Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a 5 1/2 month old GSD. He's from German bloodlines. Before him I had an 18 yr old German Shepherd/Greyhound mix. She was a very calm, well mannered dog. My problem is that my GSD, Tank, is VERY hard to train. He is very good at sit, down, come, heel, speak, and stay, when he wants to be. If he doesn't want to do these things, he simply ignores me. I know he hears me, I've had his ears checked, and with those satellite dishes, not much gets past him.
We have had formal training together. The trainer suggested a shock collor that has a tone only. Use the tone to get his attention. If I'm out in public, he listens and responds. If we're at home he is so energetic and doesn't listen.
I was recently told to try PETSMART kindergarten. I have had GSD's all my life and trained all of them on my own. All have been females until Tank. Are males harder to train. He is a little more aggressive. He likes mouthing and biting. Especially my 4 yr old grandson. I am at my wits end, I love him dearly. I just am at a loss. PLEASE HELP!!!

For starters he's only 5 1/2 mos. old! You just can't expect perfection from a pup that age. Consider yourself lucky that he listens when you're out in public with all those distractions. That is usually where people have the most problems. Personally I can't see the pointof putting him back into "kindergarten" if he's already been through basic obedience traning. How about moving on to the next step in that? If he continues on he will have more challenges and more to think about. Mouthing should be nipped in he bud- however you can still deal with it and stop it. When he starts to mouth I would give him a very firm "NO!" and then ignore him. That's no fun for him and he most likely not repeat it- but it will take some time. Some people put Bitter Apple on their hands, etc. so that if he does nip it is extremely unpleasant.
Just a couple of my thoughts.
Nancy

My "step-dog" is a male GSD that sounds like he might have been much like your pup. They had a choke on him, and a pinch, and then progressed to a shock collar. My husband was given this dog because the previous owner couldn't have the dog near his grandkids -- not for true aggression problems, but the problems like you describe. What it took to work with this dog is a trainer that understands GSDs and doesn't use any of the collars mentioned above -- just a rolled collar. You have to motivate him to want to work for you, that begins with developing the right kind of relationship with him. The mouthing and biting isn't that hard to fix actually.

While I'm sure that some Petsmart trainers are pretty good, the ones I've known have had very little experience. I agree with the previous post that your pup is beyond puppy kindergarten, but he is still also a pup. I would find a trainer that doesn't use pain to train and observe a few classes. Here is a list of apdt trainers -- might be a place to start looking.
http://www.apdt.com/

I agree with both replies you've received. And to reiterate, you have a 5month old!!!!!

You can't compare this dog to others, you got what sounds like a higher energy german dog who's more maintanence than your previous dog.

How much exercise is he getting at home? A tired dog is a good dog!!! I also would seek out a trainer who is geared towards GSD's,,never would I throw a shock collar (even if your not shocking) on a 5 month old. They usually have the attention span of a gnat!!!!! Be happy he's as good as he is right now!!

Continue with obedience classes with someone other than Petsmart.

Your boy is still just a baby, at 5 and a half months you are expecting way too much from him....he won't even get his "Big Boy Brain" until he's about two years old lol As far as his hearing, keep in mind that those ears, no matter how large, are strictly ornamental right now, he's just a baby.

My boy is 15 months old now and he is just starting to show some common sense but he is still very much a puppy. It sounds like your boy is very high energy and you'll need to find a way to exercise his mind as well as his body. Some formal obedience lessons certainly wouldn't hurt, they're also a great way to socialize them (which is extremely important with GSD's) If he already has the basics down I wouldn't waste time or money in a puppy class, maybe try an intermediate class with him.

As far as the nipping and mouthing, I agree with the previous posts, you need to get him out of that habit as quickly as possible before you end up with an 80lb nippy monster on your hands. I don't think there is one particular method of teaching bite inhibition that will work for every dog, so you'll probably have to try several methods before you find what works for Tank. Telling my boy "No" and ignoring him was a complete disaster, it simply made him more exuberant to say the least lol Yet the same method worked like a charm with my friends dog. We also tried redirecting Nitros attention, by putting an appropriate chew toy in his mouth whenever he started mouthing, that was a no go with him as well (stubborn little bugger)after speaking with our vet we tried lemon juice...I mixed lemon juice and water in a squirt bottle and everytime he started, he got a quick squirt directly in the mouth (watch out for his eyes though if you try this method). After 2 days he had completely stopped nipping.

Good luck with him and keep us updated with your progress.

while your boy is young I don't see why you can't train him. At 5 months there attention span is more so than their given credit for. I would suggest instead of a discipline based training system use a combination of praise and treats. they respond much better with treats at this age. Becareful not to overtrain. I curently own 3 german shepherds 1 girl and 2 boys. the girl was the easiest to train. one of my boys sounds exactly like your tank. Stubborn and sneaky. Stay firm but use treats and lots of praise and he should come around. I personally dont think your overtraining at all just make sure you throw in a play session every once and a while. As long as you maintain a good healthy relationship with him he'll respond.

good luck and keep us updated

Hi I own both a Cane Corso (5 1/2 months puppy) and a female German Shepherd of 2 years old. My female is a mellow sweetie, so I will let her aside regarding this problem. I will rather take the example of my Cane Corso. He is a dominant breed and he did all that your pup is still doing. You have to start correcting that biting problem and with something that's going to work. We tried the NO, the bitter apple, the Ouch, ignoring him...nothing works and he nipped more and more. Nipping is for fun but also to show dominance. Then we met an awesome trainer who told us about the tongue piching. When he bites you, you put your thumb on his tongue and you push down til he whines. Then release and let the dog go. After 4 times of that, he will be done. That mustn't be done on a soft dog, but on a hard dominant one. If he tries to get at your hand when you release his tongue, roll him on his back til he settles down and looks away. You want your dog to respect you and obey you, not to be scared. We have never hit our puppy, but we don't let him go away with nothing either. When you give him a command, be sure he is obeying. If he doesn't want to sit when you order, push his butt on the ground and say sit, then praise.
I have learnt a lot with my Cane corso, I am available for any advice, tip you'll need. Good luck.