German Shepherd Dogs are one of the most loyal companions you could ask for. They are very intelligent and good at everything they are trained to do. Read on to learn how to raise a German Shepherd puppy to be your best friend and a credit to its breed?
There are 4 basic things you need to do to raise a German Shepherd puppy which are:
Socialize them
Train them
Give them plenty of exercise
Give them the best care
The sooner you start doing them the easier it will be to raise your dog into a healthy well trained obedient friend.
We will look at each of them in turn below:
Socialize Your German Shepherd Puppy
Your puppy is likely to be around 8 weeks old when it comes into your home. During these 2 short months of their life, they will already have learned many social skills from their mother and siblings. This will have been limited to what is acceptable behaviour between dogs so it is now time for you to teach them how to behave in the human world.
You should set about socializing your puppy as soon as you bring them home. The more things you can accustom them to before they reach 4 months of age the better.
Your puppy will be a sponge for learning new experiences but they are also at their most vulnerable. Any bad experiences suffered during this time could have a lasting effect on the rest of their lives.
Every Experience needs to be positive
The main thing you should do is to make sure each experience is fun and a positive one. Your puppy must feel safe in its environment.
Start by introducing it to sights and sounds around the home. For example the sound of your vacuum cleaner, any loud kid’s games, the TV, radio, microwave, blender etc.
Your puppy needs to know that these are everyday sounds and that there is nothing to fear from them.
Introduce Them To As Many People As Possible
Once your puppy is confident in its environment you can then start to introduce them to people. Invite friends and family around and encourage them to play positive games with your puppy. This is also a good time to introduce your puppy to children. Although you should always supervise this as puppies can become a bit boisterous when excited.
Introduce Them To Other Pets And Animals
You should also introduce your puppy to other pets in the home as soon as possible. Just make sure that all animals are kept safe. German Shepherd puppies are inquisitive and they will want to play with other animals. They may not realise their size though so if you are introducing them to a smaller animal be aware that they could try to paw at it to get them to move and play.
Cats can also scratch quite viciously if they feel threatened. This could cause serious injury to your puppy especially if the cat gets its eyes. It is better for other animals to be introduced to your puppy while he or she is small and less intimidating.
You will need to ensure that the encounter is a pleasant one for all animals concerned.
Take Your German Shepherd Puppy Out
Once your puppy is accustomed to its environment, people and other pets you can start taking your puppy out with you.
If they have not received all of their vaccinations then you must not let them come into contact with other dogs. Nor should you walk them on the ground where other dogs may have been.
I used to take my dogs with me to as many places as I could by carrying them in my arms. I took them on the walks we were going to be doing so they could get used to the different sounds and smells. I also took them to visit friends and to pet-friendly stores.
If you find that your puppy is a wriggler and difficult to carry in your arms you could take them in a little travel crate. They will be able to see and hear what is going on around them without touching the floor or being at risk of coming into contact with another dog.
Socialize Your German Shepherd Puppy With Other Dogs
Once your puppy has received all its vaccinations you can then take them for walks on the leash and it’s time to introduce it to other dogs. Puppy classes are a great way to socialise with other puppies of a similar age as well as organised play dates with other friendly dogs.
Remember you are looking to give positive experiences only. Your puppy is vulnerable and impressionable at this stage in its life. Frightening experiences can have a detrimental effect on them which can cause problems that are difficult to fix.
If your puppy looks frightened then remove them from the situation and do something else that they are happy with instead. You can always reintroduce that element of socialisation again at a later date.
Getting your German Shepherd Puppy Used To Being Handled By The Vet
Getting your puppy used to being handled by the vet is also something you need to do as part of their socialization. If you regularly look in your puppy’s ears and open their mouths to look at their teeth this will get them accustomed to being handled in this way. When the real visit comes they should be quite used to it making the whole visit far less stressful for all concerned.
Training A German Shepherd Puppy
Just because your puppy is so small and cute at this stage don’t be tempted to put off training. You should have a training plan and schedule in place for your puppy from day one. They need to have boundaries set and know the ground rules immediately upon entering your home.
A puppy’s attention span will be very low at first so you need to have patience and take it slowly. Bad habits can form very quickly by being allowed to get away with things for too long. The sooner you teach your dog to behave the right way the better. It is far easier to train a young dog the right way than to try to train bad habits out of an older dog later on.
Are German Shepherd Dogs Easy To Train?
The answer to this question is yes provided you approach it correctly. If you look up the characteristics of a German Shepherd Dog then one of the top things on the long list of attributes is their intelligence. It is true that it doesn’t take a German Shepherd long to pick up on what it needs to do. Although it does not necessarily mean that they will do everything you ask of them every time.
Being intelligent also means that they have a mind of their own so you will find that they can be very stubborn at times.
Gain Their Trust And Respect
To ensure you and your dog have the best relationship then they need to trust and respect you. That won’t happen if you try to get them to do what you want through fear or force.
Never Yell At A German Shepherd Puppy
Yelling at a dog will not get the results you want. They are likely to think you are alert barking at something they just haven’t seen yet and join in with you. What you need to do is divert any unwanted behaviour into good behaviour you can reward.
Treats must be earned
On the other hand, if they can get treats simply for being cute why should they bother doing anything else for the same reward.
What is not so widely reported about German Shepherds is that they are very good actors or should I say, con artists. Many owners, myself included are guilty of spoiling their puppies. Of course, we love them and want them to be happy but you don’t want to let it jeopardise training.
If they think they can get a treat just by looking at you with those beautiful big brown eyes they will pretend they have no idea what you are talking about.
Stick to a rule that treats must be earned even if it’s making them do something really simple like sit down each time for the positive reward. So don’t make life more difficult than it needs to be and start off on the right foot.
Make Training An Enjoyable Experience
To get the most out of it training needs to be an enjoyable experience for both you and your dog. German Shepherd Dogs are hard-wired to look up to their leader which is hopefully you and please them. They will want to make you happy and they thrive on being told they have done well.
Use Effective Discipline Only
As I said above don’t ever yell at your dog it simply won’t work nor will hitting them even if it’s just a tap on the nose. They will just see this as unprovoked aggression. They won’t understand why it happened and they won’t respect you which will make any future training very difficult.
You could even make them fearful of you or humans altogether which could cause serious issues later for both you and the dog.
Divert Unwanted Behaviour Into Something Positive
It is far better to divert unwanted behaviour into something positive that you can reward them for. Your dog will crave your attention and approval. Stopping play or ignoring them for a short period of time if they do something wrong is far better. They will soon realise that play stops when they do whatever it was they were doing. This will send them a far greater message than any aggressive form of discipline.
The Power of Rewards
It’s not difficult to understand why this works so well. Dogs are no different to us humans where rewards are concerned. After all would you go out to work every day of your life for nothing in return?
Even people who do unpaid work for charities get rewarded by seeing the help they are providing for the cause they believe in.
Your dog is no different and they will respond very well to positive training methods that provide them with some sort of reward for pleasing you.
This can be food treats but doesn’t have to be. Some dogs respond better to being given a toy or a ball and they all love to be called a good boy or good girl and given lots of love and fuss.
I have one dog that prefers food treats and one that will do anything for his ball. Their personality will dictate this you just need to find out what works best for your dog.
I think it is better to try with a toy at first though as training can amount to a lot of treats. If you are not getting the required response with a toy then by all means use food treats.
Your dog will tell you by the response he gives what he perceives as a high value enough treat for the task you are asking of them. As I have said before it doesn’t take a German Shepherd long to work out what it is you are wanting them to do. The downside of having such an intelligent dog is that they also work out the value of the effort they need to put in to do it. If they seem to be taking longer than usual to learn something or are simply refusing to do it then it’s time to look at the value of the treat you are offering.
The 7 Basic Training Commands
The first training you will do with your puppy is potty train or housetrain them to go to the bathroom outside. You may also need to crate train them.
In addition to this you are going to want to get your puppy used to command words used in obedience training. Dog trainers may use slightly different words which is fine just make sure you stick to the same word for each command each time.
These 7 basic commands will set the groundwork for future more complex training and will also help keep your puppy safe. They are:-
No
Come
Heel
Sit
Down
Stay
Off
I will discuss them all in more detail below:-
The No Command
This is probably the first word you will teach your puppy as it will be needed to remind him or her that what they are doing is unwanted behaviour.
It should be said in a low stern voice as soon as the puppy starts the bad behaviour. Then divert the bad behaviour into something positive and reward the positive with praise given in a higher-toned happy voice.
An example may be that they were playing with something or yours. Simply tell them “no” swap your item out for one of your puppy’s toys and then praise them for playing with their toy. They will soon get the message.
The Come Command
This is the recall command that every dog should know. It is super important as you need to be able to call your dog back to you in case of danger. When you call your dog back this needs to be done in an exciting happy voice.
Examples of times you may need to use it could be other loose dogs or animals, children or you could be approaching a busy road.
Once you can trust that your dog will come back to you in preference to investigating what’s ahead of them walks will be so much more enjoyable for you both. Your dog will be able to enjoy the freedom of not being attached to a leash 100% of the time. You will also have the confidence to walk with them in the knowledge that they will come back to you to have the leash reattached as soon as they need to.
The Heel Command
This is a command that is often overlooked until it is too late. When you have a tiny puppy at the end of the leash it doesn’t seem to be a big problem that they are walking ahead of you and eager to get to where they are going. Don’t forget that they will soon be a fully grown German Shepherd Dog with enough strength to pull up to 3 times its body weight.
They can easily pull you over in a moment especially when excited so teaching your puppy to walk on a loose leash to heel is a must with a dog of this size. Not only is it much more comfortable for you both you also don’t look like a complete idiot being dragged along.
This is spoken from experience believe me. My male was really bad at pulling to the point where only my husband could handle him. It’s really not a nice experience being dragged along. We managed to master it in the end with some focused training and the help of a training collar.
The Sit Command
This is something your puppy will need to learn to do in many situations. A good example is when you are waiting at the side of the road ready to cross. You want your dog to wait until you are ready. Getting them to sit just beforehand is a good way to make them focus on you and not what’s on the other side of the road. You will know when your dog has understood this command when he does it on his own without you even saying the word.
The Down Command
This is a useful command if you want your dog to stay in one place for a period of time. He is settled and relaxed whilst laying down. This is ideal if you sat outside a bar, resting in a park or other public place you just want to stay in one place for a bit. Be mindful of the surface you are asking your dog to lay down on though. You don’t want to be asking him to do so on hard uncomfortable surfaces for long periods of time.
The Stay Command
This one will take quite a bit of patience as your dog’s natural instinct is to follow you. However, once you have accomplished this it will lay the groundwork for more complex tasks later on.
The Off Command
This is also a great command to have in your toolbox. This command is used when you want your dog to leave or drop something. It is great to train them not to chase things, to let go of things they shouldn’t have and drop toys when playing retrieve games.
You can learn how to teach your puppy all of these commands in our How To Train A German Shepherd Puppy Guide.
Exercise
Your German Shepherd puppy will need lots of exercise. This is not only good for their physical well-being in developing healthy bones and muscles they also get a lot of mental stimulation from it too.
Little and often is best at first as their little legs will soon get tired. You can gradually increase this as they get older. A small walk around the block may only take a few minutes but your puppy will be getting so much out of it. It will be super exciting for them as they take in all the different sights, sounds and smells of their neighbourhood. All their senses will be receiving some serious mental stimulation too.
The more places you can take your puppy to experience the better but do be mindful of other dogs. In particular those off the leash. Unfortunately, many dogs become dog reactive because they were frightened by another dog at a young or vulnerable stage in their life. Most dogs are less susceptible to this by adulthood but try to avoid any unwanted encounters altogether.
Care
Knowing how to care for your German Shepherd puppy is the most essential thing you need to learn. Your puppy is reliant on you to provide everything it needs to grow into a happy healthy German Shepherd Dog.
It is essential that they are fed a good quality diet that is designed for a medium to large breed German Shepherd Dog that will ensure they develop strong bones and healthy muscles. You can learn more about how to feed your German Shepherd Puppy the right way here.
They will also need lots of exercise to keep their bodies healthy and minds stimulated.
You will need to ensure they receive regular worm and flea treatments and are kept up to date with their vaccinations.
You don’t need to bathe a German Shepherd Dog often as this will strip the oils from their coats. They do however love to dig and many like mud too so it is likely that it will become necessary to bathe them on occasions. Use a good quality natural dog shampoo as this is much kinder to their skin.
Although you won’t notice it so much with a young puppy German Shepherd Dogs shed a lot of hair. As well as normal daily hair loss, they also shed their undercoats twice a year. It is impossible not to notice when this happens as your dog will be leaving huge clumps of fur behind wherever it goes.
To keep this under control, you will need to regularly groom your dog. You should definitely get them used to the brush very early on as they are going to need a lot of grooming during their lifetime.
Final Thoughts On How To Raise A German Shepherd Puppy
So now you should know how to raise a German Shepherd Puppy into a well behaved loyal companion who will be a pleasure to be around.
The first piece of advice I could give you here is to start from day one. It is never too early to start a socialization and training program.
Your little pup may still be a baby but he or she is also an information sponge. It is your job to feed them the correct information they need to develop into a happy German Shepherd Dog.
Remember they won’t stay that size forever and you will soon have an extremely strong 40kg adult dog on your hands.
Do all the groundwork and your 40kg German Shepherd Dog will not only be a much-loved family member he or she will also be a credit to you and its breed.
I hope you find this article helpful. If you have any questions or would like to share your own experiences on raising a German Shepherd Puppy, feel free to leave them in the comments below.
