# Since this is the Brag section :)



## Nurse Bishop (Nov 20, 2016)

What commands did your GSD know and at what age? Inga is 10 months old and she knows 25 commands:

Sit
Down
Stay 
Sit, Down, Stay (from distant hand signals)
Stand
Up (get up on something)
Off
Load Up (truck)
Off Load 
Jump (as into water or through hoops)
Get It
Bring It
Out!
Kennel
No!
OK (the release command)
Come
Heel 
Eat!Eat! (verschlingen)
Lets Go
Relax
Enough (as in enough barking)
No Bite (stop mouthing)
What Is It? (Very important, not over used. When Inga is barking in in alarm, barking while jumping up off the floor, this means run out there and find out what the heck it is. We can do this, we live on a ranch)

still working on - 
Find it (tracking)
Drag (while biting onto her knotted rope and lying on side, allow herself to be dragged across the lawn)
Leave It
Guard

My man and I taught her and we never went to any trainer. We put in the time to work her at least twice a day. These are 15 minute sessions mixed with play. She gets exercised first to get her puppy energy burnt off somewhat so she can focus. She gets taken to big box stores and put through her paces on leash under distraction, gets taken to dog parks if one side is empty and worked under heavy distraction. 

We started when Inga was 6 weeks old with Don Sullivan's methods and equipment. The reward is praise and play, not becoming a treat dispenser. When she became a big strong dog, she is a European working lines GSD, we went to a prong collar to keep her from pulling. We also use an e collar set on vibrate that is effective up to 500 yards for distance work. If she went after a calf or a deer it can give a strong correction. But they have to be trained not to even look at a "critter" first. E collars are actually a lot of work. It is to reinforce the commands the dog already knows. mostly we use the lowest settings- tone and vibrate. We are fortunate to have the time to do these things. Inga is my first GSD and is a joy to train and to work with. Now the teenage attitude is starting to appear but we will get through it.


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## dogma13 (Mar 8, 2014)

I'm afraid I never kept track that closely.We spend most of our time wandering off leash in the forests and fields.So after their names,dinner!,crate,and potty, they learned Come and Leave It by four months.After that I couldn't say for sure.


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## Nurse Bishop (Nov 20, 2016)

Thats the way all my previous dogs have been, just basic sit and come when called. They were all sighthounds, Greyhounds, Whippets, Russian Wolfhounds.They don't need to be trained. They just want to lie on a pillow in the house and then disappear with you and your horse at 40mph. But this is my first GSD with the intelligence that they have, so I wanted to check this out. Its true!


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## dogma13 (Mar 8, 2014)

I know what you mean about the wolfhounds.I kept one for my niece last year for a few months.He was not the sharpest tool in the shedBut he was a sweetheart,got along great with my pups, and it was a beautiful thing to see him run full out.Gsds are definitely super smart and mine have always learned quickly.


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## Nurse Bishop (Nov 20, 2016)

The Sighthounds have the suspended gallop. That is, all four feet off the ground with each leap and their back curved like a Cheetah. They are all very soft, sweet dogs, nothing like this GSD I have now. She is a sweet girl but also smart and hard.


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## carmspack (Feb 2, 2011)

Nurse Bishop said:


> What commands did your GSD know and at what age? Inga is 10 months old and she knows 25 commands:
> 
> Sit
> Down
> ...



oh sure ! all the easy stuff . You could probably get the dog to jump through rings of fire -- backwards -- but can you keep your canis aquaticus out of water? That my friend is the question.
(just having fun)
think you are doing a great job -- beautiful dog and beautiful part of the world that you live in !


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## Nurse Bishop (Nov 20, 2016)

Heck yes I can keep her out of the water. Come! Heel. Thats it.

My question is--- how many commands do other people's pups know and what is their age?


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## Jenny720 (Nov 21, 2014)

Max 2 years old
His name
Lets go 
Come
Sit/sits
Down
Stand
Stay
Okay
Finished
Go get it
Give
Touch
Heel
Fuss
Place
Spot
Follow me
Leave it
No
Enough
No biting
No jumping
Knock it off
Certain toys -ball etc
Roll over
Say hi
Paw
Bang bang 
Back up
In 
Circle
Reverse
Beg
Kisses
Mush
Right 
Left 
Stop
Tunnel
Over 
On
Search 
All done
Get out
Way to me
Come by
Get around

Our pup 16 weeks old 
Really just working on her coming getting her attention with distractions-(max)
Her name
Let's go
Come
Sit 
Down
Working on stay
Kisses
Leave it
Crate

Topper - chihuahua 7 years old
His name 
Sit
Down
Stay
Okay 
Finished 
Come
Tunnel
In 
On
Over
Dig 
Crawl
Crate
Go to your spot
Knock it off
No


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## Nurse Bishop (Nov 20, 2016)

Wow!


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## CatChandler (Jul 25, 2016)

Not to detract attention from your training, which is impressive, but I don't think it's a question of how many commands your pups learn at what age. GSDs can learn commands with only a few repetitions, so it's a question of how much you're teaching them.

You know Chaser the border collie? He's called the 'smartest dog in the world.' He is in all likelihood NOT the smartest dog in the world. His owner has had dogs his whole life and was a psychology professor. When he retired, training with Chaser and building Chaser's vocabulary became his hobby.

I think that's really interesting and it definitely highlights that I'm the dumb one in the equation when it comes to training my dogs


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## Galathiel (Nov 30, 2012)

In addition to the ones in the OP (I didn't bother with no bite, he's never been a mouther; load or off load..I just use up and out), Varik knows:

Relax more (and more) .. until he ends up flat on his side.
Roll Over
Crawl
Gib Laut
Fuss
Platz
Sitz
Bleib (I'm mentioning these because he knows them in English and German)
Inside voice (silent bark .. so cute)
Please get my slippers (complete with death shake)
Help me up (twirls around and presents his side to me so I can put my arms around his chest to get off the couch)
Where's your toy, ball, stick, kong (he knows his individual toys)
Wave
Paw
Touch
Take
Bring
Hug
Perch (he rears up and curls his front legs around my husbands arm)

Forgetting some .. oh well. What Cat says is true ... Varik learned a lot of these after ONE TIME of shaping it. He also knows a lot of English that aren't obedience type commands, like we have to spell O.U.T. and he even knows the spelling now, a zillion words for food, eat, supper, dinner, etc etc. Also, he knows phrases that I've said over time, like when I say 'lets go close the gate' and 'let's go throw this in the trash' for example. Also things like the word that means I've spotted our deadly enemy... "BUG"!


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## Jenny720 (Nov 21, 2014)

Nurse Bishop said:


> Wow!


I think most German shepherds can learn pretty much whatever their owners teach them obedience wise. They are very different from many breeds. Even though our gsd knows many commands he can be a pain in the butt at times. I am crazy about him and admire how quick he can learn something new and will make me learn new things so I can teach him . Our new pup the same very smart and a very easy pup so far. Our chihuahua will not sit on hard wood floors only soft rugs-lol! It may take him longer to learn something but he gives it his best- they to are very smart in a different way.


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## Kazel (Nov 29, 2016)

My pup is a german shepherd/lab so a mutt but I'll still brag about her. She is just over a year old(born last September) and can be a pain in the butt. She's a bit too smart for her own good and stubborn, I really need to work with her more. She knows hand signs and verbal words.

Knows-
Her name
Sit/Sedni (Sedni is what I have been using although I mostly use handsigns. She is supposed to sit until released.)
Lay Down/Platz(same theory as sedni but laying down instead)
Heel/With me(heel-left side) (with me-right side)
Appore/got get it( release command to go get her ball/toy whatever was thrown)
Bring back her toy to your hand. She will drop her ball/toy in your hand.
Bang(play dead)
Bed (place they have in the living room to lay down)
Kennel (go to her actual kennel)
Back up
Load up
Go outside/inside
Loslaken(not a real word as far as I know, release command to relax and do whatever)
Debout (stand up)
Balance a treat on her nose
Hold (not move)
Drop 
She does water retrieval, good swimmer

Working on-
Boundaries, she know property boundaries but trying to get her to stay away from vehicles pulling into the driveway(mastiff taught her to run up to them, trying to train them both away from it) or people coming into the house until they are in the living room.
Rollover (she can't seem to understand it but our mastiff picked it up while I was trying to teach her)
Crawl (she will only crawl a little bit before she gets back up, she does on her own all the time though, very sneaky)
Spin 
Hold onto toy/carry it
Go find your toy, she only gets it about half the time, otherwise she is convinced you have it somwhere
I'm trying to decide if I want to train her to shed hunt or not, she has a good searching pattern



I don't really do any treat training just praise and play. Occasionally I do little exercises with her with treats but that's just for her to have some fun/get some treats. Other than for balancing a treat on her nose obviously.


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## Nurse Bishop (Nov 20, 2016)

I want to teach Inga to jump into my arms when someone yells Snake! Now.... Inga weighs half as much as I do so I should be able do this.:wink2:

I also want to teach her to Guard, as in a place, person or a thing. Probably I'll have to learn how from the Schutzhund people.

Lots of people train their dogs at home, but what about obedience under distraction?


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## Nurse Bishop (Nov 20, 2016)

Nurse Bishop said:


> What commands did your GSD know and at what age? Inga is 10 months old and she knows 25 commands:
> 
> Sit
> Down
> ...


 Thanks for posting a link to this. Zamp von Thermados is just one ancestor seven generations back. There are many other European ancestors. This GSdog of mine is the most intelligent dog I have ever known. It would be a waste of her to not train her to the max. Just today I took her out first time into a running herd of cows and calves. She heeled like glue to my knee and sat calmly to the relax command. This could save her life because dogs can be shot dead for chasing cattle in Texas. She can be put into a down from a quarter mile off and then be called to heel with hand signals. And she is still a puppy.


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## Saito (Dec 3, 2015)

I don't feel like typing up a list, nor thinking of everything. Don't have ages to go with things. A lot of commands are multipurpose, anyway. A solid recall to heel position can essentially take care of like 50 situations.

But whenever I'm at a dog park, people are very impressed with my boy (note: not a gsd). 



Nurse Bishop said:


> Lots of people train their dogs at home, but what about obedience under distraction?


Train at home with high levels of distractions. Some of your dog's favorite toys and food (not kibble...use raw beef, chicken wings, etc). Suddenly run around. Have others do distracting & loud things in your yard.

Walk off leash in the woods when you get comfortable. Remember to not assume a command that works 15 feet away will work from 100 yards away right off the bat.

Then work on things at dog parks when they aren't super busy. Then work with more dogs mixed in as time goes on.


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