“Every German shepherd owner should have a grasp of these helpful tips before bringing their puppy home”
Training your German shepherd from a young age is the best thing you can do to ensure your dog will grow up confident and well-behaved. A trained dog is a happy dog because the training helps prevent many common behavior problems from developing.
Since it’s much easier to prevent problems than to fix them, puppy training is very important. German shepherds are super smart and enjoy learning what is expected from them. Training will also help strengthen your bond with your dog.
Since German shepherds are strong, active, loyal, intelligent, and have a natural distrust of strangers, training and socialization are important for their mental and social well-being so they can grow up into a well-balanced dog that you can trust to take anywhere with you.
Here are some of the best German shepherd training tips:
1. Start training from an early age to prevent domineering and stubborn behavior. You can start by 8 weeks of age.
2. Don’t neglect socialization classes. They need to be exposed to all sorts of people, places, situations, and other animals so they grow up friendly and confident. Five to seven months old may be too late.
3. Reward-based training. German shepherd puppies respond very well to positive reinforcement, praise, and rewards. They don’t need harsh language, punishments, or actions to teach them.
4. Lots of praise feeds their need for affection and is an easy and powerful reward for a German shepherd.
5. Use life rewards, such as playtime, walks, fetch, etc., after your dog performs well.
6. Potty training requires patience, persistence, and consistency.
7. Teach bite inhibition and stop destructive chewing by providing plenty of chews and toys. Understand that chewing is part of German shepherd puppyhood.
8. Touch is a rewarding form of affection for German shepherds and will deepen your bond with your dog.
9. Be patient and consistent with your training. Remember your dog doesn’t understand you and is only a baby, training takes time.
10. Playtime builds relationships and is a powerful reward. Play time will deepen the bond you have with your dog and will eventually help you with training.
We hope you find these basic training tips helpful. Check out our website for more informative training help.