Cross Breeds

What is the best way to train a German Shepherd puppy?

My brother and his roommate have 2 German Shepherd puppies. They are very ornery and like to wrestle. They are some what getting the constept of sitting, but I want them to be very well behaved. Also they are slowly becoming house trained... They make mess every once in a while. What is the best way to punish, reward, and train a puppy to heel, sit, stay, etc..... Thanks please give me a full complete answer... Thanks again....

Public Comments

1. If your looking for a great way to train your dog without spending a ton of money on a professional trainer I would recommend you check out my blog. It worked great for My dog Linus, my wife, and I.
2. Always have the dog on your left side,sit tin g when you go to walk always start with your LEFT foot & say heel!,Pull a little on the leash to make him follow. you walk for a while always making the dog stay close to you. Stop & say sit,while pulling upward on the leash & pushing his rump down, Make him stay there, if he gets up repeat the command. You must keep this up for a while,it may take several days for it to sink in. To make him stay,you say the word stay,& swipe your hand accross the front of his eyes & turn side ways & step in front of him. If he moves repeat . It takes time & patience.
3. first you never punish a puppy/dog for they learn from positive reinforcement. 1) buy a choke collar age appropriate(at petsmart they will show you how to place correctly) 2) buy treats or use small tiny bits of cheese 3) in any command make sure you don't give a treat until the pup is obeying EX.you want dog to heel but he decides to jump a few times than takes off in front of you and you figure "well he's walking I'll give him a treat" you just taught your pup to jump and run so he can get a treat.remember practice makes perfect.ONLY WHEN HE GETS IT RIGHT does he get the treat and a lot of praise
4. A very good reward for puppies is treats... or you could make home-made dog treats... the recipe will be at the bottom of this answer. A good punishment is to crate the dog. If you don't have a crate for the dog always just say... BAD DOG and point at the dog that is bad. Make sure you say it clearly and loudly. To find out some dog training tricks just go onto the website www.bestinternetdogtraining.blogspot.com Here is the ingridents for the Doggie Dessert: 2 cups whole-wheat flour 2 cups water 1 tsp vannilla 1 egg 1/3 cup of peanut butter Instructions: Heat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl mix flour, water, vanilla, and egg. Add peanut butter. Mix well. Spoon mixture into mini cupcake pans. Bake for 15 minutes. Let cool. Place treats in plastic zipper bag. STore for up to 1 week.
5. There are so many ways to approach this situation that it is virtually impossible to give a full complete answer without more information, and more space to type in. :) Check out the forums at http://germanshepherdworld.net/ They are full of trainers, breeders, and everyday GSD owners that have dealt or are dealing with the same issue. Your answers would be much better addressed and more specific to your situation there. :)
6. Spend lots of time with the puppies so they understand what you are of asking of them. Once they get to know you they will understand when you are pleased or not happy with them. Tell them to sit and then gently put your hand on their rump so they sit. While they are in the sitting position tell them to lay down gently moving their paws to a down position. When this is done over and over again they will do it with just a hand command. Teach them to stay in a down position by saying stay and back up. Praise them over and over again every time they do it right. Be patient a German Shepherd is a very smart breed and learns quickly if you are. When it comes time to lead a nylon collar with half chain-half choke works the best they are gentle and the pup can not slip of them. I use leather leads since if the pup pulls they do not burn the hands like nylon does. Walk along side the pup on the right side stop and give a slight tug on leash so they stop. Follow this procedure with walk, trot and turns remembering to praise when they do things right. If they don't look them in the eyes so they can see you are not happy with them. I later train my dogs off leash with just voice and hand commands. When a German Shepherd is able to read you they know what is accepted behavior. I will occasionally give a treat but what my dogs to respond to me out of love with my petting them not by eating food.