Training That Works
Why Training Dogs is Important
We’ve stated in many places how important it is for a German Shepherd to be trained. The GSD is an intelligent, high-energy dog, who’s qualities must be channeled in positive directions. Behavior problems are typically aggravated by a lack of training. I’m talking about well-rounded training that promotes balance and harmony within the dog. I’ll get into some detail below.
The more domesticated the dog, the greater the need for training. Conversely, a farm dog, raised amongst other animals, and with freedom to run and roam will tend to be balanced and well-adjusted as he is. For his is a life more closely resembling his roots; one that inherently promotes physical and emotional wellbeing.
But in our urbanized society, most GSDs today are not farm dogs, and they must adapt to a life far removed from that of their ancestors. Therefore, as owners you and I have the responsibility to provide the nurture and training our dogs need in order to flourish in our shared environment. The good news is that help is available for dog owners, and if you know where to go, it can be very effective and doesn’t have to cost a lot of money.
In a moment you’ll have the opportunity to check out a training method that is making it possible for hundreds of owners to help their dogs train and adjust beautifully to their environments. But first, let’s broaden our understanding of training…
Or, go directly to meet Doggy Dan via his video intro
What Good Dog Training Should Include
There’s a lot that can be said on this topic, but I’ll limit this to a brief explanation of what well-rounded dog training should embrace:
1. Socialization. This consists of exposing your dog to a broad range of experiences. First, there should be plenty of interaction with people, dogs and other animals. Your dog will only learn healthy attitudes towards others by being exposed to them in a range of environments and circumstances. Second, socialization involves your dog experiencing a variety of sights and sounds. He should run over different surfaces, be exposed to bikes, cars, skateboards, planes and trains. He should walk over rocks and splash through water – you get the idea!
2. Family relationships (order within the pack). Your dog is by nature a pack animal. Therefore, it is in his makeup to try and establish functionality and balance within the pack. He’ll do this either as pack leader, or follower. As a domesticated dog, his human family is to him his pack – it’s just the way he sees it.
The role of the pack leader calls for a calm, assertive posture backed up by corresponding actions. The follower role calls for calm submissiveness. Here then is the key to a functional home environment shared with humans and dogs: The human must assume the “pack leader” role, communicating such to the dog, in a manner that is unmistakable, and non-threatening.
This leadership role by the human is one of calm assurance, demonstrating at the same time both firmness and gentleness. There is no place for harsh or aggressive actions.
3. Obedience training. Note that I put this one in third place. That’s because the first two items are foundational. To train a dog to stay, sit, heel, walk and so on, without paying attention to the foundations is like building a house without a foundation. Eventually problems arise, and sometimes they’re serious.
My Recommendation for Dog Training
Getting a good dog training program we could offer our visitors has been on our minds for a long time. But as you can tell, we don’t take this stuff lightly. And we do take seriously the responsibility for providing the right guidance. So we held off from recommending specific services, until we could find one that did justice to the well-rounded training we’ve always believed in.
Eventually I came across a professional dog trainer and behaviorist that caught my attention, since his approach is exactly the kind of thing I’ve been advocating on German Shepherd Place from day one.
“Doggy Dan” lives in New Zealand, where he runs a busy practice, training and rehabilitating dogs. In addition, he reaches a worldwide audience through video demonstrations.
The videos take the audience right into live interactions and training sessions, providing a vivid, up-front view of Dan’s techniques. And his clear commentary on each video makes it easy to follow.
As we checked Dan’s training videos, it didn’t take long to know we’d found what we were looking for. I’ll give you a link in a moment so you can check his system out for yourself. As you’ll see – and I’m really delighted about this part of It because it makes it so easy for you and our other visitors to try! – by clicking the link below you’ll get to see Doggy Dan introducing what he does (with beautiful New Zealand scenery behind). In addition he makes a great offer so that you can try his videos for free.
I love this approach, because to me it demonstrates that Dan has plenty of confidence in the value of what he offers!
Click here to check out Doggy Dan’s Training!
Here are some testimonials from people who have been using Doggy Dan’s trainings:
What People Are Saying…
