Oct
06
Training Questions: How can I make my dog more obedient without being too mean?
ByQuestion by Foxy: How can I make my German Shepherd more obedient without being too mean?
My German Shepherd is a pure bred black lab and she turned one year old on Valentine’s Day. It seems that she listens to men better than women. Sometimes she will leave and start chewing up things and I yell for her to come back up and she just ignores me. How can I make her more respectful and obedient to my commands? Are there things I could do that I would not regret doing later?
Best answer:
Answer by Dog Trainer
Being mean is not the answer to obedience. Training is the key to an obedient German Shepherd! Take your German Shepherd to a training class.
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It’s always better to train with treats rather than a stick. Teach her that if she comes when you calls, that she might expect a treat. Do not treat her when you catch her doing something wrong, though. But if you treat her when she comes to your call, and you call her at other times she should still come.
Beyond that… a dog obedience course is always a good route.
Start to train your dog w/ whatever tricks or activity you want it to do and every time it does a good job praise it, give it a pat on the head, and say good boy or girl but when it does something bad just look at it point your finger at it face towards it and say bad boy or girl in a serious tone. (Good luck hope this helps)
The best solution is to take her to obedience classes. Look for one that uses positive reinforcement rather than harsh corrections. If a class is not available in your area the book “Purely Positive Training” by Sheila Booth is very good.
obedience class
and try winning his respect by saying “i’m the pack leader” by going inside first, eating first, sleeping on the bed without the dog, controling how he eats (telling him to sit before you put down his food bowl), controling his toys (you give and take away), TRAIN HIM (extreamly important, it shows who teaches who and who is dominent), and always be loving and sweet so he doesnt go all evil on you.
p.s. dont ever give him free treats, free hugs, free pats, free watever. he has to do something that is good to make him earn his love. make him sit or laydown before you give him food, teach him a trick before you give him a treat, if he’s acting nice, give him a pat, if he’s doing what you want him to, give him a hug, and so on
here u go, just cuz its a westie site doesnt mean it doesnt apply 2 u!
Take a class with her and learn the skills of obedience training – it is also a bonding experience and you learn how to be her mistress or leader of the pack.
Remember too that Labs have a long adolescence and she’ll be active and energetic and puppyish until she’s at least three years old. Because of size and weight with friendly labs, it can be a safety issue for you to have control with her. Labs are eager learners and associate the training (using positive methods) with affection and interaction. We have a constant lab vs. border collie argument going on in terms of ease of training, affection and what constitutes a good companion dog; I’ll take the lab over the border collie any day.
One thing is that when they come to you praise them, even if they were doing something bad. If you yell at them after they come then you are teaching them not to come. Also dogs respond to men because of there voice. It is more stern. If you use a more stern voice then they may come more! Also get little treats or like the little dog food. So when they do what you want give them one. this works for potty training
I have always obedience trained my own dogs. I have experience with this however. But obedience training would do your dog a world of good. It costs about $100 for 8 weeks at pet smart. A private trainer should run you about $200 for 6 weeks. It would be worth the investment. And you should be the one taking her so she learns to obey you. Also you have to remember that she is still a puppy dogs don’t reach their full maturity until they are 2 years of age. As far as chewing things up I would get her a crate. Some people think that crate training seems mean but it’s really not. Never use a crate as punishment though. Look at it more like a free babysitter while your not home. The dog will learn to love it’s crate. I have all 4 of my dogs crate trained and after a couple of weeks all I had to say was get in your pen and they would run right in. Now when they get scared (during storms) you will find them there. It becomes a secure place for them.
Try looking at the situation from your dogs point of view. Being ‘pack’ animals they conform to a pecking order. With in every ‘pack’ there is a leader & the rest fall into place as the order goes down.
Like in your home your dad is the boss, your mom next, the oldest child is next & on down the line. Your dog sees himself at the bottom of the pecking order next to you. So you have to teach the dog that you are his boss too.
The best way I have found is to go to obedience classes. Every body there works with their own dog. None of the dogs know much about obedience & neither do their owners, so they teach you how to go about training (teaching) your dog. You can’t teach a dog to do something if you don’t know it first.
After you get your basic information you can buy a couple of books & take the training even futher on into advanced training.
As someone said above, mean and training are separate things. Is it mean to your dog to let it grow up to be so badly behaved that you won’t take it to the park along with the family?
I recommend “Don’t Shoot the Dog” as a very non-mean approach.
Someone suggested “take the dog to a class”. That’s a fine idea, but remember training is not over when the class ends. 8 weeks in puppy K will rarely get you an obedient dog. If the class is good, you’ll have some idea of how to train the dog to BECOME obedient after the 8 weeks. It can be a lot of work; also a lot of fun to train your dog once you get the hang of it. Consider going after a Canine Good Citizen certificate.
Men, with typically deep voices, sound more like a growl than higher pitched voices do. Dogs get that. My dogs obey me slightly better than my wife, but we’re working on it and they are respecting her more. She is never mean with them.
I have Newfies who, although cousin to the lab, have a lot less energy than the lab. In order for me to tire my puppy enough to calm her down, I only need 10 minutes of playing fetch. With your lab, it may require a brisk 30 minute walk (or more, I’m no lab expert). Watch a few episodes of the “Dog Whisperer” to get some idea.
People sometimes fear that training a dog will change its personality. If the dog is currently running away, jumping on guests, and chewing the couch, then really, isn’t a change in her personality kinda what you want? What they are really afraid of, I’m thinking, is that the dog will no longer be fun.
I have trained my newf to pull a cart and a sled, tow a boat into shore. I’m an amatuer, but I found a club to help me figure it out. Is her personality different from when she used to run away from me? Yup. But now she goes everywhere with me and people stop to greet her at the park. Have I been mean?
Obedience training helps your dog see you as her leader, and it also gives her a mental workout–something that many canines need just as much as physical exercise to stave off boredom and make them feel useful.
here are things you could do:
http://dogtime.com/basic-commands-obedience.html