# Everything seems to be going wrong with my puppy's training



## CaliShepherd (Jun 24, 2015)

Hi all,

I knew that GSD puppies were hard (I have had one before) but I feel at a loss with my puppy and am turning here for support.

Also, if anyone knows of a good trainer in Temecula, CA please point me their direction.

I have a male GSD puppy, 20 weeks old. Here are the issues that I'm having the most problems with.

*Pulling on the leash. Whenever Leo sees another dog/something interesting he pulls desperately to get to them. I have him in a normal buckle collar right now, but he is getting really strong. I'm a smaller woman, so it's really hard for me to restrain him.

*Constantly jumping/biting on my chow chow who is 7 years old. I keep them separate almost all the time, but when they are together all he does is jump/bite/annoy her. Do they grow out of this?

*Barking. He barks at the neighbors in the backyard, and when on walks he barks and lunges when he hears other dogs barking. His hair also raises when this happens. He barks at people too.

*His energy. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but because of his less than stellar leash manners, it's a little difficult to exercise him. We have long sessions with the flirt pole, and trick learning, but nothing seems to tire him out.

I have heard suggestions for off leash hiking, but there are no nearby hiking trails really. Also, even though his recall is pretty good, I'm pretty certain he would run off if he saw something more interesting.

Leo has been to puppy class and puppy playtime. He has been socialized with people and in a variety of environments but suddenly he seems to be wary of everyone and I'm not sure why. Two weeks ago he would have been eager to lick and meet everyone. Now he is guarded when he meets people and doesn't like to be pet really. I am not forcing him to be pet, but I do want to know how to help him get over his fearfulness.

Wow, sorry for writing a novel! Kudos to whoever read the whole thing. If you have advice on any of the issues please help!!!

Leo is a smart dog. He learns tricks quickly, and I have only used positive training methods with him. I really hope there is a way to work through these issues, but right now I really feel at a loss.


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## mspiker03 (Dec 7, 2006)

No personal experience, but a good friend (who I trust) is very happy with Ted Bellmyer at 5ok9.com


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## Ellimaybel (Mar 16, 2014)

Not at all an expert but maybe I can offer some advice on some level...



*Pulling on the leash. Whenever Leo sees another dog/something interesting he pulls desperately to get to them. I have him in a normal buckle collar right now, but he is getting really strong. I'm a smaller woman, so it's really hard for me to restrain him.


You need to make yourself more interesting than whatever he sees. Good time to start carrying treats in your pocket. Jump, holler, yell, do whatever you have to do to redirect his attention back to you. Redirection is going to be your best friend in training. Be it treats or toys, your pup needs to find something so fascinating about you that when you bring him back to you he gets the greatest reward in the world.

*Constantly jumping/biting on my chow chow who is 7 years old. I keep them separate almost all the time, but when they are together all he does is jump/bite/annoy her. Do they grow out of this?

They do. Gunther did this to my little dog Cyclone all the time. I just kept them under strict supervision and separated A LOT. Now Gunther is 2 and leaves Cyclone alone except to "shake him down" when he comes back in the house. Apparently all of us have to pass the sniff test to gain reentry to the home.

*Barking. He barks at the neighbors in the backyard, and when on walks he barks and lunges when he hears other dogs barking. His hair also raises when this happens. He barks at people too.

This is where that redirection thing comes back into hand. I struggled for MONTHS with Gunther going to the fence and standing on it barking at people passing by. I started taking him out on a long lead. I found one in my garage that is about 20 feet long. Every time he would go to take off to the fence when someone was going by I would step on the end of the lead (bare hands hurt) and when he came back to me I praised the crap out of him and gave him treats out my pocket. Now, he is able to ignore most things... There are still a few that will affect him. There's a group of women that push their baby strollers past often. Usually they are moving so slow that I hear them coming and have him under control before they get there. There's a lady who walks her black GSD by my house almost at the same time everyday. I learned her patterns and always have him under control. There are days that I can have him sit and stare at the kong or treat in my hand so intently he never even notices anybody is going by until it's too late. Leash control, high amounts of happy praise, and redirection is the key.

*His energy. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but because of his less than stellar leash manners, it's a little difficult to exercise him. We have long sessions with the flirt pole, and trick learning, but nothing seems to tire him out.


Try some mental stimulation as well. If you can't afford to purchase dog treat puzzles (available on many websites, just search) do something simple... Take plastic cups and hide a treat under one and then mix them up like a magician would do. Let him find the treat. Hide treats or toys around the house while he is in another room and then guide him to them with general directions like "did you check the couch?" go left, no your other left, left you lovable dork, ok, go that way and turn in a circle. (LOL)... mental exercise is great also 

Hope at least some of this is a little helpful.. it's all advice I've gotten from many members on here.


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

Is this place close? Dog Quest - Dog Agility, Dog Obedience, and Puppy Socialization Training Classes- Site Map

I hate to say GSD pups are 'harder' to train, but I do think that the more experienced owners/handlers the easier the puppy is to raise. I know when I get a new puppy (even though I've now raised FOUR GSD's ) I do it knowing I'm starting puppy classes soon after they arrive and continuing classes for as long as I can (forever?). 

Keeping them mentally AND physically challenged and active is something I have to actually plan. So whether it's with agility or nosework or herding or obedience or tracking or.......it seems like as soon as I commit to the classes my pups suddenly start becoming so much better behaved 

Have you also been working on ---> http://www.germanshepherds.com/foru...191183-top-training-expectations-puppies.html


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## Wolfenstein (Feb 26, 2009)

Ellimaybel said:


> You need to make yourself more interesting than whatever he sees. Good time to start carrying treats in your pocket. Jump, holler, yell, do whatever you have to do to redirect his attention back to you. Redirection is going to be your best friend in training. Be it treats or toys, your pup needs to find something so fascinating about you that when you bring him back to you he gets the greatest reward in the world.


This is the only reason my girl is good out in public.  She's 8 months, now, and super strong. If I hadn't laid the groundwork I did with string cheese and working my way down to kibble, and if I'd let her do what she would have chosen to do on walks, she would be a lunging, barking disaster, haha! Nowadays, she might get distracted and hop or pull if something is too close, but breaking her focus and bringing her attention back to me is relatively easy, and the older she gets the better it gets.

We have a two-fold approach to walking. The first is how she gets rewarded. When we started, she would get string cheese every single time she looked back at me and gave me the slightest bit of attention. Keep in mind you don't want to bribe your dog by waving food in its face, but have something ready so you can mark that focus with a quick "Yes!" and shove food in his face. They pick up pretty quick that you're worth paying attention to. I also would randomly work on "Sit" while we're out, especially before crossing a street. This rewarding got scaled back over time to marking for looking back, but only handing off a reward while she's at my left, and now she only gets it after she focuses at a heel for a little distance, or after sitting or doing some other obedience. I also started downgrading to kibble some of the time, and now, kibble 99% of the time with a stinky pupperoni once in awhile. I adapt my rate of reward for the walk depending on how she's doing. If she seems really crazy or distracted, the rate and value goes up. If she's super attentive, she needs to work for it more. The thing I keep in mind, though, is that I never want her to go so long without a reward that she thinks, "Eh, this isn't worth it..." and quits getting excited about it.

The other part of the training is with the actual pulling. When we first, first started, I allowed a bit of pulling because she was still learning where the rewards were coming from. Once she had that figured out, we started with full on stops for her putting tension on the leash. If she doesn't slack up, I take a few steps backwards, that way she has no choice but to circle around. Once she does, I praise her and we start walking again. When you're first starting with this, expect a good amount of time before your dog finally figures out and gives up with the pulling, haha! Even now we'll have to do it a few times before getting going again if she's really nuts. But on those days, again, I notice what's going on and up my rate of reward, and that seems to fix it. At the very least I know that she's learned that pulling gets her nowhere, and actual heeling gets her food.

One last thing to consider is your puppy's collar. I had a **** of a time on a flat collar. I had a harness for a little bit, that seemed to at least get my pup out of the habit of pulling straight away because she'd gotten used to it. But my absolute favorite go-to collar is a martingale. Those are the ones that are sized to where it tightens around your dog's neck, but stops before it chokes them. They're really made so your dog doesn't back out of the collar. I love them because it distributes the pressure if your dog DOES pull, so it's not so tight on one spot, and I think it also gives them more of a physical cue that the leash is tight. They can feel it on their whole neck, so they have a better sense of when to slack up on the leash. Everyone has different things that works for them, for me it's definitely a martingale.


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## CaliShepherd (Jun 24, 2015)

Thanks for the advice everyone!

Wolfenstein, that was SO SO SO helpful! I think I really needed someone to break down exactly what to do like you did. Now I feel like I can have a plan of attack when I go on walks. I'm hoping that my terror can be as good as yours at 8 months, he's going to be so huge by then!

I'm definitely going to look into the martingale collar, sounds like a much better alternative.


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## Wolfenstein (Feb 26, 2009)

You're very welcome!  Good luck with your training, make sure you let us know how it goes! Remember not to put too much pressure on your dog to be perfect, reward often, especially at the beginning when you're first introducing the whole approach. You want to make sure to keep everything fun, fun, fun!!


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## gsforever (Apr 16, 2013)

Getting pup to focus on my eyes has helped greatly in training.


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## CaliShepherd (Jun 24, 2015)

I wanted to post an update!

I have been working on getting Leo to focus on me during walks instead of barking at other dogs barking. I have been more fun for him, and reward him every single time he looks at me. Today we walked by a house with a barking dog, AND Leo looked at me and followed my "watch me" command instead of barking!! He didn't bark at all!

This may seem like a small thing, but I am feeling so proud of him!


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## Wolfenstein (Feb 26, 2009)

That is so awesome, great work!!! It may seem small, but that is SUCH a great feeling when you have tangible progress like that! Every single time I get little things like that where my pup would previously have lost interest in me, I get super excited. It's also great to feel like one day you'll have a dog that isn't all over the joint when it comes to distractions, haha! Keep up the great work!!


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## B-Magnum (Jul 16, 2015)

*Needing ideas for recall.*

Hi to all. My GS puppy is now 20 weeks old and I am having fits with her. Due to neck surgery, I was a little slow to start a lot of training but did some in the house and back yard form 8 weeks old. I have trained Lab’s most of my life and never had any issues with them coming when called and retrieving and bringing the dummy back. Now we have this GS and she does not like to retrieve the ball. She will go after it but will stop short and does not want to give it back, will run if you move towards her and after a long while, will finally walk over whining and drop it by me sometimes. As for coming when called, BLAAAAA. I do treats and work her on sit (stay), heel and walks good on leash with choke chain and she will focus and work good most of the time, but if we are out back or on a walk and she knows I don’t have treats-she smells them, a lot of times she will not come and just ignore any come or sit command yet I know she knows them. She plays with and goes crazy with my 21 month old lab, sees her retrieve well, sit on command and come when called but that does not seem to matter. I have been trying to work her several times each day with mixed results. She just kind of does what she wants, when she wants and this is all new to me, as all my Labs worked great from a very young age. Is this just a GS thing or what suggestions might you all have? Our bonding is great and we love her to death but she can sure work on the buttons she likes to push and do her own thing no matter what. Yep, we have the jumping and biting a lot and work on that daily but I have to get her to come on command for many reasons including safety. Any help and advice is appreciated. Thanks Sorry for the long ramble.


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## B-Magnum (Jul 16, 2015)

Update, well things have gotten a little better with retrieving. By herself in the yard with her ball, she will come back to me, stop short for a minute then walk on up and let me take it to throw again right away with lots of praise. Now when both dogs have their balls and we are playing fetch, she stops short and won’t come in until I have the Lab sit, drop and I just wait, then she will wine and walk up to the Lab and push or jump on her and then I can get the ball from her. Better to play fetch by herself, less distraction I guess. For some reason, she will not learn the OFF command to not jump on us or others or the kitchen counter and chairs, as she gets very excited. Still working on things. Funny how some on here say it’s crazy till their about 2 or 3 years old, nooooooooo!!! LOL She is a lover when calm and some of the biting has settled down, thank god, and that’s what we love about her, her calm loving times.


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## Smithie86 (Jan 9, 2001)

Know Ted B and recommend him.


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

You can try empty soda cans on the edge of the counter. If she jumps, they will fall and make noise. If that doesn't work, try double sided sticky tape. 

I taught mine a Drop It command, similar to Leave It. It works now for the ball.


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## Apexk9 (Sep 13, 2015)

CaliShepherd said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I knew that GSD puppies were hard (I have had one before) but I feel at a loss with my puppy and am turning here for support.
> 
> ...


You will need to work with a Prong or a E-Collar. 5 Months old and this isn't even when their real power comes out. 

I would check out Leash Pressure by Tyler Muto to learn how to introduce a Prong then watch a video of the use of a Prong either by Tyler or Jeff @Solidk9training if you want to use a E-Collar I would look up Lou Castle he showcases a lot of good stuff.

You can also try using no Prong or E-Collarit will take more like a lot especially the leash reactivaty and might never be as solid depending on your dog.

He is trying to play with the Chow Chow I would find him a friend. Someone with a puppy around the same age that is ok with other dogs and let them play great way to tire him out as well.


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## Achilles0557 (Jul 24, 2015)

My boy turns 20 weeks old this week. He pulls and began barking as well. The barking started at about 4-41/2 months. 

As far as the barking, what I assumed is that he was bored of learning sit, down, heel, stand, and leave it over and over again. So I started working with him on competitive heeling. The barking still occurs every once in a while, but not nearly as bad now that I am engaging him with new learning. We train 6-8 times per day at about 5 minute sessions. I also throw training with a tug in as additional play sessions.

The pulling, I bought a prong collar last week and used it last night. I had to take a few links out to make sure it was properly fitted, and it works. There is some training that needs to take place before you bring this on the street though. If used properly, just a week tug on the prong will be sufficient. I would watch videos on how to use this tool before just putting it on him. 

Good work on the attention walking! AWESOME!


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

I will also use a prong if absolutely necessary. A K-9 trainer suggested it to us with a previous high drive GSD who could not be controlled at all in class. It was partly my fault for letting it get out of hand by 5 months and partly an energetic and very powerful dog, who wanted to play more than train. I've also tried a Halti, with good results. The dogs hate it and it must be used correctly, but it's nice to have options. Eventually they get used to it. But they can't look up at you while heeling.


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