Training German Shepherd puppies is important as proper training has to imparted in the vital formative years of the dog’s life. German Shepherds are among the most popular dogs in the world and are in fact the second most popular dog in the United States behind only the Golden Retriever. Apart from being large, powerful and agile, the most desirable trait of German Shepherds is their intelligence and loyalty. They are extremely intelligent, said to the third most intelligent dog after poodles and Border Collies. A combination of strength, size, loyalty, intelligence, agility and willingness to learn makes them the ideal dog breed and hence they are so popular as work dogs. They are in fact very versatile and make excellent companion dogs and service dogs as well. But an animal as fast and powerful as this can be dangerous if not trained properly. Hence, German Shepherds has to be trained properly in order to be useful for the role they are selected for.
Training German Shepherd puppies the right way is important. It is always better to catch them young and train them the way you want them to be. German Shepherds are large and powerful dogs and an untrained and unruly dog can be quite a handful. So better discipline these dogs at an early age when they are smaller and easier to handle. And make sure you use the proper verbal cues. Have distinct, clearly audible commands and use them consistently so that the dog does not get confused. But the German Shepherd’s intelligence comes into play here. These dogs will learn commands in about five repetitions and will learn fast.
While training German Shepherd puppies, also be sure to use a proper authoritative tone of voice but not so much so that is scares the dog. German Shepherds are obedient, but they still need to be reminded who’s the boss and they should obey your commands. And also do not undermine the importance of non-verbal cues – hand gestures. If your dog is too far away to hear you, you may find the hand gesture to be useful. So settle on appropriate hand gestures and use these gestures consistently so that the dog gets well acquainted with them.
And remember to maintain proper eye contact while training German Shepherd puppies. German Shepherds, despite there size are lively and energetic and maintain proper eye contact means you are not ignoring the dog which can try to seek your attention. These are just basic tips, for much more detailed guide you can visit Happy German Shepherd site. But no matter what training methods you choose, respect the intelligence of the dog and don’t let the training go on forever. German Shepherds will learn after a few repetitions and overdoing it will simply bore the dog.
