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Teach your German Shepherd ‘Wipe Your Paws’

“Muddy paw print” by Becky is licensed under CC BY 2.0

With cooler weather comes rain, sleet, snow and ice. Wiping your German Shepherd’s paws after every walk is not only good for your carpets and flooring, but helps ensure your dog’s feet aren’t harboring burrs or don’t get burned by road salt.

If your German Shepherd is one of those who always kicks up the grass and dirt behind him after he does his business, the bulk of the groundwork is already laid out for you. What you need to do is use the positive reinforcement technique while speaking the phrase you want him to associate with this behavior. Tell him “Good ‘wipe your feet’, Rex! Good ‘wipe your feet’!” repeatedly when you catch him in the act, while scratching his favorite spot and treating him to a cookie. This will encourage him to try with all of his might to replicate the action.

The next step to take is getting him to repeat it in the appropriate place. Once he has caught on to the command of wiping his feet, bring him to the area you want him to begin performing this trick. For example, walk him to your welcome mat or a rug inside your front door. When he is standing on the rug or mat, use the phrase he is accustomed to. Make sure you have a treat, and that he knows it.

If your German Shepherd never kicks up the ground, getting him to perform the act is the first step. What you can do instead is train him to wait on a mat or rug so that you can wipe his feet off for him. Use the basic “Stay” or “Wait” cue every time he comes in the door. Wipe his paws, telling him “Wipe your feet” or even just “Foot!” Give him a special treat after each foot. Pretty soon he’ll be holding up each foot for you to wipe.

Your friends and neighbors will want to know how you manage to keep your floors so clean!

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.

How to teach your dog a rock-solid stay

Your dog’s first reinforceable stays will probably be about 1-billionth of a second long.

Training your German Shepherd to perform a reliable stay is not as difficult as it might seem. You only need two things:

  1. Really yummy treats or some other desirable reinforcer.
  2. Patience.

The easiest way to envision stay training is to think of the “No running in the hall” rule. When you were in school, if you were caught running in the halls, your teacher did not grab you by the collar, physically drag you back to where you started, slam you to the ground and yell “Walk!” (Or at least, I hope not.) The teacher simply looked at you, possibly pointed a finger, and requested in a normal tone that you return to where you started and walk – rather than run – down the hallway.

This is how we instruct our dogs – although, because German Shepherds are experts at nonverbal language, we can simply accompany them back to their original starting position rather than ask them to return.

Here’s the hardest part about teaching the stay exercise: It’s your job to make sure the dog doesn’t get up! This is where we need patience.

There are only two possible scenarios in stay-land.*

Scenario #1:
Dog sits, you ask dog to stay, dog stays, you click and treat, or say “Good” and release.

Scenario #2:
Dog sits, you ask dog to stay, dog gets up — you accompany dog back to the start of the exercise and repeat, hoping for better results. (An alternate version of Scenario #2 exists if you don’t have the dog on leash or in a fenced area, whereby the dog gets up, then proceeds to run away, chase squirrels, cats, birds, trucks, etc., or pee on the neighbor’s trash cans.)

The easiest way to ensure that Scenario #2 never happens is to time your click and treat before the dog gets up. Your dog’s first rewardable stays will probably be about 1-billionth of a second long, because that’s how long your dog will remain sitting after the first few times you say “Stay.”

Gradually extend the length of the stays to whatever amount of time suits you, using the principles outlined above. However, throw in some random stays of shorter duration so your dog doesn’t begin to perceive the “stay” command as an aversive (i.e., “Each time she asks me to stay, I have to sit here for longer and longer periods before getting a treat – forget that, I’m outta here!”)

Extend the distance of the stays gradually, as well. Remember to extend distance the way you want the real-life behavior to look: For example, don’t begin to increase distance by backing away from your dog; begin by turning away. A stay the length of several football fields doesn’t do you much good if you can’t turn away from the dog!

As usual, the click ends the behavior, which means the dog can get up after you click. Eventually you can replace the click with a release word. Toss the treat after you click, to get the dog in standing position for the next stay exercise.

There’s Money In Dogs… Well, Sort Of

Let’s talk currency: Dog currency.

Dog currency is different from people currency. Dog currency is all about roast beef, interesting/gross smells, interesting/gross tastes, brain-hijacking sights (people, other dogs, cats, will-i-have-a-coronary-barking-at-this-squirrel) and the like.

Your German Shepherd is no dummy; far from it. German Shepherds may be better than some other breeds at tuning into your wants and needs, but don’t be fooled — they’re still operating on the monetary system of What’s Important To Dogs.

What this means is that you must find ways to operate on the foreign exchange rate! The simplest way to do this is to find out what your dog really, really likes. What’s your dog’s equivalent of hitting the lottery? Frisbee? His tennis ball? A soft liver treat? Boiled chicken?

Once you have this figured out, you’re ready to deal. Create a short list of 5-10 things your dog really likes. These things don’t all have to be food. Does your dog dance around when you get out his leash? Then add walks to your list. Is he crazed by the sight of his tug toy? Bingo! Once you’ve made your list (it’s OK if you make it in your head), begin to think of some polite, mannerly behaviors you’d like to encourage in your dog.

Maybe you’d like…

  • To remain upright as your dog plows through the door to go out.
  • To throw the ball without your dog grabbing your hand.
  • Your guests to enter the house, sans mugging.

In each of these scenarios, we’re going to do a little planning ahead. First, ask yourself what you would like to happen instead of the current behavior. Too often, owners just say they want the dog to “stop doing” whatever it is they don’t like. That’s people currency. Your German Shepherd, brilliant though he may be, deals in dog currency. So having a picture of the behavior we want instead of the behavior we don’t want is the first step.

Next, ask, What is it my dog wants? Usually this is pretty easy to figure out (answers to the above: To go outside, To possess the ball, and To be close to the guests).

Now we have a simple formula we can apply to help us deal in dog currency.

(Behavior I don’t want) = (Nothing dog wants), but (Behavior I do want) = (What dog wants)

So, for example:

(Dog crowds and pushes as you go to the door) = (Door remains closed), but (Dog sits politely) = (You reach to open door)

And another:

(Dog jumps on guests when they come in) = (Guests ignore dog, who is now on a leash), but (Dog keeps four feet on the floor when guests come in ) = (Guests talk to, pet or toss treats to dog)

Pretty cool, huh? Happily, we know something our German Shepherds don’t: hot dogs are cheap!