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.
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.
