German Shepherd Central

Help with your German Shepherd Dog

You are here: Home / Archives for German

German

Choosing toys for your German Shepherd

Most German Shepherds take their play seriously — so it’s up to us to find toys that satisfy this powerful play drive, are safe, and last more than 20 seconds once the dog starts using them!

My German Shepherds love fetch above all games, so toys that feed this frenzy are the ones I gravitate toward. Soft latex or plush toys aren’t suitable for most adult shepherds (although some German Shepherds, females especially, enjoy carrying around a fleecy toy like it’s a puppy). Stuffed animals, particularly those with squeakers, tend to be disemboweled after only minutes of playing fetch, and latex ones are torn apart even faster.

Besides fetch, a game of tug with me or another dog makes my German Shepherds’ list of all-time fun activities, so knotted rope bones, strong rubber tug toys or large plastic bones are in the toy box.

My first criteria when choosing a toy is “Will it last more than five minutes?” If the answer is yes, then the toy likely passes the safety test, as well (no word on dog toys recalled from China). The second is, “Will my dog play with it?” Toy-treat combinations, such as products made from rawhide, might be enjoyed, but unless I use them for hide ‘n’ seek, only the dogs’ jaws will be exercised! Outside of treats shaped like toys, German Shepherds are usually happy to make a toy from anything, but it’s important to start teaching your German Shepherd early in puppy hood which objects are his and which objects belong to you.

Here are four of my favorite German Shepherd toys:


If ever a toy was designed specifically for German Shepherd Dogs, the Kong Company has made it happen. The Extreme Black Kong toy is made for hard chewers and can withstand more abuse than its red counterpart. If you have one of those rare German Shepherds who does not enjoy chasing or chewing the Kong, stuff it full of canned food and freeze — Voila! A doggie Popsicle!


The Jawz disc by Hyperflite is an extremely durable disc that flies just like a regular one. My large male German Shepherd will destroy a regular plastic disc in one 20-minute play session. Although puppies and young dogs should not jump to catch discs until their growth plates have closed, you can begin teaching German Shepherds of any age how to grab short tosses and snatch rollers off the ground.


The Buster Cube is one of my go-tos for occupying busy German Shepherd Dogs on rainy days. Like the Kong, you can fill it with treats (or kibble — I feed my dogs their meals this way), and it stands up to harsh treatment. The hard plastic outside is great for a dog who loves to pound toys with his paws, and stands up well to harsh treatment.


Jute tug toys are a must for big dogs who like to play tug. I particularly like the double-handled version of this toy, which gives the person a better grip. Be sure to follow the rules for tug when playing this game with your GSD!

When should I start training my German Shepherd puppy?

“How old does my puppy have to be before I can begin training?”

This is a question I am asked often. The German Shepherd puppy in this video is 10 weeks old; but you don’t even have to wait that long! “Training” starts the day you bring your new dog or puppy home to live with you — GSDs are learning all the time. This is why it is easier to prevent problems and bad habits than to solve them later.

But what most people mean when they ask this question is, “How soon can I expect my German Shepherd puppy to start performing tricks and basic obedience behaviors?” Happily, the answer is the same — immediately. Clicker training is an easy and fun way to accomplish this.

Want a smarter dog? Try target training

An easy way to add to your German Shepherd’s repertoire of tricks or commands is to teach her how to target objects.

Targeting (or “target training”) means your dog pays attention to, and then performs an action based on, a particular stimulus (usually an object such as your hand, or a target stick). A dog putting his paw on an object on command, or bumping your hand with his nose upon request, is targeting. Targeting is a super-quick behavior to teach and has a variety of uses.

“Go to your mat” is one handy result of target training. We first teach the dog to “target” his mat, add the cue “Go to your mat,” and then place in a location of our choosing. Agility trainers use targeting quite often to teach their dogs not to skip contact zones while climbing or dismounting obstacles. Service dog trainers use targeting to teach German Shepherds to open doors, turn lights on and off, and more. Target training is useful in the show ring to teach dogs how to gait and stack.

Teaching hand targeting

Targeting your hand is an easy behavior for most dogs to learn. Follow the steps below to get started. You’ll need a clicker, a bunch of small, tasty, easy-to-swallow treats, and a leash (if your dogs needs a reason to stick around).

  1. Remember to always offer your dog a reward after you click, even if you have made an error.
  2. Offer your dog your hand, palm facing the tip of her nose (you can hold your hand in whatever position is most comfortable). Most dogs will sniff or lick your hand out of curiosity. As soon as she touches your hand, click and offer a treat. If your dog does not attempt to touch your hand, put it behind your back for a second or two, then try again. If your dog is having trouble finding your palm, hold it closer to her face. Click only when she reaches and touches your palm with her nose.
  3. Timing is everything! Be sure you are clicking as the dog’s nose touches your hand, not after. Otherwise, she won’t understand which behavior is earning a treat.
  4. Add the word “touch” or “target” just as your dog touches your hand. As your dog becomes more fluent, begin asking your dog to touch your palm, using the command.
  5. Raise and lower the target hand so that your dog has to take several steps to reach it. Have you moved it closer and closer to the ground, and up high so she has to stand up on her hind legs to reach it? Have you moved across the floor and had her follow you, nose to the target, as if her nose was magnetized?
  6. Begin asking your German Shepherd to target other objects with her nose, such as small container lids, pieces of cloth, the end of a stick, etc. You can also vary the length of time the dog must keep her nose on your hand or target object before she gets her click and treat.

Of course, you can teach your dog to target any number of objects, whether portable or not. The most portable object I ever used to teach target training was a sticker, which could then be placed anywhere, including unmovable places like walls!

German Shepherd Site Herder

Here are a few blogs and blog communities whose pages you should bookmark (besides this one)! All About Dog Training Blog Carnival offers a variety of articles on dog training, currently in its second edition; ClickerTraining.com offers both a community training blog and blogs written by users; and the Dog.com Community is packed with features allowing you to connect with other German Shepherd fans, including blogging and photo gallery tools and forums.

GermanShepherds.com has it all for the German Shepherd lover — forums, chat rooms, articles, dog food recipes, a photo club, you name it. And Yahoo! offers a variety of German Shepherd-related e-mail lists through its Yahoo! Groups service. My favorites are GSD-Euro, German Shepherd Dog Genetics and German Shepherd Dogs.

Stop Your German Shepherd From Stealing Food

(Or, ‘Hey, Who Stole My #*%(@ Sandwich?!’)

If you’ve been a victim of the disappearing roast trick, you will identify with a recent episode at my house.
I left a sandwich unattended on the table to answer the phone. The conversation was short — less than a minute — but alas, it was too long. I returned to the room to find parts of my beloved sandwich dangling from the jaws of a greedy, four-legged predator.

“Hey!” I yelled, and the culprit, rather than dropping my food, repositioned her grip and took off down the hall.
I gave chase, but before I could reach her, she darted under the bed. Knowing how long it had been since I swept under there, I decided against following her. Muttering oaths, I returned to the kitchen to make a second lunch — and I vowed it was the last time I let a cat steal my sandwich.

Dogs, being typically bigger and better opportunists than cats, practically have turned food theft into a science. While dogs begging for food during mealtimes can be annoying (or cute, depending on your perspective), stealing food from the trash, off plates or counters can be downright dangerous.

I learned the dangers of trash-stealing firsthand after my 6month-old German shepherd puppy spent the day at the vet clinic recovering from food poisoning. With the help of a foster dog, she escaped from a makeshift kennel and tore open a bag of garbage — and ate things that weren’t even food. Tin foil, paper, plastic bags and plastic wrap all made it down the hatch, along with a robust serving of spoiled fare. I came home to a puppy shaking so hard she couldn’t walk, followed by an afternoon of sheer fright and a $100 vet bill. (The foster dog escaped any ill effects.)

Lesson learned: Only three years later do I trust her to be left unconfined in the house. Prevention and patience are the keys to reforming your furry larcenist. So what steps can you take to protect your dog and your foodstuffs?
Hamburger Investigation
Use of time-honored booby traps such as yelling, penny shake
cans, mouse traps or pepper-laced food might be effective to halt the most sensitive pooch, but a hardened counter-surfer will only be amused by your exertion. (And the clever pup will perform her scandalous acts on the sly.)

Save yourself time and trouble by following the tips below:

  • Use trash cans with lids and keep them sealed. Child-proof lid locks work well for all but the most determined dogs.
  • Crate your dog. If your dog is young, new to the home or a proven trash thief, a cozy and well-appointed crate will put your mind at ease while you’re out of the house.
  • Clear the counters and tables of all food unless preparing a meal. Make sure each member of the household understands that even one slip-up on a person’s part means many more weeks of training for the dog. Dogs who steal food see the kitchen as a doggy Las Vegas; they may get nothing, or it could pay off big-time.
  • Supervise your dog. A dog who steals food should be on a leash or tethered out of reach of the counter while in the kitchen. With your dog on a leash, teach an alternate behavior, such as a sit-or down-stay, or a stay outside the kitchen’s entrance. Only remove the leash once you trust the dog to maintain the stay. While you’re in another part of the house, make sure the dog does not have access to the kitchen.
  • Create a diversion. If you catch your dog running his nostrils along the table rim, gently interrupt him and ask for a sit- or down-stay out of the theater. A peanut-butter filled Kong toy or another attractive article can be used to reward the obedient dog.
  • If your dog gets hold of something he isn’t supposed to have, do what you must to get it back — but be careful. Many dogs who otherwise don’t guard resources will act aggressively if they have something of high value, such as a loaf of bread. This is the time to throw training out the window and offer a bribe — anything of higher value than what the dog has — to get the dog to trade.
  • Teach your dog to “leave it.” Start by offering your dog a low-value treat in a closed fist. Say nothing. As soon as the dog stops sniffing and licking your fist, even for a millisecond, say “Leave it,” and open your hand to give the treat. Work up to higher-value treats, extending the amount of time you ask your dog to wait. Begin using the “leave it” command as you present your fist.
  • Make a “food bowl” zone. Show your dog there is an appropriate place to eat treats, but not off the counter. Put a place mat or food dish in a corner opposite the food-preparation area and place treats inside on a random basis. Combined with a strict policy of keeping food off the counter, the dog will learn to check the food bowl instead.
  • Use counter-conditioning — literally. With your dog on-leash, place a very boring treat (or even a non-food item, if a treat is too exciting) on the counter. Stand beside the boring treat and tell your dog to “leave it.” Before your dog has a chance to snatch the treat on the counter, drop a more enticing treat on the floor (or in his “food bowl” zone). Repeat, placing increasingly high-value items on the counter.

How to stop your dog from barking in class

German Shepherds are notorious for telling everyone in a group training class what they think, typically by barking — loudly — at people and other dogs.

If you’ve been in this situation, then you know how embarrassing or frightening it can be, especially when the other dog owners give you dirty or fearful looks and the trainer implies (or outright tells you) your dog is “aggressive.”

German Shepherd GL

Photo by Raveller

Is Your Dog Aggressive?

First, let’s break this down a bit. Lots and lots of dogs are “reactive” on leash. “Reactive” is dog trainers’ lingo for a dog that barks, growls or lunges in response to exciting stimuli — people, other dogs, cats, squirrels, and the like. Often these “reactive” dogs are perfectly fine off-leash with people and other dogs.

Dogs use aggressive displays, such as barking, lunging and growling, to let us know they are uncomfortable with the situation at hand. Clearly, these displays are unacceptable in modern-day society, and if we don’t react appropriately, our dogs can transition from threatening displays to actual bites. However, in most cases, the dogs are content to announce their presence, so to speak, and we must teach them to be calm in the face of exciting or fear-inducing stimuli.

NOTE: Be wary of a trainer who tells you your dog is aggressive and then proceeds to show you how to physically punish the dog to control the aggressive behavior. With a dog who is merely reactive, this will create even more problems. With a truly aggressive dog, physical corrections are likely to lead to someone being bitten!

A dog who poses a prominent danger to people or other dogs typically responds differently than an insecure or reactive dog. These dogs might:

  • Appear to be on the “offensive” rather than “defensive” — ears forward, mouth and whiskers forward, standing on their “tiptoes” with tails raised;
  • Give hard, unwavering stares to the object of their aggression and are not easily dissuaded;
  • Wait until the “last minute” to lunge or attempt an attack;
  • Have caused another dog to receive veterinary attention as the result of a fight, or have broken skin on a human;
  • Become excited and agitated (can be silent or with high-pitched crying) at the sight of strangers, children, smaller dogs and/or cats.

If your dog displays any of these signs, he or she is NOT safe to have in class and should continue private lessons with an animal behavior consultant experienced in dealing with aggressive behavior issues.

Strategies for Dealing With Barking in Class

First, is there a way for you to physically leave the training area with your dog (another room, down the hall, outside the door, etc.) each and every time your dog starts to bark? Doing so will give your dog the opportunity to calm down instead of continuing to be excited by the sight of other dogs.

Second, most dogs enjoy working with you and getting treats, so if all the fun (fun = seeing the other dogs, getting treats and your attention) stops when he barks, he’ll have to pick another strategy. In other words, it becomes HIS responsibility to stay quiet, not yours to correct the barking.

Third, position your body so you are in front of your dog during class, blocking his view of and access to the other dogs. Do NOT let him sniff or interact with the other dogs without your or the instructor’s permission; and get comfortable asking classmates to keep their dogs from making eye contact with yours. Eye contact is the first precursor to staring, which leads to barking. And of course, you’ll be doing everything in your power to keep your dog focused on you.

If you are thinking you will get very little obedience training done and lots of time out in the hallway with these methods, you are correct! But this is valuable training for your dog.

Ask the instructor if you can repeat the class as many times as it takes to make this work (and if he’s a smart dog, which most German Shepherds are, it shouldn’t take a terribly long time).

So, it looks like this: Dog barks, you immediately start pretending he doesn’t exist and go back the hall/into other room/out of the building. Once he is quiet, can focus on you and perform a sit (or other simple behavior), he comes back inside. Barking = process repeats. If you manage to get inside and have more than two seconds of quiet, reward HEAVILY and keep him busy! Chances are this means you’re not doing what the rest of the class is doing, but that’s OK!

This method works outdoors as well, provided you can get your dog out of sight of whatever it is he finds so enthralling until he settles down.

See “There’s Money In Dogs… Well, Sort Of,” for similar ideas.