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GERMAN SHEPHERD PUPS
Here is the third article on caring for your new puppy.
In Article No 1, I
outlined some of the principles for looking after your puppy and while this
information may not be complete, it will give you some of the issue that you
need to cover. If you have not read Article 1, go to
this link or use the link in the right hand side column.
In article No 2, I continued with more information as your puppy starts to grow
and again this information is based on my experience. If you have not read
Article 2, go to this link or use the link in the right hand side
column. Feel free to
drop me a line if you have any questions or require advice and while I do not
profess to be an expert, I will provide what advice I can, but if in doubt on
anything, go see your Veterinarian for more advice. In this article I
will attempt to provide information on training your Puppy as he or she grows older.
A few
points to remember:
-
Praise
your mate every time he/she does something correct
-
Chastise
by word with a loud and stern voice when they do something wrong - 'NO'. Never, never hit
your puppy or dog, as this will cause long and far reaching effects, which I
will relate to in later articles. Your puppy will if looked after give you years
of enjoyment and obedience, but remember if you ill treat him or her, be
prepared to take the consequences, as then tend to be like elephants they never
forget.
-
One
member of the family is to be the main Handler or Trainer, as the German
Shepherd will respond to other family members, but it must only have one master
or mistress and if this is a female member of the family, they must be prepared
to be forceful or stern when required and be able to control 40kg+ of muscle
when the puppy is fully grown. You can take it from me that when my JAZ
(44kg) sees a cat before me, I have my work cut out for me until he is under control.
Okay here are some guidelines on training based on my experience, I will not
explain everything as i will be writing for ever, but if you want to ask any
questions, feel free to drop me a line:
-
Collar - I use
a choker chain and this is what I will be referring to in all my advice.
The first day you take your pooch for a walk ensure that the first chain is small enough to go over the pets
head without causing any problems and has enough room for expansion. Hold
one large ring in your left hand flat with the hole level, and the other in your
right at full stretch above the first. Pass or drop the chain linking both rings
into the ring in your left hand so that a loop forms under with the chain on the
right hand side, Place this loop with the upper ring in your right hand to the
right so that when the loop is placed over your pooch's head the right ring in
on your right hand facing him/her. If you are not sure or confused, which way this is contact me and I will
assist. If you have followed the directions correctly when you pull on the
choker chain it tightens and when you release it automatically release.
Doing it the other way it does not release and will cause discomfort to your
pet.
-
Collar Use - I only use my choker chain when I take Jaz out for his walks and
this is the only time he wears anything around his neck. I got him used to
the chain during his 12 - 16 weeks while he was house bound for varying periods
during the day just placing it around his neck to get him used to the chain.
The first time I took him for a walk I placed the chain around his neck as
explained above and never used it again only when taking him for walks, so now when I get his lead
and chain he jumps for joy because he knows that it is walk time.
-
Lead
- As mentioned in Article 2, I use a strong cotton lead with a hook clasp which connects to the choker
chain and a loop grip for the hand.
-
Holding the lead -
Leads should always be held in the right hand, hold your hand out vertical like
a Karate chop and place the loop over the wrist and then back over and through
the V made by the index finger and
thumb, closing your hand to a fist with Thumb upwards, so that the lead
basically passes from the top through to the bottom down over the lead. For larger dogs,
where the lead exits your right fist under neath, place your left hand under the right
clasping the lead so that now you have a two handed double fist grip. When
your pouch gets stronger and pulls more this grip is essential for your control,
for puppies it is not required, but is good to get into the habit of using this
double handed grip ( one potato two potato type format).
-
Dog
Position - Your pet should walk to your left at all times and thus when
holding the lead as above, your have the whole weight of your body at your use.
-
Sit
Command - With your lead and choker chain on, position your pet to your
left, then with a small tug at the lead command sit. This should not work
first time, but if it does this is a bonus, so shorten your right hand grip to
just above the chain, place your left hand on his rump and pushing down with
your left hand at the same time pulling up with your right command command (not
yell) Sit.
Repeat this a few times until your pet gets used to the command 'Sit' and does
it without you needing to push down on his/her rump. Remember praise,
praise and praise again every time your pet gets it right. This exercise
should continue at least half an hour per day until it is second nature that
when stopping your pooch automatically sits every time. Once your happy go
on to the next command,
-
Heel
- With your pet in the sit position, every time you step off you should
start with your left foot, using
your left hand at the same time move it in a down wards motion in front of
his/her eyes to encourage moving off and
command 'HEEL' pulling gentle on your lead at the same time. Starting with
the left foot gets your mate used to starting to move when he sees your left
foot move, if you use your right foot your mate will not see it until you are
virtually completing your first step and thus you end up pulling him/her. Walk a few
spaces and stop commanding your pet to sit. Step off again with your left
foot and again command heel gently pulling the lead and moving your hand
downwards in fron of his/her eyes. After a few times he
or she should get the idea and move off every time you take this action.
Eventually you should be able to stop commanding heel or tugging on the lead as
your pet will get used to the moving of your left foot.
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Tom Maloney has been active on the Internet for a number of years,
is open, honest and a platinum member of Prosper With Integrity,
come and visit the Internet’s Premier Small Business Home for
entrepreneurs! http://mpamads.com/?u=188327&l=3561 or mail to
tom@makeadamoney.com
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