Books and dvd's can be very helpful but if your not very experienced then classes may be your best bet for a while. see if you have a local obedience club. They usually offer a wide range of classes, obedience, rally, agility, and the prices tend to be better if you think you may take several classes. My German Shepherd goes to both competition obedience and agility classes and loves it.

Lisa

I would highly recommend both. Reading and learning will only help you understand why your dogs behave the way they do so you can adapt their training. Every dog learns differently. But being that you don't have any experience in training, you should definately get some formalized help. Having two dogs makes it EXTREMELY difficult (speaking from total experience on this one!), plus GSDs are very smart and can often outsmart you...you think you're training them, but really they're training you.

We sent our GSD to a puppy boot camp in Lawrenceville and had phenomenal results. Unfortunately the trainer has since moved out of state, so I can't give you a specific recommendation. Ask your vet who they would take their dogs to. Or friends/neighbors. Get recommendations, don't just pick some place because it's convenient/cheap/a chain. A great trainer is worth the time/money to find.

Best of Luck.
~Michelle

Hi Sethramesh,

First, three cheers for you for adopting from a shelter!

Next, I'll echo what the others said... a class would be extremely helpful for you if you're not experienced. It's good socialization for a dog even if we are experienced.

I've been training animals for over 40 years and there's no question in my mind at all, I'd look for a clicker training class. It's easy and it's fun for you and for the dogs. It's extremely effective. Getting good with a clicker is like learning to "speak dog."

You definitely should read up too -- do all you can to learn. A great place to start reading up on it is www.clickersolutions.com. They have an email list for clicker training dogs too, and top expert dog trainers are there to give you all the help you want for free, and ongoing. They can also advise you of who is the best trainer in your area, if you tell them where you live.

I'm training up a baby puppy myself right now. She's a real handfull and I'd be lost without my clicker. We have a "formal" session once or twice a day on her obedience behaviors, but I've also found it extremely helpful to carry the clicker and treats on me around the house just for now while she's learning her manners. I've stopped her jumping on me by freezing and totally ignoring her when she does, and by giving her clicks and treats and petting for times when she doesn't, and especially when she sits or downs. I'm stopping her counter surfing before it gets going by practicing her sits and down stays while I'm in the kitchen. And of course, that clicker goes with us on walks.

Enjoy!

Oceanna

I missed to read your posting here before asking for help in the other thread.

What a coincidence! This GSD Puppy jumps on every one and I was wondering how I am going to control her. She has too much energy and training is vital without which she will go wild

You have been a great resource in this forum and as always thank you so much for your help

Sethramesh, what a sweet thing to say -- thanks!

On the jumping... totally ignore it. Cross your arms, look skyward and freeze.
Message to dog: Jump on me for attention and you get NOTHING... no attention at all.

At first whenever her paws hit back onto the ground, pour on the attention. But after a few times make her stay off longer before she gets rewarded -- you don't want to teach her that the way to get a reward is to jump on you and then get off. So after a few times start reinforcing her sits instead.
Message to dog: If you want my attention, sit.

We need to think about the messages we're giving.

Reward behavior you like, and subtract all rewards from behavior you don't like. It's really that simple. Attention is a reward, so to withdraw rewards we want to totally ignore the dog as if s/he didn't even exist.

If she doesn't know sit or down they are SOOOO easy to teach with a clicker. You can do it while you're in your easy chair watching TV. Just wait till she sits (or downs), click while you see it happening, and toss a green pea sized bite of real meat or cheese at her so she has to get up to go get it. Ignore her when she tries to mug you for more treats. Repeat. You can read about how to put it on cue at clickersolutions. Dog training from your easy chair -- what could be more simple?

Of course, once you teach a behavior with you sitting down, you need to re-teach it with you standing up. We also need to re-teach it when we're wearing different outfits. We also need to re-teach it in different locations, and at first with no distractions, then add distractions gradually. When we've taught it in all sorts of circumstances with all sorts of distractions, then it's reliable.

I hope you find a great clicker instructor in your area. You'll love it!

ShepardÂs are my favorite dog. That said, you really need to do your home work. They are a very smart dog, and, very, very loyal. They are also on the hard headed side. If they think/know they can get away with mischief, they will try and do so, especially at an early age.

I suggest you get a book from "The Monks of New Skete". They have one specifically for pups and adults. There may be some things in the book you don't agree with, but it has mostly good ways of dealing with GSD. You may find yourself taking a few steps back as far as training, and treating your dog like a 3-4 month old pup rather than a 10 month old. It really depends on what is going on.

I agree that not all dogs train the same. Someone mentioned a clicker method, this may or may not work for you. There are also other methods, the trick is to find one that you are comfortable with and your dog responds to.

Since you have not had a GSD before, you might also try making other contacts in your local area specifically geared to the breed (Google GSD in Atlanta).

In general, GSD is a one person dog, and she will probably take time to adjust to you and your situation so have HUGE amounts of patience. At 10 months, your dog has already developed bad habits because of her situation. These need to be corrected properly, or you will do more damage. You also need to keep in mind that because of the breed, your dog may be traumatized by her experience before you came along. This can cause numerous problems. An experienced trainer will be able to help you, but research will also educate you about what to do (or not).

Good luck! Keep us posted!

SG

Thank you all for your help

She is only 7 months and not 10 Months as I indicated earlier; She chews everything, Jump on people and has high energy. Added to this is the presence of my other dog

I am starting to work on her training. I will take help from some one here in greater Atlanta area as well as educate myself.

Since you have a chewing issue, you really need to crate train her. She should really be supervised every second, with a leash on, when not crated. Crating will keep her out of mischief and give you peace of mind when you cannot supervise or are away.

To correct the chewing issue, she needs to realize that she cannot chew on some things, but can chew on others. She also needs an enticement.

Stuffing a 2-3 hollow bones or kongs with peanut butter or cheese wiz and freezing over night is a great treat. Young dogs but especially GSD love to be challenged mentally. This keeps them busy trying to get everything out.

When pup starts to chew on something you don't approve of, firmly say STOP and give her the bone or kong. When she starts to chew on the bone or kong, praise her. You may need to repeat this for a while, but if she is quick to catch on, you may not.

Anything pup does that is positive like laying around, drinking water, eating, praise her. Anything that will let her know that she can be a good dog and please you. She should know a command that is going to keep her out of trouble like STOP. ItÂs direct and to the point.

The idea is to turn a negative behavior into a positive one.

Good luck!

SG

I was wrong. The trainer we used did NOT move out of state. She moved to Villa Rica. She's at Sit Means Sit. Vanessa Giddens. However, she just had or is about to have a baby, so she's probably not training right now. :-) I can't speak for the other guys, but if Vanessa's working with them, my guess is they're pretty darn good.

~Michelle

Here is a link that might be useful: Sit Means Sit - Atlanta

Since the Sit Means Sit group is a franchise each one may be different but keep in mind that they do advocate the use of shock collars. Not something I would try as a first choice on an uneducated puppy.

Lisa

Ok; Is using a prong Collar is not good for the dog? I have a trainer here recommended it; But i have not purchased it.

She has all the strength in the world for a 7 months old and she pulls crazy. I tried the easy walk harness, she bit that in to half in hours! I have gentle leader, but she hates it

So the prong collar was recommended. But I am worried that it will hurt her neck? Or it it Ok?

Thanks

Prong collars are fine as long as you get someone to show you how to properly fit it to your dog. I use the small links and add extra ones until it fits. It should be somewhat snug. If it's loose enough to slide over the dogs head, which you should never do, then it is too loose to be effective.

Lisa

Thanks Lisa

For the prong collars you can get plastic ends that you slip on the prongs.

These types of collars are fine for training purposes. As stated, they do need a good fit. Without this, you chance injuring your dog.

SG

Sethramesh, I've heard all the arguments but prong collars still creep me out. Neck and spine injuries show up in dogs when they're older. The new Gentle Leader Easy Walker is a better deal, IMO. It's a harness that distributes pressure across the chest/shoulder area. Friends who have it love it and say it gives them great control.

What has changed for you since you started this thread?

I know that everyone has an opinion as to what "training methods" work best. I think that we should all be open-minded to the fact that every dog learns differently, and therefore, different methods work for different dogs. Some dogs work great with the clicker; others might respond better to a prong collar, etc. BY NO MEANS am I advocating that anyone run out and purchase an e-collar and start using it. They should absolutely only be used when the situation is APPROPRIATE and only by a trained professional.

Sit Means Sit will come to your home and evaluate your dog and you to determine what methods would work best; not every situation is the same. Though they MAY use an e-collar, they do not ALWAYS use an e-collar. Sasha was not trained with an e-collar; Vanessa determined it was not appropriate for her. If you meet with them and they say they believe an e-collar is best, and you're not comfortable with that suggestion, you can say always say no. Nothing lost, perhaps some knowledge gained during the evaluation.

Best of luck.

Here is my situation

I spoke to many trainers to schedule a training. For almost all of them,I need to wait till end of the month to fit into the group training schedule . Several are prepared to offer 'at home' training at the cost of 60 to 80$ an hour. Also many trainers told me that group training is more effective because the dogs are trained in an atmosphere of many dogs and distractions that stimulate real life scenario. Also group trainings costs 100 to 125$ for 6 visits, much cheaper than individual training.

So i am thinking towards group training which i need to wait for another 2 weeks. In the meanwhile I need to take her for walk and she pulls and jump so much, i don't want to encourage this behavior. That is why I was looking at Prong Collar

I have both gentle leader and Easy walk harness; She does not like gentle leader; She hates it and try to remove it. It creates a mark in her nose. I put Easy walk harness which she chewed in to two piece in minutes.

I have not decided yet, but here three trainers told me that a correctly fit (snug) prong collar will not hurt the dog. In fact they said that choke collars hurt much more than the prong collar in their opinion. These trainers also told me that clicker method is very effective and excellent, but takes TOO LONG TIME to implement.

I did speak to clicker trainers in Atlanta and I realize this is the best method for the long run for both of my dogs. But I just can't understand why dog training can costs 80$ an hour. What is so special about this trade? We have been doing this for the past several hundred years. This seems ridiculously high. I don't want to put down this profession, I respect it, but several of my friends get 80$ per hours for much more difficult/ Technologically challenging job.

In order to harness the instincts of A German Shep"herd" understanding the temperament of the dog you have is of the utmost importance before you start any training.
With that said there are alot of all breed training classes out there that IMO are not the best choice for correct training with this breed, unless the trainer has alot of experience with GSD's.
I'm going to disagree with the Monks of new skeet training...especially with a novice owner of the breed trying to train. Take my word for it, I don't know any qualified GSD trainer that would recommned half the things in their books, in fact some practices are down right dangerous. I also don't like to start a GSD in clicker training before anything else has been applied.
Another thing is while learning to train your GSD correctly for his/her temperamanet it might be helpful to find out if you have an american line or a European line GSD, as each
lines were bred quite differently. European lines, especially those from east Germany tend to be a lot more intense as their lines were bred more stongly from working lines and there fore you may find you have a dog quite wirey because being a couch potoato was not it's original breeding plan. A knowledgeable GSD trainer should be easily able to identify which line your dog most likely comes from.
Another point for finding a Trainer well versed in GSD's is differnet lines are structurally built different as well. Someone who doesn't understand your lines body structure or proper temperament may not realize certain training problems may be not be working due to a health issue verses the dog not getting the lessons. Get the facts about your breed here...http://www.cluebus.com/holly/gsdfaq.html
than decide what training you want to do with this dog/dogs. My advice is to start off with "functionable obedience" & Prevention and Problem solving type classes. This will give you a good assesment on what are you and your dog's strengths and weakneses when it comes to training. Below is a link supplied that can take you to all different types of Dog training. Find one that you are inerested in,email the person on the lnk and see if they can recommend a qualified trainer for your breed that is in close proximity to you. Also Can I suggest you check out some of the GSD dog websites such as http://p197.ezboard.com/bgsdlounge, or the AOL GSD messgae board, just to name a couple. Most people here can really help you walk through things while working with a trainer. best of luck

Here is a link that might be useful: all kinds of dog training links

I use a combination of clicker training and group classes for Jerri. The clicker is slower but if done correctly you are really letting the dog learn to figure things out for itself. I use that for training go outs, retrieving and scent discrimination. Sit,stay,down all that is done in the group classes. I'm also thinking about trying weave poles with a clicker. leerburg.com is a good site, lots of very knowledgeable folks but most of them are working dog people.

Lisa

Absolutely Working Lines, no doubt with that coat color. These dogs are way different than American AKC shepherds that are bred more for confirmation, to look pretty trotting around a show ring. Working lines are bred to stress high drives, temperament, endurance and handler bid-ability. These are the lines used for K9, military, search and rescue, etc. The best way to work with her is to get her into and keep her in high drive while training, but keep the sessions short. She is NOT going to do well in a traditional group class where everybody takes turns doing an exercise, she'll be bored and lose focus. Do not use any corrections in training until you are sure she understands the exercise but chooses to blow you off, that's only fair. If you use a PROPERLY fitted prong collar one or two good hard pops will be all you need, she'll get the message, respect your authority and be perfect after that. If you nag her ( Sit, sit, sit...) and she knows she can get away with it, you will have a monster on your hands. Also those halties and gentle leaders are the worst, think about it, they do not TEACH your dog anything, they FORCE them to not pull, they effect more compulsion than any prong or e-collar. I would strongly suggest that you try to make contact with these folks to get their recommendations for trainers familiar with working line GSD's.

http://www.southmetroatl.com/index.html

Do not let the protection stuff scare you away, just ask them for help finding you obedience training tailored to the breeding of your dog.

This is me and my girl during an obedience trial doing off leash heeling.

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Thanks for the info. How do you add photos directly to the post without specifying the link?