German Shepherds: Training a German Shepherd Dog

German Shepherd Dog is also known as GSD, Alsatian or Schäferhund. Germany is its country of origin. The breed German Shepherd is fairly a new one and dates back to the late nineteenth century. Originally, these dogs were trained as shepherd dogs for herding sheep. Later, these dogs were recruited as police dogs because of their intelligence and obedience. It is one of the most favored pet dogs around the world, due to its protective nature and loyal behavior to its master.

A German army officer Max von Stephanitz, first bred this dog. In 1899, he established a German Shepherd Dog Club and coined various strategies to market the breed German Shepherd. Here we look at the various tips for training a German Shepherd.

Tips for Training a German Shepherd

A German Shepherd pup is a bundle of energy and very playful. It belongs to the category of large breed of dogs such as Great Dane, Labrador, Mastiff and so on. As a pup, a German Shepherd needs a lot of love, affection and care. It would be wise and easy to impart training to a pup than an adult dog. The training should be imparted, when the dog is around six weeks of age.

While imparting training, you may use food to reward the dog if it performs well. For instance, if you are training the dog to bring your morning newspaper, roll the paper and ask the dog to hold it between its teeth. Ask him to bring it to you. If he does it well, appreciate him using phrases such as "good", "well done" and so on. This training can be continued, till he does it perfectly. At the end of the training, reward the dog with his favorite food.

The first and foremost thing to teach your German Shepherd is the "sit down" command. There are many ways to train a German Shepherd to sit. One of the ways is to hold a few dog biscuits in your hand and bend slightly towards the dog. Place your hand (the one with biscuits) over the head of the dog. When the dog tries to see where the biscuit is, it is most likely to sit down. Now you should clearly the say the word " Sit" and repeat this exercise ten to fifteen times. Train the dog to get up only when you issue the command "come". Do not allow the dog to snatch the biscuits from your hand. You need to keep in mind that a young German Shepherd pup gets tired easily and has a short span of attention. So keep the training short, say for 5 to 6 minutes.

While training your German Shepherd, keep the surroundings calm and quiet. Avoid a surroundings that could cause distraction to the training program. The dog must be given ample time to understand and grasp the new commands without being disturbed. You can reprimand the dog, if he misbehaves. However, never use a stick to implement training. This could have negative effects on the dog. As the dog grows, you could increase the length of the training period. As the owner of a German Shepherd, if you feel you cannot impart training yourself, enroll it in a good dog training class.