When you begin training, dog training aids are a great way to get started. Crates are a fantastic way to allow your dog to feel safe, and although it may seem like a cage to us, to a dog it actually makes them feel more secure. A crate is one training aid you won’t want to be without.

The other aid you wont want to be without is treats. Find out what your puppy loves best, and then give it to him for doing good things! Nothing is more effective.

Most of all enjoy it – these first few months a magical time and allow you to buuild a lifelong bond with your dog.

First of all consider joining a good dog training class – preferably one that has expertise in training your breed. This gives a chance for your dog to interact with other puppies as well as teaching you and the dog how to train effectively. German Shepherds are very intelligent breeds and love to learn, so stimulation and exercise is extremely important. Training classes can provide the much needed mental stimulation.

Like any dog the earlier you start training the better. If possible you should start light training from almost the moment you first get the puppy. This doesn’t mean that training an older dog is impossible, but it will be harder. Training from a young age is even more important for German Shepherds at even as puppies they can be quite large and boisterous.

Like any dog German Shepherd training requires patience and a solid routine. Try to train in short bursts spread throughout the day so that your dog gets used to training sessions. Keep the training fun and if possible use games to keep the dog interested. The more fun you and the dog have training the easier it will be.

Remember that if you have a family try to get them all involved in training. It is important that each family member knows how you are trying to train the dog so there is a consistency in your training methods. This will avoid the dog getting confused.

German Shepherds may try to test boundaries during training. It is important to carry on with your training routine as planned even if the dog does go through a phase of ignoring your commands. It needs to know you are the leader of the pack.

Normally puppies learn bite inhibition by playing with their siblings. If the puppy bites too hard while playing then the other puppies will let it know with a high pitched yelp or cry. This helps the dog o understand when it is biting too hard.

This is why puppies naturally mouth or gently bite when they are young as it is a natural thing for them to do. Because of this it’s very important to never punish your puppy for mouthing. Instead use it as a tool to teach puppy bite inhibition.

How To Train Your Puppy In Bite Inhibition

The best way to train your puppy in bite inhibition is to act like its siblings would. So if he bites you, make a high pitched “oww” sound and then walk away. This teaches the puppy that it has bitten too hard, and also that biting won’t get attention. Make sure the sound you make is short and sharp and that you walk away from the puppy immediately so it knows why you are ignoring it.

Keep repeating this until your puppy learns that biting isn’t the right thing to do.

You should perform bite inhibition training even when the puppy doesn’t bite hard enough to hurt. A well trained dog will never bite, even playfully, so it’s best to try to train the dog that it is wrong for its teeth to make contact with human skin – even in a playful way.

Bite Inhibition Tips

• Playing with your puppy is a great way to train bite inhibition. When the puppy goes to bite you will walk away, letting it know that play time has stopped. Before long the puppy will associate the end of play time with biting and won’t bite anymore.
• Punishing your dog or losing patience will only hinder your training efforts. Remember that puppies naturally learn through biting and mouthing, you just need to train them to be able to control it.

If your dog isn’t a puppy but has still not learned bite inhibition it is possible to train it, but it will take more time and patience.

Choosing the right training class isn’t always easy though. How can you tell which classes are the best? What should you look out for in a training class? Below are some guidelines for choosing the best training class for your dog.

1. While an important aspect of a training class is allowing your dog to socialise with other dogs, the main reason you are there is for training. Be wary of classes which seem to be more about socializing than actual training.
2. Like human schools, the fewer dogs per teacher the better. Try to go to a class with no more than 10-12 dogs and a maximum of five dogs per teacher.
3. Asking your friends, family and vet is a great way to get a recommendation for a training class.
4. Never dive straight into a class before you know what it’s like. Go along to one session without your dog just to check how well organised it is.
5. Ask the instructors at the class about their experience and background. The best class teachers will have an extensive knowledge of training your specific breed.

These are some general guidelines for choosing the right class, but the best way to find a great class is to see which ones other people have had success with. If other dog owners have been to a class and it’s really helped with their training then go and watch a session.

Remember, training classes should be in addition to your own training and not as a substitute. You can’t expect your class instructor to train your dog for you but they will help guide you in the right direction. Training at home is vital for success.

The difficulty in training a deaf dog comes in when you have to communicate with it. However while you can’t use verbal commands, hand signals can work just as well and allow you to give all the commands you need.

Just like when you use verbal commands for a dog, the hand signals need to be clear and precise. You also need to make sure all your hand signals are different enough from each other so there won’t be any confusion. The simpler the better in most cases – just make sure your signals are distinguishable at large distances.

Training A Deaf Dog – The First Step

Because your dog won’t be able to identify the pitch and tone of your voice to know when it’s done something wrong or right the first thing you need to do is teach the dog the “well done” or “yes” signal.

This is usually simple enough, just associate the signal with a treat that you give your dog for good behaviour. It will soon learn that the signal is good and he should try to see it more often!

Training A Deaf Dog – Getting Attention

As your dog is deaf you won’t have the use of his name to get his attention, so you need to come up with a hand signal for that too. This signal can be anything you like as long as it is clear and simple.

To get your dog to look at your just use a treat again. When the dog looks up perform the hand signal.

These first two steps are the foundations of training a deaf dog. Make sure you and the dog are comfortable with the “well done” and attention hand signals before moving on.

Training A Deaf Dog – Actual Commands

Now your dog knows when you’re pleased with it and you can get its attention, you have everything you need to start training. Once these basic steps are out the way, training becomes much like it would for a dog who has prefect hearing.

In short, you get the dog to perform the action you want it to and then reward it for doing it while issuing a specific hand signal.

1. If you have a new puppy, train it as early as possible
It’s entirely possible to train an older dog – but it does take more work! The earlier you can start training your puppy the better. There is no minimum age to start training, you can start the less intensive basics almost as soon as you get the puppy. This will go a long way to making dog training easier in the future.

2. Make sure you don’t give your dog reason to disobey
When training, it can be tempting to give commands constantly even if you can’t always enforce them. Never, ever give a command to your dog that you can’t enforce if the dog doesn’t do as you want it to. This will only teach your dog that it can obey your commands when it wants.

3. Avoid repeating commands
You want to train your dog to respond immediately and at the first command, so avoid repeating commands. Each command should be said once, in a clear and concise manner. After this you need to enforce it in a gentle way.

4. Train your dog when it’s hungry and not sleepy
If you train your dog straight after a meal it is going to be a lot less bothered about the treats you’ll use as a reward. If it’s hungry though, it will want to please to get the treats which can aid the training process. Of course that doesn’t mean starve a dog before training! Like humans, dogs also learn best when they are well rested and aware, so try not to do training at night.

5. Train in short bursts
Dogs – especially puppies – have short attention spans. That means your training will be a lot more effective if you split it up into short bursts rather than one long session.

If your dog isn’t properly trained in the basics, that it can be more than annoyance and turn into a safety hazard. For example, if you are out on a walk you need to be 100% certain that your dog will come to you should anything unexpected happen.

In general, teaching a dog follows the same outline with only the details changed depending on what you want to teach the dog. Below are instructions for training your dog to sit, but you can adapt them to whatever command or trick you wish.

So here is how to train a puppy to sit:

1. First of all, you need to set the right environment to teach your dog. Try to have training sessions while your dog is hungry so it will be more receptive to the treats you’ll be using as rewards. Also make sure your puppy isn’t tired or it won’t be able to learn as effectively.

2. Now onto the actual training. Hold a treat in your hand so it is visible to the dog and then slowly raise it upwards. At first your dog will try to look up, and then it will sit so it can jeep its eyes on the treat.

3. As soon as the dog sits issue the “sit” command. With practice, the dog should associate the act of sitting with the right command.

4. Repeat this several times then have a break. New puppies have notoriously short attention spans, and over training will provide poor results. As the puppy gets more confident try issuing the “sit” command without moving the treat.

Before long your puppy will associate the command with the action. The next step is to practice it in an environment where there are distractions, so that you know that when you’re really need your dog to be obedient it will be.

Training your puppy to sit should not be a chore for you or the puppy. Think of your puppy like a small child, and try to make training sessions fun. You’ll find you get much better results this way.

Positive Dog Training is focuses on making training fun for your dog and for you. This way you won’t get frustrated, and the dog won’t get confused by being reprimanded when it makes a mistake.

So what are the advantages of positive dog training? Well from an owners point of view it is usually much more effective than other methods, it helps to build a loving relationship between the dog and owner and is generally a lot less stressful! Using positive reinforcement can also be a lot more fun for the owner and the dog.

From the dogs point of view, positive training means that training is a much more relaxed process than before. Usually a relaxed dog in an environment where he or she feels safe is better for training, so this is a definite advantage. Dogs also have a long memory, and if punished repeatedly by owners it can damage the long term relationship.

Positive dog training concentrates on reinforcing good behaviour through various methods. This can be something simple such as praise of stroking the dog, or a tangible reward such as a treat. The idea is to use the incentives to start with to get the dog to learn, and then gradually reduce the rewards until the dog does it without needing them.

Not everyone agrees that positive dog training is an effective method. Some of its opponents state that the training works well in an enclosed environment, but the dog has no incentive to stick to the training where there are distractions and when no treat is given.

I think that if performed correctly, positive dog training can be a very effective way to train your dog. Like any training, it needs to be practiced in an enclosed and safe environment to begin with and then moved into places where there are more distractions. This site will focus almost 100% on positive training methods, so I suggest you take a look around and see what you find!

Puppy house training is definitely not difficult, but it is something that requires time and perseverance. You have to be patient with the puppy and understand that the animal is young, and therefore might feel scared and insecure at times. After all, puppies are like young children and so can’t be expected to pick things up right away. Some dogs can be house trained very quickly, while others take longer.

Before commencing the puppy housebreaking process, you must keep the two golden rules of puppy house training in mind. They are:

1. Never yell at or reprimand the puppy for going to the toilet inside the house.

2. Always praise the puppy for going to the toilet outside.

They’re that simple!

The reason for rule number one is that if you tell off your puppy, it is only going to associate the telling off with going to the toilet in front of you. The reason for number two is that if you never praise your puppy, it won’t know when it has done the right thing,

The most important part of house training a puppy is to be patient. There will nearly always be accidents, but don’t think of them as the puppies fault. Instead, take responsibility yourself and remember that the puppy is like a small child.

The next mistake to avoid is reprimanding the puppy for a job that he or she was not caught doing. If you do this, the puppy will assume that he is being reprimanded for the act he was doing that that very moment. You should never tell your puppy off for accidents, as this will only teach it to be wary of you when it is going to the toilet. This has the obvious effect of making it much harder to keep an eye on where it is going to the toilet!

Another very dangerous mistake that owners make is not properly clearing up previous accidents. When trying to housebreak a puppy you should remember that if a puppy can smell urine or faeces in a certain place they are likely to go there again. For this reason it’s important to properly clean up any accidents so the dog can’t smell anything in the spot in the future.

Most of all, you need to be consistent. Make sure everyone in the house knows exactly how you want the puppy trained to avoid any possible confusion.