How to Train a German Shepherd Puppy to Not Bite

Hello Tonda, I recommend working on commands and games that help build pup's impulse control, so he can learn to calm himself down and respond to commands better even when excited. I would also ignore pup the first ten minutes after you get home so his anticipation isn't of something overly excited he is working himself up for before you even open the door, except when you are specifically ready to use leaving as a training exercise just to work on building pup's impulse control. Place - good for self-control practice when you are home and for pup to learn to stay on place while you go in and out of the door eventually too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O75dyWITP1s Out - which means leave the area. Good for teaching personal space boundaries. Read the entire article. https://www.petful.com/behaviors/how-to-teach-a-dog-the-out-command/ Leave It method - good for addressing biting. https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-shih-tzu-puppy-to-not-bite Jumping - Step Toward method or Leash method - if pup jumps: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-australian-shepherds-to-not-jump I suggest practicing something called "Jazz up and Settle Down". Which is a bit like red light, green light for dogs. During training, get pup a little excited, then command "Stop" or something puppy knows like "Sit", and freeze. Wait and completely ignore them until they calm back down. As soon as they get calm or sit, praise and give a treat. Tell pup "Let's Play!" again, and start playing and getting them a bit excited again. As soon as they start to get a little worked up (not too much at first), command "Stop" or "Sit" again, then wait, reward with a treat when they calm down, then continue the game after they are rewarded. Repeat this a few times each training session, then end the session (have lots of frequent shorter sessions throughout the day at this age). As pup improves, and can really calm down quickly, let them get a bit more excited before calling Stop. Gradually work up to pup becoming more and more excited and having to calm down quickly from a higher level of excitement as they improve. Also, understand that this will take some time and practice. Puppies have to learn self-control just like any other skill, while young. This game can help them develop it sooner though. Eventually, you want to be able to do things like jump up and down, squeal excitedly, and wave your arms around and pup still be under voice control since they have practiced so much and worked up to the point where even though they are excited they can still control themselves when told - so that when something truly exciting happens, like your arrival or a guest coming over, pup can obey then too. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Jan. 31, 2022

Hello Roxann, First, check out these article I have linked below. I would teach pup commands like Leave It and Out for the biting, and Quiet for barking. You need pup to clearly understand the boundaries and what commands mean before you can enforce them well. Come info: https://www.petful.com/behaviors/train-dog-to-come-when-called/ Leave It method: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-shih-tzu-puppy-to-not-bite Quiet method: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-shih-tzu-puppy-to-not-bark Out - which means leave the area: https://www.petful.com/behaviors/how-to-teach-a-dog-the-out-command/ Second, pup may have a strong defense drive. A lot of German Shepherds do. Essentially, instead of submitting or retreating when there is pressure in a situation, pup will hold his ground or move into the situation. An example would be someone who disciplines pup with their hands. Many pup's would back away and stop what they are doing. A dog with a strong defense drive is going to jump toward and try to bite the hand again right after, or at least hold his ground against it. With these dogs especially, be very mindful of how you are gaining pup's respect for you and following through with things. Instead of methods that are physically direct, work on engaging pup's mind to get them working for you to respect you. Check out the article I have linked below for some ways to do that. Listening article: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-doberman-to-listen-to-you That doesn't mean you can't tell pup no or discipline, it just means that your level of consistency needs to be great, your interactions very calm but first with consistent follow through, and your methods of disciplining and enforcing commands proactive and thoughtful - so that you get pup's will working for you instead of against you when possible. Thomas Davis from The Canine Educator on yourtube is one example of how to do this with some of the dogs he works with. Teaching obedience to pup and regularly practicing that, so that pup clearly understands your expectation and how to earn things from you will be one of the biggest ways you accomplish this with pup. Interacting with pup calmly is also very important. It will be easier to get compliance if you are calm but clearly follow through. An example would be you telling pup to come and them disobeying you. Instead of yelling at pup or going over to them and swatting them on the bottom, calmly walk over to pup or wait until pup comes in on their own, then don't say anything even if you are mad - at that point they came so that's not the time to discipline, it's too late. Instead, go grab a 20 foot training leash, clip it onto pup and take pup back to the distraction pup ignored you for. Once pup is a bit distracted, call pup to come happily again. If pup comes, great! Praise and give a treat as if nothing happened. If pup ignores, now you have the leash on them, so calmly but quickly reel them in, have them Sit, give monotone praise, then release pup to go back to what they were doing again. Wait until they get distracted again, then repeat the Come, and reward if they come willingly and reeling in if they don't. Do this until you get five willing Come's in a row, then unclip the leash and let pup go back to their business. By doing that instead of yelling pup's attitude toward you was addressed, their obedience was improved, and they saw that you are consistent about following through with a command, instead of simply not wanting to come to you because you might be angry. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

June 29, 2021