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Training & Behavior

When can I stop training my German Shepherd?

You’re helping your German Shepherd learn a few new behaviors, and you’re starting to think of ways to reward your dog for polite behavior. This is great! It means the more new cues and tricks your GSD learns, the more freedom you have to enjoy each other’s company, instead of constantly battling for the responses you each want.

But what about those times you’re not in “training mode”? When can you just be done training?

I’ll answer this question in two parts. First, every interaction you have with your German Shepherd is, in fact, training. Although we can and should set aside a little time each day to work with our dogs, it’s impossible to be with your dog and not be training. Either you are training your dog, or your dog is training you!

Second, this means it’s up to you to maintain your German Shepherd’s training. You can do this by learning to anticipate your dog’s response to a variety of situations. That way, you can plan your response to your German Shepherd’s behavior.

Let’s say you’re about to walk your trained German Shepherd past another house. The house has a dog barking behind a fence. First, anticipate your dog’s response: Will he pull on the lead to get closer to the other dog? Will he bark? Now, plan your response: You could change your walking route, thereby avoiding the other dog; you could cross the street well before you reach that spot and feed your dog as you walk past, to build your dog’s confidence; or you could play a game of tug with your dog as you walk by that spot.

Any of these might be good responses, depending on your dog’s typical reaction in that situation. You can probably think of more solutions to this problem that allow you to anticipate and respond to your dog’s reaction before a reaction occurs. As your dog becomes more comfortable following your lead in even distracting situations, you are ready to lessen your reliance on a plan and replace it with the new habit!

A perfect example of this concept is teaching your dog to walk on a loose leash. Before your next walk with your dog, you can anticipate that your dog will pull. You haven’t trained him not to pull yet! Your plan will be to use a head halter, no-pull harness or similar tool to prevent pulling on everyday walks. We use these tools to manage our dog’s behavior and protect our hard work training our GSDs, in between training sessions.

5 rules for teaching your GSD a great recall

Below are the rules you must follow to have a German Shepherd who joyfully returns when you call:

Rule 1: Don’t use your recall word anytime except when you’re teaching it (and later, when you’re 99 percent certain your dog will come to you). Using your recall phrase over and over while your dog fails to respond only teaches him that the recall word or phrase is to be ignored.

Rule 2: Don’t call your German Shepherd for stuff he doesn’t like. This includes things like baths, nail trims, being put in the crate, the end of play with another dog, or leaving the dog park! If you have to, go and get your pup. You can also run away, clap or make kissing noises. If you use your recall word and your dog comes, but then you respond with something he doesn’t like, he’ll start avoiding you when you call.

Rule 3: Do make a big deal any time your dog comes to you on her own, even if you didn’t call her. We want our dogs always to think of coming to us over a variety of distractions, so be sure to reward your dog somehow (with food, a favorite toy or lots of praise) if he “checks in” with you, on-leash or off.

Rule 4: Carry lots of your dog’s favorite treats when teaching the recall. You will need something that packs a punch, like canned cat food or chicken, when practicing off-leash or in new environments. We want our dogs to learn that there is nothing in the environment more exciting than we are — and this might mean leaving your dog on-lead in the woods for several weeks while you feed her sardines for coming when called. Get a long line (available in pet catalogs, online or pet stores) to practice recalls at a distance, and always use treats your German Shepherd loves.

Rule 5: You can swap treats for play with a favorite toy. If your German shepherd loves to play fetch or tug, you can use those as rewards for coming when called. The trick is to wait until your dog gets to you, then start a surprise game by pulling the hidden ball or tug toy out of your pocket. Toys are often easier to carry on walks, as well.

Teach your GSD to lay down

Being able to put your German Shepherd into a down-stay is incredibly useful.

I like to teach what’s called a “fold-back” down, where the dog folds his hind legs and drops his front legs into a down, from a standing position. If you’re competing, your dog can get into this position quickly from motion, and you don’t risk him creeping forward. If not, it’s a great way to get a fast down out-of-motion for emergency stops.

Take a look at how I teach GSD puppies to do a fold-back down:

And here’s a look at a finished fold-back down:

Tips for teaching ‘down-stay’

Stay beside, not in front of your dog while working on “down.”

Keep the treat on your dog’s nose, and let him lick at it until his elbows hit the ground. If his rear pops up in the air, remove your hand from his nose and try again.

Feed two or more treats once your pup lies down, to keep him from popping up again.

If your dog is having difficulty lying down on slick wood or concrete, try teaching the down indoors on carpet or grass first.

Follow the rules for regular stays to extend the amount of time your dog stays down.

Teach your GSD with lure-reward training

Want to teach your German Shepherd a new trick? The easiest way to get started teaching a dog a new behavior is to use lure-reward training.

You’ll need your dog and a big handful of tasty treats to get started. Start training in a quiet location, away from people and other animals.

Step 1: Use food near your dog’s nose to guide your dog into position (like sit or down, or spin) and feed. Your dog may need to lick or nibble the food while you guide. You can also start luring your dog just part of the way (as in spin or down), and feeding. Then gradually begin to ask the dog to do more before you feed the treat.

Step 2: Once your is following the food into position consistently, put the treat in your other hand. Use your empty hand to guide the dog into position, then reward from your other hand.  This way your German Shepherd will discover she doesn’t have to see a treat to do the behavior.

Step 3: Now that your dog happily follows your empty hand into position, add a word (like “Sit” or “Down”). Say the word as you lure your dog with your empty hand, and feed as soon as your dog complies. Repeat this process over a few days, in different locations.

Step 4: Now you’re ready to say the word and pause slightly before you use your hand signal. See if your dog does the behavior. If she doesn’t, help her by doing your empty hand motion. Feed as soon as she performs the behavior. Be sure to say the word only once!

Step 5: With enough repetitions, your dog will do the behavior when you say the word, but before you use your hand signal. Be sure to heavily praise your German Shepherd and feed extra treats at this stage. Eventually, you can fade the motion as you say the word by making your movements smaller and smaller. Practice the behavior again starting at Step 1, in as many new places as possible.

Stop bad behavior before it starts

One of the first tools in every dog trainer’s toolbox is what we call “management,” or managing your dog’s environment, so he or she cannot practice the unwanted behavior. In fact, many behavior problems can be eliminated using management alone. So, what do we mean by “management”? And why is it such an important concept in dog training?

What we mean by “management”

Managing your dog’s environment simply means to observe and make choices about the setting to prevent unwanted behavior. For example, if your dog has a terrible cat-chasing habit, you would make sure he or she is on a leash every time the cat enters the room. You have removed the opportunity, using the leash, for your dog to chase the cat. This prevents the dog from practicing the unwanted cat-chasing behavior (and remember, practice makes perfect), while we teach the dog an alternate, acceptable behavior.

For example, what if your dog gets into the kitchen trash? This behavior is not ideal, because not only is the dog making a mess, he is endangering himself with anything inedible or poisonous he might eat. The easiest way to stop this behavior is to use management — put the trash can inside a cabinet, get a trash can with a lid the dog can’t open, or put a gate up in the doorway so the dog can’t get to the trash. “Management” is not a single solution, but looking what happens before the behavior, and altering the situation to make the behavior less likely.

Proactive vs. reactive

Management has two components: Observation and proactivity. This is opposed to what we sometimes do when our dog behaves in a way we don’t like — observation and reactivity. When we manage our dogs’ behavior, we want to be on the lookout for environmental triggers, or scenarios, in which the dog might perform the unwanted behavior before it occurs. We then make the choice to be proactive — to react to that potential situation before the dog does, and to change our behavior to help the dog.

Let me give you an example. If I am out walking my dog, and she sees another dog, I might tense up because I think she is going to bark at that other dog. I hold my breath and tug on the leash as the other dog gets closer. When the other dog is close, sure enough, my dog lunges and barks. I yell, “No!” and yank the leash.

That’s reactivity on my part. I am reacting to my dog’s behavior after it has happened, even though I saw the other dog before my dog did, and I predicted she would bark and lunge. Not only is this a useless way to train my dog, but she’s being rewarded for barking at the other dog. How is she being rewarded? Usually the other dog moves away, which makes her feel safer.

So, what would proactivity look like in this situation? One proactive action would be for me to turn and walk in the other direction as soon as I saw the other dog, before my dog had a chance to react. In this way, I both prevent the barking and lunging behavior, and prevent reinforcing (rewarding) the dog for that behavior. You can likely think of other ways to alter the picture to keep the lunging and barking behavior from happening.

Why is it so important to manage our German Shepherds’ environments?

The short version is this: Managing the environment can prevent the dog from practicing an unwanted activity. When your GSD practices a behavior you don’t like and is rewarded for it, the stronger that behavior will become! We use management to protect the dog’s training. Our goal is to teach our German shepherds a new behavior we do like. Without management, we are teaching dogs that unwanted behavior still pays.

And, most importantly, management is a requirement when the safety of the dog, other animals or people is at stake. German Shepherd owners know the importance of management for dogs who don’t yet come when called. Another example: If I think my German Shepherd is likely to jump up on a child, I can put pressure on the lead close to my dog’s collar, to keep her feet on the ground. While this action alone won’t train my dog not to jump, it prevents her from knocking the child down or jumping up or bumping the child’s face. Holding the leash changes the picture, so I can give my dog a massive reward for sitting, or turning her head away from the child.

Management gives us a chance to teach our German Shepherds calm behavior, while minimizing or eliminating those we don’t want.