german shepherd puppies

Behold the German Shepherd Puppy, deceptively cute and innocent, these smart little beings have a seemingly effortless ability to shape our behaviour.

Georgina our sable german shepherd puppy, she was about 12 weeks or so in this picture. Could you say no to that face?

Actually I could! It was easy. No I am not heartless, I just know from 30 years of living with German Shepherds what happens when they hit puberty :) never mind all the changes in attitude that maturity brings from 18 month to 5 years. A German Shepherd can be your best friend or your greatest liability, if it is not raised properly and trained well.

First: Make sure the breeder also trains his or her dogs, adults and puppies. I am not just talking about going the backyard of their property or event a trial field or indoor venue. Can the adults and young dogs go into town, into a hardware store or bank? You want a breeder that can help you with any behaviour or training issues that occur along the way.

What you need to learn: endless patience, good leadership, how to train a dog using rewards.

Zen :) The Sue Ailsby Zen exercises can be applied not just to food and toys but also to waiting at doors, waiting to be placed on leash, waiting to exit the crate or xpen, and waiting in the car to be let out when it is safe. Zen is your mantra from now on. For all too often people confuse hyperactivity and stress with "drive".

Attention: here's looking at you kid! Teaching a puppy to look at you and to be mindful of you are actually seperate exercises.

Leash Walking, walking not dragging ;) This is the toughest exercise, as it demands the most patience and persistence from us. But the payoff is tremendous if the puppy turns out to be sensitive to movement or reactive to dogs.

Sit happens. The easiest behaviour to achieve, when combined with your mantra (Zen) will quickly turn into a nice sit stay. Do check out Patricia McConnells stay exercise.

Down, a calm relaxed down or a fast-and-can't-wait-to-get-back-up down? You can train both. Use the two toys game to achive nice fast downs in any position relative to you. Use your patience and knowldge of dog body language to teach a calm relaxed down.