Why You Wanted a GSD

* Always remember why you wanted a GSD, especially when things go awry. Did it have something to do with this list by Leo K. Bustad? From “Compassion: Our Last Great Hope”, p50: “Dogs offer security, succor, esteem, understanding, forgiveness, fun and laughter and, most important, abundant and unconditional love. Furthermore, they make no judgements, and we can be ourselves with them. They also need our help and make us feel important.”

* The dog is not a person. This is obvious, and there are many similarities but don’t lose track of the differences. One important difference is that you’re always in charge.

* Treating a GSD well means

— Love & respect. And remember that an important part of loving a dog is, as much as you can, letting it be the animal that it was created to be, and providing the structure that it was designed to crave.

— The obvious basics, including good vet care, good food and plenty of clean water.

— No teasing – GSDs want to be taken seriously and don’t like to be teased.

— Setting up situations where dogs can use their SEEKING system – see “Dogs Make Us Human”, pg 6, by Temple Grandin. “Dr. Panksepp says SEEKING is ‘the basic impulse to search, investigate, and make sense of the environment.’ SEEKING is a combination of emotions people usually think of as being different: wanting something really good, looking forward to getting something really good, and curiosity, which most people probably don’t think of as an emotion at all. The wanting part of SEEKING gives you the energy to go after your goals . . .” You can set up simple SEEKING situations for your dog: allow your dog to sniff sometimes on walks (unless the dog insists it’s the best scent ever we usually give them 3 – 5 seconds and move on with a “let’s go!”), use a snuffle mat or scatter some kibble into the backyard and let your dog spend as long as it takes to find almost every piece, etc.

— Letting your dog be a dog, as much as possible. For example, given the chance most dogs would roam, mile after mile, day after day, preferably in a pack. This isn’t possible in our world today, but walks and the freedom to explore and sniff as much as possible delight a dog. See Play & Activity below to be sure you’re not overdoing it with a puppy.

— Regular playtime with other dogs

— Letting your GSD be involved in your life inside and outside the house, even on trivial things like running to the store. And they want to feel like they’re helping out – for example try teaching your GSD to put away toys. And they love sense of accomplishment or a job – this can come from learning tricks or an obstacle course or feeling like a good protector from being trained to handle household visitors properly.

— Letting them use their strength and their prime weapon. Tug of war is a favorite game for most GSDs.

— Providing them toys to chew and maybe (rarely) destroy. Sticks are a cheap chew toy.

— Setting up situations for them to use their nose. Walks are easy, but you can also hide treats for them to find. A scent trail outside of treats is exciting for a dog.

— Plenty of playtime, both physical such as frisbee or chasing sticks, and mental such as “find it” where a family member hides inside or out and the dog finds them.

— To be trained on how to behave so they’re not being told “No” all the time

— A good amount of your time, undivided and engaged.

— Etc. Dogs are individuals and like to do things they’re good at. Look for things that they like, either by knowing the breed or by trying different things with them.

* The GSD craves variety and new experiences – provide as many as you can!

* Excellent intro to pup basics – see Dunbar, “Before & After Getting Your Puppy”, p. 49-70: Short-term confinement – how & why, Long-term confinement – how & why, Housebreaking, Training to chew only the right things

* You have to communicate the “house rules” (Dunbar) to your puppy, which shouldn’t change across time. When they do most dogs will play dumb and ignore the stricter rules. For example if a puppy has been allowed to get on the sofa or in bed with you it’s very hard to change the rules if you later decide a 95-pound dog belongs on the floor.

* A word on training techniques: from “Bones Would Rain From The Sky”, there are three levels of training.

1) “How do I get you to do what I want?”, which treats the dog like a robot and leads to things like prong collars. Is this why you got a dog? Think carefully about your bond with your dog before you start taking shortcuts that violate that bond. And think about the problem. Is something missing? misunderstood? is the dog not ready for something?

2) “How do I get you to want to do what I want you to do?”, which leads to engaging the dog using treats and encouragement and enthusiasm. A significant advance over #1

3) “What can we accomplish together?” which leads to considering the dog as a partner and forming a team with the dog. It feels great when you’re both working together!

* Another word on training – don’t over-train. When the dog is improving on a trick but then starts to get worse it is probably bored. Smart dogs like GSDs are prone to this. Move on to another trick or wrap up the session, always on a positive note. The dog can sleep on it and will be even better tomorrow. We’ve seen major, easy progress with a simple, brief exposure on day #1, and then briefly revisiting the training the next day. Keep fine-tuning and enforcing on a daily basis, but you’ll likely be amazed at the progress on day #2.