Solving German Shepherd Behaviour Problems: The 8 Most Common Issues
The diagnostic method that works for every behaviour problem, why the vet comes first, and practical fixes for pulling, recall, lead reactivity, jumping up, chewing, resource guarding, barking and digging.
Short answer: rule out pain, work out what the behaviour achieves, then change that
Almost every German Shepherd behaviour problem comes down to three things: an unmet need, a behaviour that works, or pain. Before any training plan, get a veterinary check — hip, elbow and dental pain masquerade as stubbornness constantly in this breed. Then stop asking “how do I stop this” and start asking “what does my dog get out of it”. That single change turns eight vague problems into eight solvable ones.
Somewhere around nine months, a great many German Shepherd owners have the same week. The recall stops working. The barking starts. Something expensive gets chewed. And the dog who was so easy at five months now appears to have developed opinions about everything.
This is the point at which most searches for behaviour advice begin, and the point at which most Shepherds end up in rescue. It is also, almost always, entirely fixable — provided you work on the right thing.
This guide covers the diagnostic method first, because it applies to everything, then works through the eight problems this breed actually presents with: pulling, poor recall, lead reactivity, jumping up, destructive chewing, resource guarding, excessive barking and digging. Each with what causes it and what to do.
A behaviour change that is sudden, or in a dog who was previously fine, is a veterinary question first. Hip and elbow dysplasia, spinal pain, dental disease, ear infections, thyroid problems and failing sight or hearing all present as “behavioural” — irritability, reluctance, snapping when handled, a recall that stops working. This breed is over-represented for several of them. Training a dog who hurts teaches them to hide it.
The Method That Works for Everything
Four steps, in order, applied to every problem below.
Rule out pain and illness
A veterinary examination, especially for anything sudden. This is not a formality — a substantial share of “behaviour” cases turn out to have a physical cause, and no amount of training fixes those.
Ask what the behaviour achieves
Every behaviour works somehow: it gets attention, food, distance from something frightening, or relief from boredom. “He’s being stubborn” gives you nothing. “He barks and the postman leaves” gives you three options immediately.
Manage so it cannot be rehearsed
Frost the window, close the door, use a long line, walk at a quieter hour. Every repetition strengthens a behaviour, so preventing repetitions is half the work before training starts.
Teach what you want instead
You cannot reinforce an absence. Pick a specific alternative — go to mat, look at me, walk beside, four paws on the floor — and pay it generously until it becomes the default.
Notice what is missing from those four steps: correcting the dog. Punishment tells your dog what not to do without teaching what to do instead, and with anything fear-based it makes the underlying emotion worse while removing the warning signs. It is not a moral point — it is that it works less well.
Check the Needs First
Before any specific plan, be honest about whether your dog’s basic requirements are met — because an under-exercised, under-stimulated, over-tired Shepherd will not respond to training, and a great many “problems” evaporate when this is fixed.
| Need | What adequate looks like | What happens without it |
|---|---|---|
| Physical exercise | 60–90 minutes daily, split, for an adult | Restlessness, destruction, night-time activity |
| Mental work | 30 minutes of sniffing, scentwork or puzzles | Self-invented jobs: patrolling, barking, digging |
| Sleep | Adults need a great deal; puppies far more | An over-tired Shepherd is a badly behaved one — this is chronically underestimated |
| Chewing outlet | Appropriate chews available daily | Skirting boards, furniture, shoes |
| Company | Not alone more than about four hours | Separation-related distress, barking, destruction |
| Predictability | Consistent routine and household rules | Anxiety, and training that does not stick |
The one owners get wrong most often is sleep. A German Shepherd who is being walked twice, trained, played with and taken everywhere can be chronically over-tired — and an over-tired dog is mouthy, reactive and unable to settle. Sometimes the answer is genuinely doing less.
1. Pulling on the Lead
What it achieves: forward movement. Every time your dog pulls and the walk continues, pulling has worked.
- Stop when the lead tightens. Not a jerk — simply stop, wait for slack, move on. Pulling must never produce progress.
- Pay position constantly. Every few steps beside you earns a treat. You are building a habit, not correcting an error.
- Start somewhere boring — a hallway, then the garden, then a quiet street. Not the park.
- Use a Y-front harness with a front clip. It does not stop pulling, but it stops the neck taking the load while you train.
- Give a separate sniffing walk on a long line where pulling does not matter. A dog who never gets to sniff will pull regardless.
- Expect months. This is one of the slowest skills there is, and progress is invisible day to day.
2. Recall That Stopped Working
What is happening: usually adolescence, plus a reward history that cannot compete with squirrels. Sometimes it is worse than that — “come” has become the word that ends every good thing.
- Go back to a long line immediately, so recall is never optional
- Change the cue word — the old one is spoiled, start fresh
- Pay with something extraordinary: roast chicken, cheese, a game of tug
- Recall, reward, then release them back to what they were doing
- Practise a hundred easy repetitions before one hard one
- Use a whistle — it carries and it never sounds annoyed
- Only call them to end the walk or to be put on the lead
- Call repeatedly when you know they will not come
- Tell them off when they do arrive, however late
- Chase — it becomes the best game of the day
- Test it around wildlife before it is solid elsewhere
- Let them off in an unsafe area to “see how it goes”
It feels justified and it is the single fastest way to destroy a recall. Your dog does not connect the telling-off to the two minutes of ignoring you — they connect it to arriving. Every dog who has been shouted at on arrival takes a little longer to come the next time.
3. Lead Reactivity
Barking and lunging at other dogs or people on the lead. The most distressing problem on this list for owners, and the most misunderstood.
What it usually is: either frustration — a dog who desperately wants to greet and cannot — or fear, a dog trying to create distance. Both look identical from the outside and both are made worse by punishment, which adds unpleasantness to the presence of other dogs.
- Find the threshold. The distance at which your dog can see another dog and still eat, breathe and look away. That is where all the work happens.
- Work below it, always. Cross the road, go behind a car, turn early. Every over-threshold encounter sets you back.
- Play “look at that”: dog appears, you mark and pay. Repeated, the other dog comes to predict food rather than tension.
- Loosen the lead. Tension travels straight down it. A tight lead makes reactivity measurably worse.
- Walk at quiet times while you work, so you control the encounters rather than surviving them.
- Get help. This is the problem on this list most worth paying a qualified behaviourist for.
4. Jumping Up
What it achieves: attention and face contact. And with a 35 kg dog it stops being charming very quickly, particularly around children and elderly visitors.
- Remove all reward. Turn away, no eye contact, no words, no pushing — pushing is contact, which is what they wanted.
- Reward four paws on the floor the instant they land. Feed low, at their level, so they are not looking up.
- Teach a station. Doorbell means go to a mat and get paid there. Far easier than asking for nothing.
- Everybody follows the same rule. One visitor who greets an airborne dog undoes a fortnight.
- Manage with a house line or gate for visitors while you train.
- Lower the arousal first — a calm, boring arrival routine prevents most of it.
5. Destructive Chewing
| Cause | Clue | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Teething | Under 7 months; anything cold and firm | Frozen chews, appropriate outlets, management. It passes |
| Boredom | Happens when you are busy or out; targets are random | Enrichment, scentwork, puzzle feeders, a daily chew |
| Anxiety | Only when alone; damage at doors and windows | This is separation distress — a different problem needing its own protocol |
| Insufficient sleep | Mouthy and destructive in the evening | More rest, less stimulation. Genuinely common |
| It works | Chewing reliably brings you running | Manage so it cannot happen; give attention before it is demanded |
The distinction that matters most is the third row. Damage aimed at exits — door frames, window sills, carpet by the threshold — that happens only in your absence is not chewing. It is escape behaviour from a panicking dog, and treating it as a chewing problem gets nowhere.
6. Resource Guarding
Stiffening, freezing, growling or snapping over food, toys, beds or stolen items. Genuinely normal dog behaviour, entirely manageable, and the one on this list where the wrong response causes the most harm.
A growl is information — it is your dog telling you they are uncomfortable before anything worse happens. Punish it often enough and many dogs stop growling, but they have not stopped feeling threatened. You are left with a dog who appears to bite without warning, and that history sits behind a great many serious bite incidents. Thank the growl, back off, and work on the underlying problem.
- Stop taking things away. Every confiscation confirms that human approach means loss.
- Trade instead. Offer something clearly better, take what they drop, and often give the original back too.
- Walk past and add. Approach the bowl, drop something excellent in, walk away. Repeated, your approach starts predicting a bonus.
- Manage the environment — feed in a separate room, pick up high-value items before visitors arrive.
- Teach children the rules absolutely: never approach a dog who is eating or has something.
- Get professional help for any guarding that involves snapping or biting, or any guarding around children.
7. Excessive Barking
Barking is not one behaviour, which is why generic advice fails. Alert barking at the window, demand barking at you, frustration barking at a fence, fear barking, boredom barking and separation-related barking all need different plans.
The quick wins that apply broadly: remove the trigger where you can — window film is remarkably effective — never shout, since to a dog that reads as joining in, and reward quiet rather than punishing noise. And set a realistic target: this breed was developed to alert, so two barks and a settle is success, not silence.
8. Digging
🕳️ Boredom digging
Random holes, usually when left alone in the garden. The fix is enrichment and not leaving them out there unoccupied — a dog with nothing to do will always find something.
🌡️ Cooling digging
Shallow scrapes in shade on hot days, often lain in afterwards. Entirely sensible behaviour. Provide shade, a paddling pool and a cool indoor floor instead.
🐀 Prey digging
Focused, determined, in one spot — usually over a rodent run or a mole. Deal with the wildlife, block the area, and redirect to a sanctioned digging spot.
🚪 Escape digging
Under the fence, along the boundary. A management and containment problem first — bury wire or paving at the fence line — and an unmet needs problem underneath.
The most effective single fix is a sanctioned digging pit — a sandpit or a corner of loose soil with toys buried in it. Digging is a deeply satisfying behaviour for this breed, and giving it somewhere legitimate to happen works far better than trying to extinguish it.
Why Nine Months Is the Worst Month
Between roughly six and eighteen months a German Shepherd goes through something genuinely difficult, and knowing it is coming is protective.
Training that seemed solid appears to evaporate. Recall stops. New fears appear about objects that have been there all along. Barking starts. Owners frequently conclude they have ruined their dog, or that the dog has turned on them — and this is the age bracket that fills rescue centres.
Adolescence is a phase with an end date, not a personality. The dogs who come out of it well belong to owners who lowered their expectations rather than raising the pressure.
- Go back to the long line rather than losing recall permanently.
- Lower your criteria temporarily. Ask for less, pay more, keep sessions short.
- Protect sleep — adolescents are chronically over-tired and it shows in everything.
- Do not escalate. Adding pressure to an adolescent Shepherd damages the relationship you will need for the next decade.
- Take new fears seriously and give distance rather than forcing exposure.
When to Get Professional Help
Some of this you can do at home. Some of it you genuinely should not.
- Any aggression towards people or dogs — vet check first, then a veterinary behaviourist or certified clinical animal behaviourist.
- Resource guarding involving teeth, or any guarding around children.
- Lead reactivity — you need someone to see your dog and identify the threshold.
- Separation anxiety, which needs a structured absence protocol.
- Anything that frightens you, or that has not improved after eight weeks of consistent work.
Choose someone accredited by a recognised body who will tell you exactly what happens if your dog gets something wrong, who is happy for you to watch a session first, and who talks about emotions and thresholds rather than dominance and rank.
Kit That Helps
15 m biothane long line
One piece of equipment appears in the fix for four of the eight problems above — recall, reactivity, pulling and scavenging — because it does the thing management is supposed to do: it makes the wrong behaviour impossible while you train the right one. Your dog still gets to run, range and sniff properly, which meets the need underneath half these problems, and you keep the ability to end it. Biothane matters because it sheds water and mud and can be wiped clean rather than becoming a heavy, burr-covered rope.
- Recall practice with no possibility of failure
- Keeps a reactive dog under threshold and safe
- Provides the sniffing freedom that reduces pulling
- Prevents scavenging without constant supervision
- Gets you through adolescence without losing the recall
Safety: attach to a well-fitted Y-front harness, never a collar — a German Shepherd hitting the end of fifteen metres at speed generates enough force to injure the neck. Wear gloves with a strong dog, and avoid dense woodland where the line can snag around a trunk.
| Item | Which problem it helps | What to look for | Find it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long line | Recall, reactivity, pulling, scavenging | 10–15 m biothane, harness clip | See options → |
| Y-front harness | Pulling — safely, while you train | Dual clip, sized on chest girth | See options → |
| Treat pouch | All of them — timing is everything | Magnetic close, belt clip | See options → |
| Snuffle mat | Barking, digging, chewing — the boredom half | Large, machine washable | See options → |
| Training mat | Jumping up, door barking, visitors | Non-slip, washable, large | See options → |
Frequently Asked Questions
Why has my German Shepherd’s behaviour suddenly changed?
Get a veterinary check first. Hip and elbow pain, spinal pain, dental disease, ear infections, thyroid problems and failing senses all present as behaviour change in this breed. If your dog is between six and eighteen months, adolescence is the other likely explanation — normal, developmental, and it does end.
How do I stop my German Shepherd pulling on the lead?
Stop moving whenever the lead tightens, pay generously every few steps your dog spends beside you, and start somewhere boring before progressing to distractions. Use a Y-front harness so the neck is protected while you train, and give a separate sniffing walk on a long line where pulling does not matter. Expect months.
My dog growls when I take his food. What should I do?
Never punish the growl — it is a warning, and removing it leaves a dog who appears to bite without one. Stop taking things away; instead walk past and drop something better into the bowl so your approach predicts a bonus, and trade for stolen items rather than confiscating. Get professional help if teeth are involved or children are present.
Why does my German Shepherd bark at everything?
Because the breed was developed to alert, and because barking usually works — the postman leaves every time. Remove the trigger where you can, with window film or a moved bed, never shout, and reward quiet rather than punishing noise. Aim for two barks and a settle rather than silence.
Will my dog grow out of these problems?
Adolescent wobbliness does pass with consistency. Established habits do not — pulling, jumping and guarding get stronger with every repetition, not weaker. The rule of thumb: developmental phases pass, rehearsed behaviours need actively changing.
When should I call a behaviourist?
For any aggression towards people or dogs, resource guarding involving teeth or around children, lead reactivity, separation anxiety, anything that frightens you, or anything that has not improved after eight weeks of consistent work. Start with a vet check, then ask for a referral to a qualified veterinary or clinical animal behaviourist.
✅ Your Problem-Solving Checklist
- Vet check done — pain and illness ruled out
- Exercise: 60–90 minutes daily, split
- Mental work: 30 minutes of sniffing or puzzles
- Sleep protected — over-tired dogs behave worse
- Not alone more than about four hours
- Behaviour described by what it achieves
- Management in place so it is not rehearsed
- A specific alternative behaviour taught and paid
- Household rules identical for everyone
- Long line in use for recall and reactivity
- Fear and frustration worked under threshold
- Growling never punished
- Recall never used to end fun; late arrivals never told off
- Adolescence expected and criteria lowered
- One plan given a fair eight weeks
- Professional help sought for aggression or guarding with teeth
The Bottom Line
German Shepherds do not develop behaviour problems because they are difficult. They develop them because they are clever, driven, closely bonded working animals living in houses that ask nothing of them — and because behaviours that work get repeated.
So the order is always the same. Rule out pain. Meet the needs honestly, including sleep. Work out what the behaviour achieves. Stop it being rehearsed. Teach something better and pay it well.
Then give it eight weeks without changing approach. Most of the owners who say nothing works have tried five things for a fortnight each — and the dog underneath all of it is usually still perfectly willing to learn.
- Training your German Shepherd — the full method, age by age
- Why do dogs bark? — the seven types and each fix
- Treating separation anxiety — the protocol in full
- Enrichment ideas — for the needs half of the problem
Recommended German Shepherd gear for this guide
Training treat pouch with clip
Best for: Hands-free training sessions
- Magnetic close
- Clip-on belt
Affiliate link — we may earn a commission, at no cost to you.
Low-calorie training treats
Best for: High-frequency reward training
- Soft, easy to break
- Quick consumption
Affiliate link — we may earn a commission, at no cost to you.
Long training line (30ft)
Best for: Recall practice in safe open areas
- Builds recall
- Lightweight options
Affiliate link — we may earn a commission, at no cost to you.
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