your German Shepherd’s actions are acceptable and unacceptable. As such, it is extremely important to set up not only expectations, but also goals for your German Shepherd training sessions. In fact, there are no dogs in the world that are really “fully trained.” Just like us, there’s always something that we can do better in. Therefore, specifying what you want your dog to do well in can make a huge difference in whether you see your German Shepherd training sessions as successes or as failures. More of setting up goals for your German Shepherd training can be read here.
The Importance of German Shepherd Training – Why Train Your German Shepherd?
Another way to ask this question is “Do you want just a dog or a companion?” In order for your German Shepherd to be your companion in life, German Shepherd training is required. Not only that, German Shepherd training is required for your dog to be obedient, happy and social. These three important factors of training your German Shepherd is what is known as the “Three Pillars.” Here’s the blog post which will allow you to find out more about the importance of German Shepherd training and the “Three Pillars.”
German Shepherd Training Tool: Clicker Training
There are many different ways which can be used to communicate with your dog. One of which is clicker training; it is often used in dog training because it allows dogs to make the association of a positive action or behavior with a specific sound. The clicker is a small palm-sized plastic box with a metal tongue in which you push quickly in order to produce a distinct sound. Most dog trainers would agree that using a clicker definitely facilitates your German Shepherd’s learning. To learn more about how to implement a clicker training strategy as well as to get tips on clicker training, head on over here: German Shepherd Training Series – Clicker Training.
German Shepherd Training as A Hobby
Aside from having to know all the different types of factors that one should consider while taking on the challenge to train their German Shepherd, it is equally as important to remember to have fun during the entire process! That’s right, German Shepherd training does not have to be something that is viewed on as a burden, but rather, it can be thought of as a hobby. In fact, plenty of dog trainers train dogs as a hobby rather than as a career. This dog training hobby can bring many benefits, one of which includes lowering stress levels. Many studies have shown that owning pets not only results in lower blood pressure during stressful situations, but also, reduces the tendency of individuals to suffer from depression. What’s more, most children enjoy being around dogs!
We wish you the very best in your journey training your German Shepherd! And, before we forget, we hope you’ll enjoy spending time at our site as much as we enjoy writing (and German Shepherds)! Let us know if there are any German Shepherd training tips that you’re looking for but can’t find here! We look forward to hearing from you!