First Step To Train Your German Shepherd

German Shepherds are a very devoted, intelligent and highly active breed of dogs that are brought up as household pets.

German Shepherds are different from other breeds of dogs that are popular as household pets.

One must be prepared to spend a considerable amount of time training a German Shepherd because it has to be given a lot of exercise and attention. You will be able to train your German Shepherd without much trouble if you are aware of its behavior characteristics.

It is important that you understand that the German Shepherd is a descendant of wild dogs and shares several features with them and the wolves.

It is interesting to note that the German Shepherds retain the notion of having a lead dog, which is the Alpha dog. In the wild, the packs of dogs always have a leader, the Alpha dog. Immediately next to it, in the line of leadership of the pack, is the Beta dog.

The trick to make your German Shepherd obey your instructions is to make him believe that you are the Alpha dog. Once you have achieved this, training your dog will be easy and successful.

The remarkable thing about German Shepherds that you must always remember is that they never give up on trying to do their best.

After you have convinced him that you are the Alpha dog, your German Shepherd will always try to get to be the Beta dog and will constantly test the strength of your leadership.

A German Shepherd will question your position as the Alpha dog, and try to usurp that position, by deliberately disobeying your orders or make you lose your temper. However, you must not allow yourself to show signs of anger or displeasure. You should simply and effectively put them in their place

Your dog will pay attention to your commands only after you have convinced him that you are, in fact, the undisputed Alpha dog who has to be obeyed without question.

Once he has accepted you as the Alpha Dog of his pack, the German Shepherd will now want to be the next in command, the Beta Dog.

If it so happens that you have other dogs also in your house, the German Shepherd will attempt to rule over them. You must watch out for any such aggressive behavior on the part of your German Shepherd.

Your other dogs might become stressed by the dominating behavior of the German Shepherd. But the inclination to dominate is an instinctive behavior for him.

It will not be a good idea for you to have along with the German Shepherd, other breeds of dogs with similar fierce disposition in your house. This will lead to ugly situations when the dogs strongly compete with each other to be the leader of the pack.