How To Train German Shepherd Dogs And Puppies: An Overview
I love German Shepherds. They’re my absolute favorite breed. And if you have one like me, you’re probably wondering how to train German Shepherd dogs. It’s definitely a necessity with this breed. The first thing you need to do is to have a basic understanding of what your dog’s nature is, and what your particular challenges are likely to be in training a German Shepherd.
German Shepherds are bred to be herding dogs (did the word “shepherd” give that away?). That means that they’re by nature protective, aggressive to those they view as threatening, and assume that they’re the ones in charge. They are also very much people dogs, and hate to be left alone. And, being that they’re natural guard dogs, they have a tendency to bark a lot. In fact, one of the most common complaints people give with this breed is that they have a barking German Shepherd who’s driving them barking mad.
These are the things you need to keep in mind when you get started learning how to train German Shepherd dogs. Assuming you already have your dog, you probably know which of these is the biggest problem area for you. But most behavioral issues with German Shepherds have their root in one area, and that is dominance.
Dominance is the root of most problems in training German Shepherds. Dogs are pack animals, and every pack has its leader, called the Alpha. Your dog is naturally going to want to be the leader, particularly because German Shepherd are used to having a lot of underlings (ie; sheep). But the first lesson in how to train German Shepherd dogs is to make sure you establish yourself as the Alpha.
All other training is going to be dependent on this. Your dog is not going to listen to you on anything unless he views you as superior. Lots of people have trouble with this idea. They want a dog who listens to them and who they can have a great time with. And you can have both. But you need to make sure that even when you’re paling around, your dog doesn’t lose track of the fact that you’re the boss.
We’ll be covering ways to do this in another article, but for now, the important thing to keep in mind whenever you have a behavior problem with your German Shepherd, the first thing you’re going to ask yourself is “Is he trying to dominate me?”