How to Make Your Dog to High Five

Dogs are generally very smart. In fact better than human at such a case. They can think and adopt easily when they are happy and willing to learn. As long as your dog is OK with what your trying to teach him , it will be easy for the dog owner to unleash the potential of your super dog.

Dog owners always insist on how to teach a dog to high five since the common attitude has been set around that , high five is the beginning stage of dog training. As I referred in my previous article about Puppy Training Advice , puppies start learning your commands when they are 3 weeks old. It’s best to start your training when they  love to learn.

TEACH YOUR DOG TO HIGH FIVE

Are you done with setting up the basic needs for your dog! then it’s good to proceed further. Sit,stay,heel are the very basic puppy training part. Once your dog have mastered it, make him ready for the cool doggy trick that How to Make Your Dog to High Five is easier than you think.

Dog experts found lots of methods , but here am explaining about simple steps I found. Dog owner need to have distraction free zone and simple dog treat to encourage your dog performance .

1. Notice your dog position. Have your dog sit on the floor, then you also need to sit on the floor facing your dog.Be close to him so that he will be able to touch you with his paw.
2. Take your dog treat and place it in your palm and make a fist. Hold your hand , palm down, under your dog’s nose few inches away from his face. Your dog may small the treats and paw at your hand.
3. If he make a contact , each when he paw at your hand reward him with your treats .Repeat this process until your dog consistently touches your hand for the treat.
4. Slowly start move hour hand slightly to the side, Make sure he will still reach up and touch your hand for the treat. If he does this consistently , you’re ready to move to the next step.
5. Open your hand in high five position , facing your dog  and raise it in front of him. Treat him each time when he touches  your palm.
6. Repeat this and continue rewarding him for touching your open palm and now add the verbal cue “High Five!” each time he touches your hand.
7. Keep practicing and reward your dog along with the verbal cue until he does the behavior consistently.
8. Now try giving him the verbal cue while raising your palm and see if he will give you a high five..

Keep practicing will make your dog to be very familiar with the verbal cue and  make your dog to high five with no time.

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Training a German Shepherd Dog

Training a German shepherd requires a lot of time and attention to the dog.

There are several key things that need to happen when a German shepherd is a puppy to help it become the calm, balanced and adult it should be.

Firstly you have to aim at making it socialized with other dogs. You can achieve this by taking it to a puppy dog park or arranging play dates.by so doing the dog will become a much friendlier animal to live around.

The other thing is to avoid being too harsh on the dog especially when it is a puppy. You should avoid yelling or hitting the puppy. German shepherds that are abused as young dogs tend to imprint with more aggressive behavior as adults.

Finally, it is important that your puppy learns to recognize you as its master. Being firm, quiet, and praising good behavior, all go a long way in helping a puppy learn how it is to respond as an adult.

You should establish your leadership role at an early age by for example teaching your puppy to walk and make sure that it follows after you through doors, as that is a sign of the respecting your role as pack leader to let you go first.

Provide puppies with chew toys and make sure they get plenty of exercise to help them work off their orneriness.

NOTE: dogs are best trained when they are young so at their tender age it is when you can instill all that you require in them.

 German Shepherds training tips

The dog should be fed before training. Dogs respond to food as a reward after the training as well as before the training. If you tell a dog to sit and reward him with a treat, he will learn it, however, you will need to reinforce this many times. Dogs seem to remember and respond better to training after he has been given food. The training seems to sink in and stick more readily after food rather than before a treat.

Begin your training attempts with a German shepherd puppy. If you start out with a puppy, you have the opportunity to shape and mold its personality and develop that trusting relationship. You never really know what an older dog has been through in life and how that might affect his temperament.

Then play with your puppy. You will want a puppy that is playful and not fearful.

While doing all this one should try very much to ensure that the dog recognizes that you are the boss and it should take up commands from you.

The training sessions should not spend more than 20 minutes. Spend even less time for younger puppies. This is because their attention span is short; they get tired; your patience will be worn thin trying to train an over tired puppy. Training has to be upbeat and happy in order to get the maximum response from the dog.

You can also enroll your German shepherd puppy in a basic or puppy obedience class. Your puppy should be 8-10 weeks old for this first class. One person only should give the commands, regardless of how many people are in your family or will be living with the dog. German Shepherds will acknowledge one master and will respond to that one person. Later, as the dog grows older and learns the hierarchy, he will take orders from all members of the family.

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Stop German Shepherd Barking Problems Once and for All

German Shepherd barking can become a problem for a variety of reasons. But as dog owners we’d be unreasonable to expect our dogs never to bark. Dogs are made to bark, it’s an essential method of communication that dogs can’t do without.

The trick is rather to get excessive barking under control.

Before we can work on how to get our German Shepherd’s barking under control we must first wrap our heads around the reasons why dogs bark.

6 Reasons for Excessive German Shepherd Barking

Breed-Specific Function

All dogs have a breed specific function. In your German Shepherd’s case it’s guarding and herding. In a working environment barking is the way your German Shepherd fulfills this role. German Shepherds also find barking self-rewarding. It burns excess energy and satisfies your dog’s natural guarding instinct.

Because of this, excessive German Shepherd barking is a problem many owners struggle with.

Protecting their Territory

Dogs are territorial and will without fail bark at a threat to his territory. Often as the threat moves closer the barking will become more intense.

Your German Shepherd’s body language will be aggressive like a raised tail and raised hackles along the spine.

Alarmed or Startled

Sometimes your dog will bark at a sound or an object, usually when he is startled.

For example: my male GSD was once startled by a date that fell from a tree onto an object he was investigating.  Although the sound wasn’t loud it startled him into barking.

Saying Hello and Playing

This is always a happy bark accompanied by tail wagging and running around.

Asking for Attention

Some dogs will use barking to communicate if they want something.

For example: the need to go outside, asking for food or playing. In this case there are certain times an owner should not reinforce barking.

Separation Anxiety

Separation anxiety is a subject all on its own. In most cases it is excessive barking accompanied with compulsive behavior. This could be; running in circles, pacing and destructive behavior.

3 Things that will Never Get German Shepherd Barking Under Control

Punishing your dog by hitting, kicking or a raised hand in the ‘ready to smack’ position. This will scare your dog and cause mistrust. And in the case of attention seeking barking it will only reinforce the behavior.

Shouting at your dog will make him think you’re joining in with the barking. Shouting will not make your dog stop barking. In most cases your dog will turn a deaf ear and continue barking.

Using a bark collar. This will cause your dog considerable pain and discomfort. It is not a proven method to stop barking. It will also cause negative feelings in your dog. These feelings can be associated with a person or animal present when shock is applied. This equals aggression.

By now you’re asking:

What should I do to get rid of German Shepherd Barking problems?

Using a paired or opposite cue is the most effective method to get rid of German Shepherd barking.  There are two different ways you can use this technique.

So how does this work?

#1 Teach Your German Shepherd to Bark on Command

Teaching Your German Shepherd the ‘speak’ ‘quiet’ cues. Speaking or barking on command is method that is also associated with trick training. But it’s just as effective in altering excessive barking behavior.

To begin with, the trick is to only reward your dog when you want him to bark. This will ensure that you don’t reinforce the excessive barking.

6 Steps I used to alter Charley’s excessive barking…

• Get your dog excited. Throw his toy, jump up and down or make barking noises. The point here is to get him over-the-top excited!
• Once your dog is barking open and close your hand as shown in the pictures – this is your hand signal. Do this while saying the word ‘speak’.
• Mark and reward each time your your dog barks.

Teach ‘speak’ with hand signals and curb German Shepherd barking

German Shepherd Barking: Use Hand Signals to teach your dog to speak

Once your dog ‘gets it’, the next step is not to reward for more than one bark at a time. Mark and reward is important to show him you only want one bark.

Once your dog fully understands the ‘speak command’ it’s time to teach the opposite cue, ‘quiet’.

• Follow the same steps by getting your dog excited and revved up. This will make him bark.
• Once your dog is barking put your open hand just in front of his nose. Now say the word ‘quiet’ in a firm but kind voice.
• The second your dog stops barking mark and reward his behavior.

Your German Shepherd will soon have the ‘a-ha moment’. He’ll quickly make the connection that ‘quiet’ and your hand signal means ‘stop barking’.

#2 Counter-Conditioning and Desensitization

Counter-conditioning and desensitization also work on the principal of pairing.  In this case you’ll pair something your dog regards as good – like cheese – in the presence of the thing that’s causing your dog to bark.

• So your first step is to pin-point the exact thing that makes your dog bark.  Like the postman, motorcycles, joggers, cyclists etc.

Let’s use a mail van in this example…

• The next step is to start counter-conditioning your dog in the presence of the mail van.  It’s important to start at a distance your dog still feels comfortable at.

If you get too close, too soon it might feel like waterboarding to your dog.  She could become more agitated and even fearful, so go slowly.

• Keep a close eye on your dog’s body language.  If your dog starts barking, immediately call her attention to you and treat her.

Your treats MUST be high value – more valuable than the satisfaction of reacting to the mail van.

If you want to find out which treats your dog finds the highest value, check out my post on dog learning and do the little experiment.  Your dog will let you know which treats she likes best!

Follow these steps and be consistent, as your dog becomes more desensitized, you can move closer and closer to the mail van.

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German Shepherd Puppy Biting? Take Charge Like This

German Shepherd puppy biting is one of the key behaviors you should take charge of as soon as possible.

Ignoring or encouraging biting behavior can lead to it spinning out of control.  And once your puppy is older biting could mean big problems…  Like puncture wounds, legal battles, confiscation or worse – euthanasia.
Keep in mind that your German Shepherd puppy will one day be a strong and muscular dog.  Adult males can weigh anywhere between 30 – 40 kg (66 – 88 lbs) and  females between 22 – 32 kg (49 – 71 lbs).

And they have a powerful scissor-like bite exerting more than 1060 Newtons or 238 lbf of force.  Trying to control the strong bite of an adult dog could end in disaster for you and your dog.

Before we look at how to take charge of your German Shepherd puppy biting we should first understand a few key things about biting…

Behavior or Temperament

It’s important for you to realize the difference between behavior and temperament…

• Puppy biting is a behavior and it’s something all puppies do.
• The reason for puppy biting is temperament.  Certain dog breeds are more prone to biting than others.

Biting is normal

Yes, biting is a normal behavior for puppies and dogs.  I mean think about it…  If a dog is upset, he’s not going to hire an attorney and sue you!  No, he’s going to bite.

It’s our responsibility to teach our dogs not to bite through training.

Exploring

Puppies explore their environment through their mouths, very much like human babies do.  Your puppy will put anything in his mouth, including your fingers and limbs!

Puppies SHOULD bite

Shock, horror!  You read that right, puppies should bite.

Right now you’re thinking:

Hang on Rosemary!  I thought you just said it’s my responsibility to teach my German Shepherd puppy NOT to bite…

But stay with me here…

Puppies should bite so that they CAN learn that biting hurts.  It’s the exact same way they’d learn that biting hurts if they were biting other puppies in a play session.

You should use your German Shepherd’s natural biting behavior as a training opportunity.

Before we get to the good stuff, I’d like to highlight the BIGGEST mistake I see a lot of owners make…

Don’t expect your puppy to know what you want him to do unless you teach him first!

For example: it’s unfair to yell at your puppy when he bites you during a play session if you’ve never taught him not to bite.

If you do, the result will be that your pup won’t bite YOU anymore.  But he’ll still bite other members of the family, visitors or even the postman.

Playing is very important for you and your puppy and you should be able to play.  But there have to be boundaries. What you don’t want is a puppy that has a habit of mouthing that becomes harder and harder as your puppy grows stronger.

So how do you inhibit German Shepherd puppy biting?

During Play Sessions

The best time to do this is during a play session between you and your puppy.


I suggest initiating play sessions with your puppy as often as possible until you have taught your puppy to have a soft mouth.  Here are the steps you should follow to teach your puppy what the appropriate behavior is…

1. Allow your puppy to mouth your finger or hand during play.
2. The moment he bites down too hard or applies any pressure yelp out the word ‘ouch!’.
3. Immediately get up and walk away.

To begin with your puppy might not use his mouth, but as he becomes more and more aroused he’ll be more likely to bite down.  The moment he does so, play should stop.

This is one of those training session where using a lot of tactile praise is good.  This reminds your pup that you still love him.  It’s only the hard biting that you’re not happy about.

Redirect to something appropriate

Redirecting your puppy’s mouthing onto something more appropriate by using toys.  Some puppies will prefer soft toys while others will prefer something rubbery like a kong toy.  Other puppies might not like soft or rubbery toys but rather a rope toy.  Only buy purchasing some of these toys will you learn which you puppy likes best.

Kong toys are great because you can fill one end with something delicious your puppy loves.  I use organic peanut butter.  But you can use treats or even a portion of your puppy’s meal.

It’s important to note here that your puppy should never be left unsupervised with toys.

Eureka!  The Soft Mouth

After a few tries he’ll have his ‘eureka’ moment and start being a lot more gentle.  This is called mouthing or a ‘soft mouth’.

Mouthing means gentle play with the mouth and no hard biting or pressure.

With mouthing it’s important to remember that only you control mouthing.  You initiate mouthing and you decide when it stops.

Here are 4 rules to simplify the steps to German Shepherd puppy biting control…

4. Rules to German Shepherd puppy biting inhibition

#1 Only YOU initiate play

#2 No Hard Biting

#3 No Pressure Allowed


#4 Controlled Mouthing

The key take aways here are:

• Your German Shepherd puppy’s natural instinct to bite sets the stage for the perfect training opportunity.
• Your puppy won’t know what you want (or don’t) want him to do unless you teach him first.
• Use play sessions to take charge of your German Shepherd puppy biting.
• Always apply the 4 rules to puppy biting inhibition.

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