Cross Breeds

How do German Shepherd puppies do with training (especially housebreaking)?

I have been thinking of getting a purebred german shepherd (male).I know that they have a reputation for being very smart but I wonder if they respond well to training.

Public Comments

1. German Shepherds are great dogs. Training completely depends on you though.
2. All depends on how YOU train them. But people say German Shepherds are easier to train then some.
3. There's a reason they are used for police dogs, drug dogs, etc. They are very intelligent. Just do your research on them and different training methods so you will be prepared! The dog responds to you, so if you don't know what you're doing, the dog will never learn what it's SUPPOSED to be doing :) Good luck!
4. It's just like any dog -- the quality of the training and how much the trainer knows will affect how easy the training is. If you haven't trained a dog already, I suggest buying/borrowing some books on training...there are also plenty of online resources you can peruse for free :) If you want to talk instinctual training ability, though, German Shepherds are rather easy. They're eager to please and VERY smart, they catch on pretty easily :) Good luck with your pup!
5. If you do get one enroll in a puppy kindergarten and obedience classes. These are great courses and give you so much more information and one on one time with your pup.
6. GSD's thrive on training. The more training they get, the happier they are. They're highly intelligent dogs and love to learn new things which is why they're excellent police dogs, seeing eye dogs, drug sniffing dogs, etc. We had a GSD for 12 years. He went through all levels of obedience and then Schutzhund training. We stopped when it came time for bite work. Even at the age of 10 we were still teaching him new things and he was still eager to learn. GSD's stay active and puppy like for years. They don't start to slow down until the age of 9 - 10 or so, but when they do start to show/feel their age, they REALLY feel it. They will age very quickly after that.
7. German Shepherds are incredibly smart and trainable dogs. But successful training is completely dependent on you. If you are consistent with training your dog then the will succeed. Sign him up for puppy kindergarten and read up on house breaking. That way, when you bring him home you will be fully prepared! Good luck!
8. Pre-check: ·· Do you have a door opening straight into an area fenced to not only keep your pet in, but to also keep stray dogs and stray brats OUT? ·· Do you have a plan for where Pup will sleep that does NOT involve a locked crate? ·· Are you able to bring Pup home at age 7-to-9 weeks, STAY home 24/7 for at least the first week, studying it, learning its timing & signals, so that you successfully toilet train it the first day and reinforce that lesson the rest of the week? (It's also to help Pup settle in and regard the world as a fun, safe place and that you are the source of everything good in the universe. ·· Can you feed Pup no further apart than every 9 hours until it is 5-6 months old? ·· Can you get to a weekly training club's classes (forget "kindergartens" and pet-shop play-groups), starting when Pup will be 18-22 weeks old, and staying for a year? ·· Are you willing to dedicate yourself to your pet for the next 12+ years? (My GSDs average 13 years, the oldest reaching 15½.) Puppy-cuteness lasts only a few weeks; your responsibilities to the pooch continue for years. ·· Have you decided EXACTLY what you want to be able to do with your pet?That makes the difference as to whether you must find a breeder whose sold stock has a great record in that activity, or you can consider going to a rescue group or an SPCA shelter. But NEVER give your puppy-money to an ignorant BYBer, a pet-shop or its puppy-miller suppliers. Giving any of THEM money just encourages the sods to keep on pumping out their low-quality "product" and damaging the reputations of the breeds they claim to be supplying. If you've passed ALL those requirements, then click on my group's address (by my signature), click Messages, then Search for BRIA to find out how much initiative she has shown. My current bit.ch came inside at 8½ weeks old and had the run of the house 24/7. No "accidents" - I paper-trained her that afternoon. My GSDs are also trained that dogs are not allowed into my always-open bedroom - on only 5 mornings did I have to look in the passage for the aromatic sock she had been unable to resist stealing while I was boringly asleep. Okay, you will take a while to realise that you have to be 100% consistent, ALWAYS praising & rewarding good things, ALWAYS reprimanding for bad things then guiding Pup to do a GOOD thing instead, so that you always end with a reward-activity. But GSDs most definitely learn quickly - so quickly that they often learn that they can "get away with" all sorts of things that the owners don't actually WANT them to do. The herding breeds and the bird-dog breeds are all fast learners, but.... • Add http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/The_GSD_Source to your browser's Bookmarks or Favorites so that you can easily look up such as rescue groups, feeding, vaccinations, worming, clubs, weights, teething, neutering, disorders, genetics. • To ask about GSDs, join some of the 400+ YahooGroups dedicated to various aspects of living with them. Each group's Home page tells you which aspects they like to discuss, and how active they are. Unlike YA, they are set up so that you can have an ongoing discussion with follow-up questions for clarification. Most allow you to include photos in your messages. Les P, owner of GSD_Friendly: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/GSD_Friendly "In GSDs" as of 1967