Very useful advice to help you with training and behavioral issues with your German Shepherd.

Free Feeding: Bad Idea for Your German Shepherd Puppy

/0 Comments/in , , /by

When and how to feed their German Shepherd puppy is a question that many new owners have. Answering every element of that question takes time and the answer may vary from dog to dog, but the one thing that applies to any dog, but especially to a large – or soon to be large – dog like a black and red German Shepherd is that ‘free feeding’ should never be an option.

‘Free feeding’ is a term that refers to the practice of leaving food out for an animal at all times, even if it is ‘just’ a harmless bowl of kibble to ensure, in the owner’s mind, that their canine companion never goes hungry especially if no one is home. It is an easy way of doing things for the owner, just top off the bowl before they head to work and Puppy should be fine all day. It is less of a good thing for the German Shepherd puppy though, and in fact it can be a very bad thing.

Try thinking of it in terms of your children. Would you leave them all day with open access to all the food they want? No, of course you would not. Meal times are set and only the occasional snack is allowed. It’s all a part of good discipline and teaching healthy eating practices.

So why should it be any different for a ‘fur kid’? As they are highly intelligent, German Shepherds can get bored rather easily and like humans if the food is there they will eat it, not necessarily because they are hungry, but because they have nothing else to do. And just like a human, if the practice continues the dog will become overweight and sluggish.

Even if your pup does not gain excess weight there are other reasons why free feeding should be ‘taken off the menu’. For example, one of the earliest signs of a number of serious ailments in dogs in general is a sudden loss of appetite. How are you ever going to notice such a thing though if several members of the household are in the habit of filling up the food bowl when it starts to look empty? Chances are that everyone will simply assume that someone else filled up the food when it is has actually gone untouched for some time and by the time everyone figures out that is not the case it may be too late.

Then there is the sanitary aspect of things. Would you leave your own food out all day, where it can easily also become a meal for flies and other flying critters who carry all kinds of bacteria with them? There are even tales of animals like raccoons learning to crawl their way through pet doors because they have discovered that there is a constant source of food waiting for them just behind it.

Finally there is the matter of discipline. If you want to integrate your German Shepherd into the family, the way that most owners do, then they need rules as much as all of the human members of the household do. Mealtimes should, as far as possible, be a set time affair for everyone, including the dog.

Energy and Training: The Magic Ingredient

/0 Comments/in , /by

To all my Banffy Haus German Shepherds clients:

Don’t you remember the teacher school that kept you riveted to the discussion, and had such passion for the subject that it rubbed off on you?   I remember one of my teachers in 1st grade who every year taught us about Japan.  She made this exotic culture so interesting that I have gone on to study Japanese, have been there a number of times, and taught my son and daughter to enjoy sushi from a young age.  Do you also remember the teacher that was so boring everyone fell asleep in class?

Dogs sense energy.  If you are tentative, they know.  If there is any fear they know.  What you feel goes right down the leash into your dog and affects his attitude to the training.  The best trainer knows how to spark interest in their canine students.  One thing I know for certain is that energetic tones, and exciting quick movements, enthusiastic rewards, and stopping while they are still interested in continuing, are key to keeping the training interesting.  And if you dog is engaged, not only are they easier to train, but they look so much crisper and respond so much more immediately.

Here are a couple of helpful hints:

  1. So, it is best not to train your dog when you are not going to be enthusiastic about training.
  2. Keep your posture tall and confident
  3. Keep the pace brisk- quick movements.
  4. Use enthusiastic tones
  5. Reward often
  6. Reward unexpectedly and with high energy approval
  7. Keep the routines shorter
  8. Switch disciplines often
  9. Only do long and complete routines on the day of a trial or competition
  10. Correct quickly and completely.   If you do this, then they will start to correct themselves, because they expect you too and don’t want to be corrected.

And enjoy training.  Training times are some of the best bonding experiences for you and your dog.  You learn to respect their desire to serve you and they learn to respect your authority.  This way you get the best of both worlds!  And a trained pet is a happier pet.  It gives them a purpose that they need.

I hope these are helpful hints for understanding how to get the most out of training.  If you want to visit and K9 university.

The Automatic Dog Training

/0 Comments/in , , , , /by

Hello German Shepherd puppies lovers:

But now…on the automatic dog training technique.  This is a follow-up to the last article I wrote entitled “You are always training with your German shepherd”.  I know we would all like to know a way to ensure your puppy becomes all that it can be and become another legend in the family, your own Rin Tin Tin.

Well, here is the secret:  The environment.  Environment is one of the most important variables determining the success of a human child.  A nurturing, loving environment, one with encouragement and many avenues for learning and creativity improve the chances of a child’s success later in life.  While a broken and angry household, in which parents abandon children to their own devices, and let them learn and fend for themselves, normally contributes to a greater probability of truancy and delinquency.

Dogs are very routine animals.   I remember how at first when my parents drove me to military academy I resented it.  But the structure and routine was excellent for me and I flourished. There were loving, yet demanding, men and women who corrected me for mistakes but encouraged my successes.  Dogs, even more than humans, yearn for and thrive on order, routine and a firm social order.  They are just more confident and peaceful in such a structure.

So, of course you would want your dog to have every chance for success and to be a valued member of your pack.  But how do you do this.  I recommend you make an “K-9 Home Environmental plan” for Fritz.  Type it out.  Read it to the family and stick by it.  Don’t flinch and don’t move an inch.

It should include, for example, which rooms Fritz is allowed to come in, things he can and can’t play with, or lay on.  Be specific.  Do not ever let him have the same rights as the humans.  Yes, that means not on the couch.  That is reserved for you, with him loyally at your feet.  No, not in the kitchen during dinner.  That is your time.  Also, never let your huge, powerful, brilliant shepherd sleep in bed with you.  If you decide he is not to go upstairs, enforce it.  Choose potty areas and egress and ingress for your dog.  Give him his spot where he is to lay, rather than him choosing it.  Choose his eating place, which is best in a garage and not within the walls of the house.  Be specific and detailted.   Map this out, make a diagram, learn it, teach it to the family and, most of all, enforce it.

I will finish the discussion of the “K-9 Home Environmental plan” for your German shepherd puppy or dog in the next article.  I hope it has piqued your curiosity.

I hope these are helpful hints for understanding the behavior of your Banffy Haus German Shepherd puppies.  If you want to visit and K9 university.

You Are Always in Training with your German Shepherd

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

Hello German Shepherd puppies lovers:

My father used to tell me that military academy was good for me because the structure would keep me out of trouble.  Indeed it did and it was good for me.  I developed patterns of behavior, respect and cleanliness, integrity and discipline, which have helped me during all of my life.

This is the same for your German shepherd.  You need to create a consistent and well thought out ordered living structure for your shepherd.  And you need to stick with it without relenting and breaking the structure. You may think that your dog has been so good, or is so darling that just this once you will feed him/her at the table while you are eating.  But this relenting just makes you happy and is not in the best interests of the dog.

We all marvel at superbly trained German shepherds, police or military trained.  Most of us would like a dog like that.  In fact I will tell you that those noble beasts are at peace, knowing exactly what to do and when to do it.  They are creatures of structure, and very comfortable within it.

So, it is kind for us to create structure.  Dogs are creatures of habit and order.  And we love it when they are obedient and loyal.  We need to create environments of structure for them so that they can become the dogs they could be and that we would prefer.

So, when you get the urge to break ranks and to encourage your dog to do so, don’t be surprised or angry at them when they continue the behavior you began.  Don’t blame them if they jump up on your mother and ruin her new dress when yesterday you decided to pat your chest and encourage them to jump up.  Don’t get angry at them if you have friends over and they salivate and beg for food when just last week you rewarded Otto with a big piece of meat at dinner.

In the next article I will carefully detail how to create a surefire structure to get the most out of your amazing German shepherd and raise your German shepherd puppies in an environment that helps them to be all they can be.

I hope these are helpful hints for understanding the behavior of your Banffy Haus German Shepherd puppies.  If you want to visit and K9 university .

How to Spot a good Trainer/and Training Tips For Your German Shepherd

/0 Comments/in , , /by
Read more

DANGER: GERMAN SHEPHERD AT RISK!

/0 Comments/in , , , , /by
Read more