Last Updated: 4 months ago
German Shepherds make the best guard dogs. But how do they turn disobedient, violent, aggressive, and totally out of control?
It’s a common problem for many German Shepherd owners to face a tough time while training their dogs. Training any other dog breed wouldn’t be as tough as training a German Shepherd, as these dogs are extremely territorial and known for fighting.
Below are a few training mistakes that most German Shepherd owners make.
German Shepherd Training Mistakes
Are you delving into the world of German Shepherd training? As rewarding as it is, pitfalls can arise. In this guide, we’ll explore the most common mistakes pet owners make, offering insights into effective training techniques. Cultivate a strong, respectful, and well-behaved relationship with your intelligent and loyal German Shepherd companion.
1. Delaying the Training Process
Start training your German Shepherd the day you bring it home.
Many people let their dogs have a few relaxed days, assuming that the pets might feel uncomfortable initially. However, German shepherds are bossy dogs. Whether you have bought a little pup or an adult dog, you will need to start training it as soon as it reaches your home. If you delay its training, you are likely to end up complaining about its anger issues.
Training a GSD is not as easy as training a super-social dog. These dogs are wild by nature and extremely strong. It is best to adopt or buy a puppy instead of going for an untrained adult GSD, which could be potentially dangerous for you and other family members. If you want to adopt or buy a full-grown GSD, make sure that it is well-trained.
2. Isolating it From People
We have heard many German Shepherd experts, whisperers, and owners talking about their wild side. German Shepherds are not social dogs. They are fighters and leaders by nature.
So, when you bring your GSD home, do not be scared to introduce it to other members of the family, your friends, etc. Keeping your GSD away from people and completely isolating it just because of the things you’ve heard will make things worse for you.
Introduce other family members to your dog and teach it to behave. If you keep it away from human contact, it will become aggressive and violent towards anyone it sees.
This is the worst mistake one could make when training their GSD.
Once you get your dog used to people and human company, it will begin to socialize and understand that humans mean no harm. Moreover, make sure that your GSD behaves well with people around it. Do not acknowledge overly excited behavior like jumping, etc.
3. Using a Forceful, Aggressive, and Violent Approach
Training a GSD is not simple and requires attention, stamina, consistency, and, most importantly, a cool attitude.
Many GSD owners become forceful during their training process. Note that GSDs are wild dogs that are not only strong but aggressive as well. Training them with aggression and reacting badly towards them will cause you harm. They do not take violence, aggression, and forceful behavior too well.
The key to training a GSD is to remain calm and composed.
You will need to think from the perspective of your dog instead of reacting with respect to human nature. Do not react when your dog doesn’t obey you; instead, adopt positive reinforcement strategies that work.
Reacting badly when your dog doesn’t listen to you will only take it further from learning. That’s why GSD owners should stick to politeness and kindness to get the best out of their dogs.
Tip: Try to stop your dog from bad behavior or habits before time and distract it with other things.
4. Not Being Consistent With Training
The training of a GSD has to be consistent, or else it will confuse the dog. Mixed reactions, actions, and commands will take your dog far away from learning. This is a very common mistake that GSD owners make.
Below are a few examples of inconsistent training that makes the dog stubborn.
If standing in the kitchen means getting food, don’t change this habit by declining your dog. If you let your dog sleep with you at night, do not scold it when you aren’t in the mood. If your dog is used to running around in the park, do not forcefully stop it.
Another important thing to keep in mind while training your GSD is to tell other members of the family to follow the same rules, commands, and instructions as you do.
If every person in the house has their own way of instructing the dog, it will become extremely confused and might stop listening to any commands at all. Know what means ‘no’ and what means ‘yes’; only then will you be able to make your dog understand commands properly.
5. Not Being Repetitive
So, your GSD is learning quite a lot of tricks and commands. You tell others that your dog is a quick learner, but when you make it do something in front of them, it doesn’t follow.
This is a common mistake that most dog owners make. Your dog will learn to behave, listen, and obey only if you are repetitive with your commands and actions. If you are training your dog to sit, make sure you do it several times until it starts to follow. You could make your task easier by offering little treats to your dog. Unless you are sure, do not stop repeating the trick.
6. Training: Too Much or Too Little
To train your GSD effectively, you will need to give it the appropriate amount of time. Do not limit your training sessions to 5 minutes. If you spend little time training your dog, your dog will have difficulty learning.
Keep 10-minute sessions several times a day. This will allow your dog to follow your instructions properly. Train your dog a single trick per session, and don’t end the session until it learns that particular trick.
Similarly, over-training your dog or dragging the session too long will bore the dog. To train your GSD, you will need it to be focused. However, if it is bored, it will be distracted and might act up.
Tip: Offer treats to your GSD while training it so that it doesn’t get bored or distracted.
A Word Of Advice
Owners should never let their dogs take the alpha or beta position. They should always have control over their dogs, but never in a forceful manner. Remember, do not offer treats all the time in the training sessions, as your dog is likely to become a brat as a result.
If you are facing other problems in your GSD training sessions, take advice from us. Subscribe to our website and get to know all about GSDs and their training.
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