The third part of the
dog's obedience training
will cover teaching your German Shepherd to remaining in
place, running ahead (Advanced Training)
and to jumping over hurdles (Advanced Training).
Remaining
in
Place
If you and your dog are having fun working together, you can continue
the lessons with the command "stay."
This exercise teaches your dog to stay in place when you call the
command. How to train your dog to remain in place:
Get
your dog to stop when it is walking on the leash on your left. Your
obedient companion will probably first respond by sitting or lying
down, but this is not satisfactory. It is not what you asked for. Hold
the dog by the leash with your right hand, place your left under its
abdomen to prevent it from sitting down, and at the same time say
"stay." When it stands there without moving, let go of the leash and go
away from it a few steps backward.
This way you keep the dog in sight
and can remind it to "stay" if it tries to follow you or sit or lie
down. The dog has mastered this lesson completely when it stops
instantly while running free next to you as soon as you call out
"stay." The command must be obeyed even if you keep walking or change
direction. It is not allowed to follow until you give it the signal
"here" or "come here."
Running
Ahead (Advanced Training)
Learning
to obey the command "run ahead" is somewhat more difficult for a dog
than the previous lessons. This type of training is considered as
advance and so if you dog does not grasp the concept it is
understandable. When walking faster than usual, tell your dog, who is
not on a leash,
to "heel." Then urge it on with the command "run
ahead." It won't understand right away what is expected of it. Run up
behind it and shove it forward. When it is running ahead of you, slow
down a little. Then, when he obeys the command, stop it by calling
"sit," "lie down," "stay," or "come here." This way old commands are
reviewed.
Only when your dog obeys "run ahead" reliably, even in
the midst of traffic noise or near playing children or romping dogs,
can you consider this lesson thoroughly learned.
Jumping
over Hurdles (Advanced Training)
German Shepherd jumping over a set of hurdles.
Most
dogs like to jump, and all they have to learn is how to do it when they
hear the appropriate command. Tell your dog to "sit" in front of a
small pile of boards. Then place yourself on the opposite side of the
obstacle and call "jump." If the dog walks around the obstacle you have
to take it back and start all over. When your dog clears the hurdle on
command, you can gradually build it up. But don't overdo it, especially
with a young dog that is still growing.
Once your dog has
learned to respond to the command "jump" properly, you can incorporate
this skill into the retrieving exercise. Tell your dog to "sit" next to
you. The object it is supposed to retrieve is on the other side of the
obstacle. Now tell the dog to "jump" and "fetch." Your dog should leap
over the hurdle, pick up the ball or piece of wood, and jump back with
it.
Tell it to "sit" again. Take the ball or whatever out of its
mouth while saying "let go." then praise it. These exercises are
advanced and so they should not be used if your dog is not able to
completely master the basic obedience training methods.
Not all dogs will be able to grasp the concepts of the advance
training and German Shepherds are no different. If your German Shepherd
cannot perform these steps, then do not worry. You should instead
respect your dog and love him/her just as much, maybe even more.
