Posts Tagged ‘leash train’

German Shepherd: A Trainer’s Guide

German Shepherds are very large dogs, with corresponding brains. These smart companions need to be trained very carefully-not just for your sake, but theirs. Their clever minds need to be engaged and their exceptional bodies need to be worked as well.

It’s well known that training is a critical component of owning a German Shepherd, but it’s important to know what kind of training works best. Leash training is better than rewards training-so be sure to give your dog what it wants and needs.

German Shepherds particularly are pack animals, and they instinctively follow the organization of the pack.

When you train your German Shepherd, you need to keep that in mind, and focus yourself on acting like an alpha so that your dog will pay attention.

When you start to train your German Shepherd, it’s best to keep a few important basics in mind. The ones you need to know are below:

1) Early training is key. You need to begin training your german shepherd to be obedient at the age of eight weeks. Leash training should begin sometime after the tenth week, but only after your pet has mastered the basic commands you have already been teaching them.

2) An inattentive dog is not a well-trained dog. You need to get your dog’s full attention. German shepherds in particular are somewhat distractible, and so keeping them on the leash is key. You need to ensure that they are completely focused on you whenever you’re trying to show them something new.

Every time your puppy starts showing too great an interest in the cat next door or passing children, you might want to pull on the leash a bit to refocus them.

3) The other end of your leash should be held by you constantly, so that you can make it tighter or looser as your dog reacts to your orders.

When your puppy is listening to you, give the leash a little slack. This will establish you as the dominant figure, as well as encouraging him to obey you.

This is why leash training is key for German Shepherds-they need to accept you as their pack leader. If you don’t take strong disciplinary measures with your dog, he might wind up being the one in charge, and not you.

However, it’s always a smart idea to add to the leash training a bit, making sure to use some type of reward as well for optimal results.