How to Train a German Shepherd for Police Work

Hello Jamie, I suggest focusing on the basic commands first: Sit Down Stay Come Heel Watch Me Name Recognition Leave It Okay Quiet Check out Wag!'s training resources page and look for articles that teach each command step by step. You can also find YouTube videos from trainers with videos showing how. I also strongly recommend a puppy kindergarten class where the puppies are socialized together some off leash and handled by the other owners with treats, in addition to practicing commands. Not being able to perform the commands outside is normal now. He needs to practice the commands in gradually more and more distracting locations to gain the skills to be able to perform them in those environments. The training builds on itself gradually as you practice it and ease into distractions as he improves. Check out www.lifedogtraining.com/freedownloads to download a free PDF puppy e-book. Police puppies need socialization and basic training to start as well. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Dheeraj, Barking on command: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-german-shepherd-to-speak Down: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-german-shepherd-to-lay-down Stay: https://www.thelabradorsite.com/train-your-labrador-to-lie-down-and-stay/ For the attack, you will need to hire a professional protection trainer to do the protection training. Done wrong, dogs can become dangerous toward their owners or friends, instead of just those they are protecting you from. The right protection training utilizes positive reinforcement via bite bags and tugging, and utilizes a dog's natural defense drive, building confidence and control, instead of teaching suspicion of fearfulness. You might want to consider joining a schlutzhund or IPA club if you would like to learn how to do more of this training yourself also. Obedience classes or resources like www.wagwalking.com/free training are great places to learn more about teaching individual commands you with to teach. Know that it will take time for a puppy this age to learn greater focus. Practice often, starting with less distractions during training and progressing to more as pup improves. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Sophia, Check out the Crate Training and Tethering methods from the article linked below. I suggest starting with just the Crate Training method to help pup learn the concept more quickly. Once pup is doing a little better you can use the Tethering method when you are home some as well if you wish for pup to be with you more. https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-german-shepherd-puppy-to-poop-outside As far as obedience commands, potty training, crate training and socialization are most crucial right now, so make those priority if you are limited on time, but you can begin obedience commands as soon as 8 weeks - it's just not as crucial to start that soon, and many people don't have enough time to practice everything so they put it off for a few more weeks. 8 week old puppies can certainly start learning those things though, just know that pup's attention span is short right now, so be patient and practice for short amount of times often, instead of super long sessions at this age. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello, the way to start off on the right foot is to enroll Maxx in obedience classes. Dogs that go through police training have the highest of obedience levels under their belt as the first step. They are required to go to Advanced Training classes and beyond. So, start Maxx in first level obedience classes. Often, trainers will offer extra classes once the dog is trained, including scent training, search and rescue, and tracking. These are all skills that a police dog will need. Look online for dog training in your area and look at each website to see what extras are offered. Good for you for wanting to train Maxx to be the best he can be. That is excellent and you will enjoy the learning and training, too. Good luck and happy training!

Hello Aaron, You need to hire a professional protection dog trainer. Done wrong, you can create a dog who is fear aggressive and will not be under voice control and will be more of a liability to you than protection. True protection training requires a high level of off-leash obedience around high distractions, working with a dog's natural defense drive using positive reinforcement - via bite bags and the tug response, and building a dog's confidence rather than instilling fear. This should only be done by a professional who knows how to accomplish those things without creating unwanted issues. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Adrien, It sounds like you have done a wonderful job with her. Unfortunately I don't know of a good universal website I can recommend off hand, and since I am not in your area I can't recommend a specific trainer; however, with your experience and wishing to spend less, it actually sounds like a schlutzhund, french ring, or IPO club might be a good route for you. They work a bit like any other canine sport, where you work with trainers to learn how to train your own dog, often with others there doing the same thing. You still pay for certain things but since you are learning how to do it yourself it's often less expensive than sending pup to a trainer, and since it would look more like showing up one evening or Saturday morning a week for a longer period of time with you there practicing with pup, pup may not have to be kenneled. Even if that doesn't seem to be the route you are wanting to go once you look into clubs in your area, they would be a good resource most likely, for recommending someone to work with you for the training you are wanting - if not a club/class type setting, it sounds like a Private trainer is what you are looking for, opposed to board and train. The club may know of a private trainer who could come to you and teach you how to train pup instead of sending them away. They will also need the required equipment for practice like suits, bite arms, and bite bags to motivate and reward pup, and teach targeting and holding. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Jessica, I need a bit more information to answer your question. How is Shi Tou reacting right now when you give commands? Do they know the commands well enough? Are they disobeying when distracted? Are they struggling to learn the commands to begin with? Are they acting fearful? Are they acting aggressive? Sometimes the issue is that pup doesn't understand a command well enough, using a different training method or practicing more can often improve that. For reliability dogs have to progress through three general obedience training levels - Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced. Basic involves simply teaching a dog what a command means and practicing in calm environments - most dogs only gain this level and most puppies are only at this level. Intermediate specifically works on practicing the commands pup learned in Basic, but gradually adding in more distractions, distance, and duration as pup improves. These things have to be worked up to with hundreds of repetitions often to gain true reliability around all types of distractions. If someone gives a dog a command around another dog in a busy park and expects that dog to obey but they haven't first worked up to calm parks, dogs without park distractions, new people, and whatever else is going on, as individual distractions - that dog won't be able to obey with their current level of self-control and focus when all of the sudden all the distractions are combined. Advanced involves those same skills around distractions being practiced, but using long training leashes and sometimes low level e-collar training or whistles to gradually transition the dog to fully off-leash obedience. Sometimes their is an underlying respect issue and that's why pup ignores commands. The method from the article below can often help with simpler respect building needs not complicated by things like aggression or a general lack of training and communication. If there is an aggression issue more safety measures like a basket muzzle and help from a trainer will be needed. https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-doberman-to-listen-to-you If pup is fearful or aggressive, I would need more information about pup's history and behavior to address that, and I recommend hiring a professional trainer to help in person with aggression. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Elzbieta, It sounds like she has great potential. Intelligence, confidence, a balanced temperament, and good obedience skills are a very good foundation. A good police dog also needs a fair amount of defense drive - which is when a dog can naturally holds their ground or moves into a situation instead of retreating when there is pressure. Think about dogs who run into a fight on command in the army or police work to protect their handler and take someone down, instead of running away when things get loud and scary. It's the natural push forward and confidence that can be paired with the specialized obedience training later. This is different than fear aggression. This is a confident dog that has control over themselves and can keep a clear head when things are tense - Not a dog who just reacts to everything aggressively. How does pup do under pressure? Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Aman, I would need to know a lot more about pup's temperament and history to accurately answer your question. A good guard dog generally needs to be alert of their surroundings, have a good defense drive (will hold their ground or move toward a source of pressure instead of flee), be confident around people and not overly fearful or aggressive of everyone, so they can differentiate a threat and a family member entering the property, and be taught a few specific commands so they will defend or move away from a threat on your cue as needed. There are many breeds and mixes of breeds that can have those traits. Your dog may or may not have inherited them. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden