German Shepherd Obedience Training

German Shepherds can be very loyal if they have a dedicated owner. Because of their size (62-80 lbs), and their intelligence, if they are not properly trained you are setting yourself up for a world of trouble.

German Shepherds can be very aggressive towards people, other animals, and objects. In order to curb this you have to understand that these dogs have a natural high activity level and they seek socialization. It's your job to provide this.

• Housetraining
• Digging
• Aggression
• Fear Biting

Before you start training your german shepherd you have to understand the basics of dog psychology. This is important because your dog needs to know that you are the leader of the pack, and that you are in charge.

Certain actions that people innocently display tell their dogs the exact opposite. You call it trying to be nice to your dog, while they are seeing it as you putting them in charge. If you don't understand what these actions are then you are setting yourself up for frustration.

I'd advise learning a bit about that before you get your german shepherd because you need to start training as soon as possible. It's sometimes better to start with a puppy but each stage has it's advantages and disadvantages.

Next it's important that when you speak to your dog, you speak clearly and calmly. Humans have a tendency to rush and repeat. So instead of teaching your dog to "stay" you inadvertently teach him to "stay, stay, stay" and you wonder why he doesn't stay when you say it once.

One of the most important things you can do for your dog is to make sure it's socialized. Get your dog used to being around other people and dogs or else the dog will become aggressive when it's put in a new situation.

You don't want to introduce your friends to your pet only to find out that this big dog doesn't like other people.

Take your dog for walks, invite people over, go to pet-friendly stores like Petco and Petsmart, do whatever you have to in order to ensure that your german shepherd gets socialized.

I know this may be counterintuitive, but just because you have a big dog it does not mean you have to yell in order to get your point across. In fact, you'll find that your dog will respond much better if you always use a calm voice.

If your german shepherds barking is driving you up a tree, then consider these reasons that dogs bark.

• The dog is lonely
• The dog is hungry
• The dog senses something is wrong
• The dog sees another animal
• The dog wants to play

As you can see some are perfectly natural, while others can be corrected with dog obedience training.