How to teach my puppy to listen and stop unwanted behaviors?

A big strong dog like your Mufasa can easily become a danger, so it is absolutely mandatory that he listens to you and that he learns several basic commands such as heel, sit, lie down, come here, etc. The best way to teach him that is to become a member of a German Shepherd Dog club in your area, where they have training for obedience , etc, or consult with a dog trainer you can work with to teach the commands. It is important not to just give the dog to the trainer to train, but to have both of you , dog and owner, learn how it is done. This way your dog will not just listen to the trainer and play games with you, but will learn to respect you as well.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! German Shepherds are highly intelligent an highly trainable dogs. I recommend hiring a trainer and nipping this in the bud now. German Shepherds are also very large and can be aggressive to strangers as adults so being able to control Bentley is very important. I would start with sit, stay, and leave it. Purchase the gentle leader harness that goes on the muzzle. Use that for all walks. Bring treats on the walk and when he tries to jump have him sit. Once he sits he gets a treat. Jumping is unacceptable in a dog his size and is one of the hardest bad habits to break. He should not be allowed to jump on people. The gentle leader allows great control of the head. I hope this helps and I wish you the very best!

It sounds like Sweety is doing well as far as training goes! Socialization is very important for GSD. She should meet other dogs, cats, humans, go for car rides...etc....anything you can think of that she will do as an adult, get her use to now. Make sure the interactions are positive and that she does not become frightened. Also, she is not finished with her vaccines yet so you should still avoid parks or other public areas. She can meet your friend's dogs who are healthy and up to date on vaccines. Puppy classes are another great option (as long as it requires vaccines). In the scenario you described, Sweety has learned that if she barks/whines, you will eventually feed her. You are rewarding the behavior in her mind. You will have to stop giving her to food, otherwise she will continue to do it. Instead of letting her in the kitchen, try to train her to sit in the next room or her bed. You will have to ignore her whining and not feed her. This is all easier said then done, but GSDs are smart and she will learn eventually. Please post again if you have any further questions.

To help keep him occupied when you aren't able to actively play with him, I recommend getting him a Kong toy. My GSD loved his. Also, to save you hands, you need to work with him on learning what is and is not acceptable when mouthing and chewing. When you play with your puppy, let him mouth on your hands. Continue play until he bites especially hard. When he does, immediately give a high-pitched yelp, as if you’re hurt, and let your hand go limp. This should startle your puppy and cause him to stop mouthing you. (If yelping seems to have no effect, you can say “Too bad!” or “You blew it!” in a stern voice instead.) Praise your puppy for stopping. Resume whatever you were doing before. If your puppy bites you hard again, yelp again. Repeat these steps no more than three times within a 15-minute period. If you find that yelping alone doesn’t work, you can switch to a time-out procedure. When your puppy delivers a hard bite, yelp loudly. Then, when he startles and turns to look at you or looks around, remove your hand. Either ignore him for 10 to 20 seconds or, if he starts mouthing on you again, get up and move away for 10 to 20 seconds. After the short time-out, return to your puppy and encourage him to play with you again. It’s important to teach him that gentle play continues, but painful play stops. Play with your puppy until he bites hard again. When he does, repeat the sequence above. When your puppy isn’t delivering really hard bites anymore, you can tighten up your rules a little. Require your puppy to be even gentler. Yelp and stop play in response to moderately hard bites. Persist with this process of yelping and then ignoring your puppy or giving him a time-out for his hardest bites. As those disappear, do the same for his next-hardest bites, and so on, until your puppy can play with your hands very gently, controlling the force of his mouthing so that you feel little or no pressure at all. Also, the help keep that busy little mind occupied and teach him appropriate behavior, get him involved in obedience training. Many places have puppy kindergarten classes (if you have a PetsMart nearby, ask about their classes) that will teach you to teach them basic obedience. If he shows an aptitude for it, continue with his training as far as you would like to go. Teach him tricks, teach him tasks, play fetch, whatever you can and need to do to keep his body well-exercised and tired and his mind occupied. A tired dog is a happy dog.

I hate to hear this is happening. German Shepherds are very active dogs and require a lot of training and exercise. Chewing is normal for puppies Enzo's age. So is picking up things they shouldn't. Also, dog training needs to be positive and consistent. Here are some links which may help: https://www.petcoach.co/article/chewing-in-puppies-how-to-control-it/ https://www.petcoach.co/breed/german-shepherd-dog/ https://positively.com/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/basic-dog-puppy-training-rules/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/rewards-are-necessary-when-training-dogs-and-puppies/ I hope this helps.

• DO have a feeding schedule in which elimination breaks follow eating and drinking; this is a natural reflex in dogs. Elimination breaks should also follow napping/sleeping and exercise/play. • DO praise your puppy at the time he is eliminating in an appropriate place! You can also give him a small treat at that time. • DO constantly supervise puppy to prevent him from sneaking off and eliminating when you can’t correct him; try keeping him on a leash attached to your waist. • DO clean inappropriate eliminations thoroughly with enzymatic cleaner to remove residual smells that may entice puppy to revisit the area. • DO leave feces in desired areas of elimination, when appropriate, to reinforce that this is an appropriate area for performing this function. • DO take puppy to the same desired area every time; do not play with or excite him until he has eliminated. He should realize that elimination is his first and foremost duty (no pun intended!) and that playtime is secondary. • DO interrupt improper elimination by startling your puppy (e.g. clapping your hands) and redirect or carry him to the desired elimination area. • DO be consistent and patient until your puppy’s housetraining is complete. Incomplete housetraining is a primary cause of housesoiling as an adult dog. What NOT To Do: • DO NOT punish your puppy for inappropriate elimination verbally or physically (e.g. hitting with rolled up newspaper, rubbing his nose in his mess, etc). This is ineffective and may lead to further and more serious behavioral problems. • DO NOT punish your puppy after you find it. • DO NOT leave puppy outside unsupervised. You may miss an opportunity to praise him for appropriate elimination behavior. • DO NOT make abrupt changes to your puppy’s diet unless instructed by your veterinarian. • DO NOT allow puppy to have free access to the house without direct supervision. Be especially aware if you think your puppy is going to sleep in the evenings…he may be sneaking off to eliminate. • DO NOT get discouraged – accidents will happen and should be expected! Please talk with your veterinarian if you have more questions about housetraining your new addition.

You may need to teach her a different command. My favorite is place. Have a small rug in the house (they can see and feel the edges as boundaries) and teach her the “place” command. She can sit, stand, lay on the rug but she cannot leave it. It takes repitition but it works. When she is bugging the puppy put her in “place”. This works great for meal times, parties, etc. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.