How To Train A German Shepherd

German Shepherds are one of the most intelligent of all dog breeds.  They usually enjoy training and are quite easy to train.  They like to have an owner who is firm and clearly in charge, without being harsh.  German Shepherds have been successfully trained using a variety of methods.  How to train a German Shepherd will often depend on your own philosophy about training and what kind of training methods you are comfortable using.

Training Your German Shepherd

You can train your German Shepherd at home, on your own, or by working with a trainer in a class.  Both ways will work.  If you train at home, there are many good training DVDs, CDs, and books to help you with your training.  If you feel you aren’t making progress, you can always call a trainer for private lessons or join a class later.

Check out this German Shepherd Training Guide

There are some advantages to training with a class.  You can often make faster progress if you work with a good trainer, especially if you are part of a small class.  A trainer can observe what you are doing with your dog and guide you.  You can see things demonstrated in class.  And your dog will have a chance to socialize with other dogs and meet other people, so he can practice his manners.

What Your German Shepherd Should Learn

In a basic obedience class your German Shepherd should learn to sit, lie down, stay, come when called, heel by your side, and walk on a loose leash without pulling.  Once your dog knows these basic commands you can work on making them more precise.  These are the foundation commands for more advanced obedience work.  Your dog needs to know these commands thoroughly, and obey them immediately, so he can learn more complicated commands.

How To Train A German Shepherd

There are several different ways you can train your German Shepherd.  Most people today use positive reinforcement or clicker training when training their dog.  This means that the dog is rewarded when he does what you ask him to do, while his mistakes are overlooked until he figures out what it is you are trying to teach him.  For example, if you are teaching your dog to sit using positive reinforcement, each time your dog sits, even on his own, you should praise him and give him a small food reward to let him know he’s done something you wanted him to do.  If he lies down or does something else, you ignore the behavior.  He should start associating sitting with getting the praise and the reward, so he will start sitting when you ask him to.

Clicker training is one particular kind of positive reinforcement.  With clicker training you use the small metal or plastic clicker to “click” and make a sound when your dog does something you like.  This helps mark the behavior for your dog, making it a little more precise for him.  Then you immediately follow up the click with a small food treat.  Otherwise it is just like the positive reinforcement described above.  Many dogs get very excited about the clicker and like it when they see it or hear it.  They learn to associate it with having fun and probably with the food treats.

Prior to using positive reinforcement most people trained their dogs using traditional dog training methods.  If you took a dog training class prior to the 1990s this is most likely the way you were taught.  It consists of using a slip chain collar on a dog and giving corrective jerks.  With this method you need to sometimes apply physical pressure to the dog to put him in a sit or lying down position.  Some trainers still use this method today but it is much less popular now.

Conclusion

All of the training methods discussed here will work when it comes to how to train a German Shepherd.  German Shepherds are highly intelligent and if you work with your dog consistently you shouldn’t have any trouble training him or her.  Choose a method that appeals to you and that fits your dog.  Good luck training your German Shepherd!