How to Train a German Shepherd to be Friendly
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Introduction
Despite their formidable appearance, German Shepherds are often softer at heart than people realize. However, you have recently welcomed a new baby into the family and you already have a couple of young ones. So, you want to make sure there is nothing to worry about with your German Shepherd, as they are sometimes known to be extremely protective.
Training him to be friendly will also come with a number of other benefits. You won’t need to worry when guests or new people come over to the house. Nor will you have to panic inside when other dogs and people walk past on the street. In addition, you won’t have to always be on alert if your kids and German Shepherd are in the same room. This type of training will also assert your position as pack leader.
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Defining Tasks
Training any dog to be friendly if they have already started displaying signs of aggressive behavior can be challenging. However, with German Shepherds, you can really have your work cut out. Because they are big, strong and resilient, it can be difficult to get them to follow your instructions. Also, tackling their naturally protective nature isn’t always easy. So, you will have to take steps to socialize him as early as possible. On top of that, you will have to incentivize gentle, calm play, while deterring and stamping out any aggression.
If he’s a puppy he should be extremely receptive. This means molding him into a relaxed, friendly German Shepherd may take just a matter of weeks. If he’s older, stubborn and far less patient than he was in his youth, then you may need several months. Get this training right and you will be able to count on him to be at ease with kids, strangers, and any other pets.
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Getting Started
Before training can begin, you will need to get your hands on a few items. Stock up on tasty treats or break his favorite food into small pieces. You will also need toys, food puzzles, plus other people and pets. A clicker will also be needed for one of the methods.
Try to set aside 15 minutes each day for training. The more regularly you can train, the sooner you will see results.
Once you have the above, just bring patience and a proactive attitude and get to work!
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The Day One Method
Most Recommended
4 Votes
Most Recommended
4 Votes
Start early
The earlier you can start training him to be friendly, the easier it will be. Ideally, start training your Shepherd when he is just a puppy. So, encourage any signs of calm and gentle play with treats and verbal praise.
Obedience classes
Take him to obedience classes regularly. This will get him familiar with other pets and people. The earlier he can socialize, the more likely it is he will grow up to be friendly.
Gentle introductions
Secure him to a leash and introduce him to people and pets slowly. Also, position yourself between him and the person or pet. If you’re at the front, you are pack leader. This means he will feel more relaxed as it isn’t his job to protect you.
The more the merrier
Introduce him to as many people as you can, especially to start with. The early stages of his life will shape his future temperament. So, the more exposure to different people and pets you can give him the better. Aim for meeting a new person each day.
Never punish him
It is important you do not punish him. German Shepherds are strong and capable of causing serious injury. You do not want to make him aggressive. Instead, remain calm and use positive reinforcement throughout training.
The Environment Method
Effective
2 Votes
Effective
2 Votes
Obedience commands
Teach him a range of obedience commands, from ‘sit’ to ‘down’ and ‘stay’. All will help reinforce discipline and your position as pack leader. This will keep him a calm and controlled German Shepherd.
Clicker
Use a clicker to signal to him when he has followed an instruction correctly. This will be an effective means of communicating with your him. You can then use the clicker whenever he plays gently or remains relaxed in new, testing situations.
Privacy
Make sure he has his own space he can escape to at home. Young children can often pester when they are simply trying to play. It’s important he has his own bed and place to run to when he needs time alone. This will help prevent frustration developing.
Supervise
Make sure you supervise him around children and new people to start with. You will be able to tell if he is stressed or unhappy. It will also put him at ease to have you close by. If he does look scared, have the people back away.
Remove him
It is important you stamp out any signs of aggression. So, if he growls, barks or bites, take him by the collar and lead him out of the room. It’s important you remain calm throughout this. Scaring him may only make him more aggressive.
The Confidence Method
Least Recommended
1 Vote
Least Recommended
1 Vote
Roughhousing
Spend a few minutes each day teasing and playing around with your German Shepherd. Play tug of war and get him worked up. It may seem like the wrong thing to do to play like this. However, it will build his confidence so he feels less threatened around new people.
Never stop socializing
If he never meets new people, he will develop a natural unease around strangers. So, whileintroducing him to as many people as possible when he’s a puppy is important, it also helps for him to continue to meet new people as an adult.
Have different people feed
To make him relaxed and friendly around people, it can be useful to have a different person each day feed him his meals. Have neighbors, friends and family come over a different day each day for a week to feed him. This will all help socialize him.
Cold shoulder
It is important you deter any signs of aggression. If he barks, for example, turn your back on him and ignore him. If you pander to him then he will think barking and being aggressive is an effective way to get what he wants.
Socializing with pets
It’s also important your German Shepherd is friendly with other pets. So, introduce him to as many as possible, from an early age as possible. Keep him on a leash and give him the occasional treat when he plays calmly. You can also talk in a high-pitched voice to make him feel at ease.
Written by James Barra
Veterinary reviewed by:
Published: 02/01/2018, edited: 01/08/2021
Training Questions and Answers
delta
German Shepherd
Two Years
Question
0 found this helpful
0 found this helpful
she went to bite another dog
May 23, 2023
delta's Owner
Caitlin Crittenden - Dog Trainer
1133 Dog owners recommended
Hello, I recommend seeing if there is a G.R.O.W.L.. class in your area you can join with her, which is a class for dog reactive dogs to help intensively socialize and counter condition them with other dogs while give more structure, opposed to more competitive interactions. I would also regularly work on teaching and practicing obedience commands with her, to help her be more willing to take instruction from you while on walks, and to feel safer with you leading her due to her trust and respect built for you through obedience command practice regularly, things like teaching a structured heel, come, down, place, ect... and working up to doing those commands in public on leash, around increasing distractions. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden
May 24, 2023
T’Kuvma
German Shepherd
1 Year
Question
0 found this helpful
0 found this helpful
T’KUVMA needs training on when people enter the home. He barks and jumps on them. He is almost 180 pounds.
May 28, 2022
T’Kuvma's Owner
Caitlin Crittenden - Dog Trainer
1133 Dog owners recommended
Hello, Is the barking and jumping aggressive in nature? If so, I don't recommend training this on your own. I would hire a professional trainer who is part of a training team, where there are multiple people there who can practice coming to your own as a "guest" to work on pup's reactions in their territory. Certain safety measures will need to be taken, like a basket muzzle introduced ahead of time using treats to help pup gradually like it and ease into wearing it, and a back tie leash connected to something secure and clipped to pup with something secure pup can't slip out of or break (the weakest point in your setup is what you need to inspect most to ensure that). This process generally involves teaching obedience like Place, Quiet, Leave It, and Say Hi. Pup is then gradually desensitized to someone arriving on property then leaving, arriving then leaving, arriving then leaving, rewarding all good responses from pup. When pup is calm about that, then the person comes to the door, is greeted, then leaves immediately, rewarding good responses (with pup secured safely). As pup progresses, the person progressively visits more, interacting with you, coming into your home, and doing things guests would normally do. Pup is rewarded for calm responses as this is repeated. Once pup is good with the initial person, a new person starts the process over again, until enough people have come and gone that pup is okay with strangers visiting in general. Some times the use of a remote training collar to interrupt pup is also needed, in addition to the obedience training and rewards for calmness to counter condition pup, but I would only use one on pup's working level with the help of a trainer very experienced with that tool, aggression and the how to properly correct as well as counter condition. Simply correcting without proper training and counter conditioning can make things worse on its own. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden
May 30, 2022