As with any breed, german shepherd dog training takes consistency, persistence, and patience, but the rewards are well worth the time and effort.
Since German Shepherds are generally larger dogs with an unfortunate bad reputation in many people’s eyes, it’s your responsibility to show what a great and obedient dog your GSD can be.
Training should start as young as possible, and crate training puppies is a great place to start. Your German Shepherd needs to know from your first day together that you are in charge.
You can set the tone early by doing simple things like always entering and exiting doors first, because a physical following will translate into a following mentality.
German Shepherds are very mouthy, bitey dogs, even though they may be just playing, so you need to discourage this early and often, because this could turn into a sign of dominance, if not complete aggression.
If your shepherd starts to chew on any part of you, immediately stop and correct the behavior by giving them something acceptable to chew on, like a bone or rawhide. Do this for as long as it takes, until they realize you are not a chew toy.
The next step of training, before even moving on to the more traditional commands, is to socialize your dog, so it gets used to other people and pets.
Any signs of aggression should be stopped and corrected instantly, but never hit or abuse your dog, because that could only make the problems worse down the road.
Using calm and assertive tones and actions will have a more positive and lasting effect.
German Shepherd Dog Training – Advanced
Once you’ve mastered basic social training and established yourself as the leader, then you can move on to the more novel tricks and commands.
Always start with the most essential and useful ones: sit, stay, down, come, and heel.
These can come in very handy in public situations to keep your dog out of trouble and in control.
If you’d like to venture into the fun and more complex training techniques, GSD’s are very versatile and adept at mastering just about anything, which is why they are so often used as police and therapy dogs.
They respond well to agility drills, fetching, attack and stop commands, and more, and all of these things are excellent not only for their physical needs, but they provide much-needed mental stimulation as well.
German shepherd dog training is a very rewarding thing to concentrate on, and the sky is really the limit with the general intelligence and obedience of this wonderful breed.
A German Shepherd kennel comes in handy in several different circumstances, whether it’s indoors, outdoors, in the car, on a plane, on a boat, or, well… you get the idea.
It’s a versatile piece of equipment for you and your German Shepherd, so it’s important to get one that is going to work well for both of you.
In fact, if you can’t find one you like, don’t have the funds, or just enjoy building things, you should weigh the pros and cons of making your own kennel versus buying one from the store.
Either way, you’ll see how valuable kennels can be for everything from crate training puppies to simply providing a makeshift den to satisfy your GSD’s natural instincts.
If you just need a simple kennel crate and you have the funds, then buying one already made is the obvious option.
A quality one for a full-grown German Shepherd can cost anywhere from $80 to $150.
Try to avoid the big name pet stores, as I got burned at one of those, before finding out I could get them for a fraction of the price on Amazon and even at Walmart.
I now have two, and though the one from Amazon was about 20 more dollars, the fact that it has two doors, one on the side and one in front, has been more than worthy of the added expense.
If you’re in a pinch though, we did find that Walmart usually keeps them in stock in their pet section all the way up to the large size we bought of 48″ x 33″ x 30″.
If you fancy yourself a carpenter or welder, building one yourself could save you money, cutting the cost in half, if not more.
Metal is usually the better choice for portability, since you will be able to fold it if you use hinges, but wood is easier to use for building if it’s going to be outside or stationary.
Whatever you decide, a German Shepherd kennel can come in handy for you and become a “home of their own” for your GSD.
Crate training puppies is a very effective technique for housebreaking your puppies and providing them an instinctively natural “den” to call their own.
Dog crate training uses your German Shepherd’s natural instinct to not use the bathroom where it’s going to have to lie down and sleep.
This is the most natural and effective way to quickly break your dog of using the bathroom in the house.
To start, you must never use the kennel crate as a form of punishment.
Upon first buying and bringing the crate home, introduce it very slowly, and remember what we talked about here regarding a large dog crate.
First, just let your german shepherd walk in by throwing a few of their favorite toys inside, or even a treat.
Do not close the door at all the first several times your puppy or dog gets in their new kennel crate.
They need to know it’s their own safe haven, but not a prison or a place of punishment and confinement, or they could develop a fear and anxiety issue associated with the crate, leading to excessive barking and all sorts of other problems.
Once you’ve led your dog into the kennel crate, sit at the door and have fun playing while your dog is inside.
If they know any tricks, get them to perform them inside, all while being playful and positive about the experience.
Try not to let your dog out during this playtime by gently blocking the doorway and remember to use distraction instead of pure force.
If your dog goes to leave, pick up another toy or treat to get their attention and continue playing.
After several sessions just like this, start to gradually introduce the concept of closing the door.
First, close the door slowly, but never while your dog is looking away.
He may try to exit as you close the door, so try to continue playing by holding a treat or toy through the cage at the same time, as long as they can still see the door closing.
The first time you close it, only leave it closed for a few seconds while still remaining playful, then open it up and continue your play session, keeping the dog in the crate.
During the next session, repeat the same process, but leave the door closed for about a minute this time.
Try to distract and limit whining, but don’t scold.
Continue this process for as many days as it takes, until you can comfortably close the door and leave the room for several minutes.
At this point, transitioning to longer and longer alone times will become normal for your german shepherd.
It may seem like a lot of work and much easier to just toss the dog in and slam the door, but this little bit of patience and initial work up front will pay huge dividends when your dog learns to love and enjoy their crate kennel for the rest of their life.
Your dog should naturally let you know when they have to use the bathroom, so be sure to be around or within earshot for the first several days or weeks of leaving them in the kennel for extended periods.
If you have any questions about choosing the right German Shepherd kennel or crate training puppies, just leave a comment below.
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