Various people wishing to have a pet look for different characteristics in a dog. However, almost all are at one about having a dog who is confident and won’t hide behind their parent upon confronting something new. A dog’s confidence is largely genetic. Therefore you should do your research and choose a dog of daring bloodlines. However, even if you bring home a dog with bloodlines proven for confidence, it also depends on your training method whether the dog will become confident. So, if you bring German shepherd puppies as your personal protection dogs, keep in mind that there are 50-50 chances of confidence – 50% coming from their genes and 50% from how you train them.
Let’s consider how you would train a German shepherd puppy.
If you want that your puppy should be confident, learn to respect her/his social needs, protect her/him from other dogs and strictly stay away from physical punishments. Here are some tips.
The first need of a puppy is a secure nest – a place in the house which is only “her/his”. A puppy is a pack animal and every animal in the pack won’t be rudely bothered when s/he is resting. Thus every social animal needs a place where it can go to rest without being bothered; this is essential for a healthy state of mind.
When you want your puppy to come out of her/his resting place, you should not pull her/him violently. You should use things that will attract the puppy, like treats. Show the treat, bend down and clap your hands, just as you would do to call your little baby near you. Remember not to punish your puppy even verbally, especially s/he is in the nest.
You should not punish a German shepherd puppy physically. Actually, young puppies are “touch-proof”. They are not punished or attacked by the adult animals in the pack. You might have seen a German shepherd puppy biting ankles of a big dog without fear and the adult dog will only try to stay away but not injure the puppy.
You should never let other dogs bully your puppy. Usually a dog when attacked during her/his puppyhood grow into an aggressive dog. This is because attack becomes the best defense for such a puppy and so, s/he tries to show aggression to any dog s/he comes across. In nature, if the puppy is harassed by a strange adult, it leads to lack of confidence from which the puppy never comes out even s/he grows up. So, you should carefully protect your puppy.
German Dog Training Center is a 7-acre facility in Northern California and is home to Zwinger vom Heidelberger Schloss, a kennel owned by a German Shepherd Breeder, Thomas Sauerhoefer, who has over 30 years of experience in breeding, training and exhibiting German Shepherd dogs in Germany as well as the US. Visit their website to check their excellent dogs on sale, dog training services, videos and more.