Socialization And Training The German Shepherd Dog

By /

In owning the German Shepherd Dog, we always need to remember the origins of the dog and the inherent genetic dispositions of the breed. We have the breed standard to guide us on quite a lot of things about the breed, but a lot still depends on the owner on how the dog turns out in adulthood.

To achieve what the breed was meant for, we therefore require clarity in what we want the dogs for. Going by the breed standard, every owner would want to achieve the correct mix of courage, courtesy, gentleness, aggression, willingness to please, docility, and the right dose of intelligence. How to achieve this is the task that an owner has to grapple with, as no dog comes as a one-size-fits-all.

To achieve these desirables, socialization and training become important.

Socialization helps us understand how a pup’s temperament develops over time and the social relations and reactions to these that the pup develops throughout its lifetime. How the dog reacts to its surroundings – feel, smell and sound, reveals to us its character and temperament.

On the other hand, training helps develop and entrench physical and mental reactions to stimuli. So, while with socialization the owner can identify personality and character traits, training on the other hand allows the owner to see mental reactions and physical responses that would either reinforce or negate the personality and character traits earlier identified.

Owners can see personality and character traits like loyalty. How a dog reacts to the world reveals its character and temperament. In the breed standard, the breed is supposed to be trainable, which implies a willingness to respond to the owner and obey simple commands.

Socialization begins very early in puppies, and it is important that observing and enhancing this socialization should be done even prior to the pups leaving to their new homes. It is generally agreed that In puppies, “exposure to varied stimuli helps create more confident and exploratory as well as socially adept dogs”.

Experts have divided socialization into two categories.

  1. Primary socialization (Canine socialization) – Time spent with mother and littermates interacting.
  2. Secondary socialization (Human socialization) – Willingness to engage with humans.

A combination of these two sources of socialization helps achieve a well-rounded dog and enhances positive responses during training. One should not also forget that genetics also comes into play in how a pup interacts during the period of socialization. Recognizing that the curious nature and exploratory instincts of the pup should be taken advantage of during the period of socialization.

The better the socialization experience a pup has, the more confident and socially adept it becomes into adulthood. dogs. In the period of socialization, the pup should be exposed to varied sounds, objects and people, this also enhances its ability to identify through sight, smell and feel how its environment is structured and allows it to adapt to the environment comfortably. A properly socialized pup is able to be better trained and responsive to the owner.

As owners of German Shepherd Dogs, the need to train this energetic breed cannot be over emphasized.

What type or path of training one wishes to adopt, would be impacted by the character and temperament of the dog as well as the purpose for which the dog was acquired for in the first place. For us at Ole Dog House, Training represents the greater form of Secondary Socialization of the dog.

As we have always advised, knowing and understanding the breed history, standard and expected character and temperament is important for this training journey. There are various types of training, but we will not go into them except underline the principles that should be understood to enable on achieve the training goals one aspires for. Whether the dog is trained for shows, working competitions or even a companion dog, understanding the breed is the beginning.

Louis Donald amongst other experts and judges, has noted quite clearly that;
“Training helps physical and mental reactions to stimuli: bold, assertive, cautious, confident, aloof, irritable, aggressive, docile, dull, neurotic. Passive, under and over reactive”.

It therefore means that during the period of training a dog should be willing, obey, focused, and responsive.

While training can help modify character and temperament, the character of the dog is most likely to stay with it all lifelong. Training only uses auditory, visual and tactile stimuli to direct and control the dog’s responses. In being aware of the dog’s character and temperament, one would be in a position to identify and embark on the suitable training for the dog.

To illustrate; a dog that is bold and assertive, would and should be trained differently from the beginning than a dog that is passive and aloof. So, a clear identification and understanding of the dog’s character and temperament would suggest getting better results during training.

Another key factor that should not be ignored in training a dog is genetics. Genetics has a lot to do with the behavioural traits of a dog and therefore impacts trainability, aggression and attention seeking. This underscores the importance of the owner understanding what the breeder is breeding for and why he/she should get a pup from the breeder.

No matter what sort of training one wants to put his/her dog through, the three key concepts to understand are as identified by canine experts.

  • Intelligence – Instinctive (dogs’ ability to perform the task it was bred for),
  • Adaptive (ability to solve problems on its own)
  • Working and obedience (ability to learn from humans)

We have noted that Socialization and Training help physical and mental reactions to stimuli and may help modify character and temperament, but the starting point is knowing the breed, its history and the pedigree details would go a long way in helping one achieve the training objectives one wants.

There are however some fundamentals that one must take into consideration while socializing and training the dog from puppy to adolescence. Here we are assuming that the owner has brought the puppy home from the breeder, so the socialization process would have to begin all over again as the pup is now in a new environment with new smells, sounds and touch.

During this new period of socialization, the dog should be part of the family and included in as many activities as possible. This enables it to identify new sounds and smells and form a link between them and the new environment.

Some people acquire their dogs just for companionship, while others wish to go further and have their dogs do shows and protection work. Whichever one the owner aspires to would require ensuring that you get the best out of the dog in terms of instinctive behaviour, self-confidence, and ability to cope with stress. To achieve this a lot lies in the hands of the trainer(s). So, whether the training is just to achieve basic obedience or more advanced control work, protection work, and tracking, motivation, positive reinforcement and reward are essential.

To achieve your training goals, it’s important to take the following into cognizance.

  1. You are the leader, and though your dog would want to please you, your leadership is important to them. In this case, you would need to be clear in determining what you want and how you know that what you want is being achieved. You therefore need to identify what is acceptable and what isn’t acceptable. In the process of this, you aim to earn respect from your dog by also providing confident and competent leadership.
  2. The rules must be clear to the dog. This is an aspect that needs to be understood, especially in a family setting where others have access to the dog. There is no point in having different members of the family giving different rules for the same actions or behaviours, as this will end up confusing the dog. Therefore, the language and commands have to be the same. Your dog is acutely aware of your body language and signs, so this also must be consistent with what the rules are. Be sure you give commands you can enforce.
  3. Being consistent with what you teach and how you teach the dog is an important factor in achieving success. Canine are creatures of habit and consistency helps them lock the response into their makeup. In being consistent, one must also follow through with actions and commands and not abort them halfway through. Your dog is expecting and outcome, and there is no point confusing it when the expected action doesn’t materialize.
  4. Always stay in control by not losing your temper. Your tone of voice should communicate your displeasure, and not your temper. A strong command serves better than yelling, as yelling also sometimes either startles the dog, confuses it or scares it.
  5. Training must be humane, positive and motivational. Having upbeat sessions encourages your dog to enjoy being trained. The use of your dog’s name during positive reinforcements instead of during reprimands would also make it link its name to good behaviour. It should respond to its name without hesitation.
  6. Be sure to let the dog have rest times in between training sessions as you do not want to wear it out or for it to begin to lose focus and get disinterested in what it is being taught.
  7. In all, the timing of your correction, praise and reprimand is important as this enables the dog to have a direct link between the actions and the response by you the trainer.

Remember the history of the breed and the fact that it is now in your house will also not stop it from trying to herd you or your family, in doing this it also wants to please you, so this gives you the needed leverage in training your dog as it becomes willing to obey you and expects the rewards that come with it.

Onyekachi Omenuko
Latest posts by Onyekachi Omenuko (see all)

1 thought on “Socialization And Training The German Shepherd Dog”

  1. Pingback: Can a Boerboel and German Shepherd Live Together? - Ole Dog House Blog

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top