Care and Training

There are multitudes of publications and free information on the web in regards to training your puppy. We strongly suggest that you take the time to research this topic, particularly if you do not have much experience raising a pup. German Shepherds are widely considered the most intelligent of all dogs. White German Shepherds are considered to have a softer more mellow personality that the traditional black/tan shepherd. Many people feel that this softer personality leads to a more trainable dog with better intelligence. Experience has taught us at NicholBridge Shepherds that a WGS loves to learn. This quality is apparent even in older dogs. We got Jasmine just as she turned 2 years old, and she is just as receptive, if not more, to being taught and it is clearly evident the pleasure they get from being good, learning what pleases you, and being educated. It is never too soon to teach your pup the 2 basic commands that will not only allow you to teach the pup everything else they should know, but also be somewhat responsible for their own safety. Sit and Stay. Sit must be taught first. This is a simple task that is easy to teach and learn. Some breeders do not recommend the use of treats; we are not one of them. I see no harm in using treats to help a new confused puppy differentiate a positive and negative reaction from its owner. Treats, if used, should always be accompanied by plenty of verbal praise. Please always use the same word, or short phrase of words and tone when the pup does something correct. Use their name often during praise; be consistent and repetitive with training and praise. You will be amazed at how quickly they learn, and how much they enjoy it. If you feel as though they are being distracted, or bored, take a break with a walk or play with a toy. They do have a short attention span as pups, so training should be in 5-10 minute segments for this reason. Stay, in my opinion, is the most important command and could potentially save your dogs life one day. Once they have learned to sit, and will do it without a treat, you must teach them to stay. This is a little harder for the pup to learn, and will take considerable more time than being taught to sit. This will be a work in progress and should be worked on until the pup will stay in a doorway or gateway at your command and will not come until given the proper command. This may save your dogs life someday as we have all heard of or experienced a story about a dog that got out and got hit by a car running across the street, or chasing another animal. In my opinion, stay is the most important thing your dog can learn, and once they learn that, you can teach them ANYTHING. Once your dog understands stay, you know have a dog that is a pleasure to own, to be around, and is trustworthy. There are different methods for teaching stay. Once again this can be researched, or I will be happy to elaborate on the methods we have used if you would like to contact us. Try NOT to use their name when correcting them for a wrongdoing. A stern “no” projected in a much different tone than you use for praise, will make it evident and clear to the pup what he is supposed to do and what he is not supposed to do. Chewing is evident in all pups. They will chew on things at least until they lose their puppy teeth, and sometimes long after. It is relatively easy to teach your pup what they are allowed to chew on, and what is off limits. First, they must have certain toys that are designated only for them. We recommend balls, squeaky chew toys, and Nylabone type chew toys if they are serious about their chewing. Hannah is a “chewer” and has to have one at all times. Khepri, and Jasmine enjoy a nylabone or an occasional rawhide, but don’t have the need to chew like Hannah does. An occasional rawhide is ok and they really love them, but too many should be a concern for their digestive system and we don’t recommend this treat too often. We give them on birthdays and Christmas. Let them know what their toys are, and we strongly recommend you do not use shoes or anything else that may resemble something you do not want them to chew. Don’t make it harder on the pup by confusing him that one shoe is OK to chew on but another isn’t. Make sure the pup has a designated area that belongs to them, a crate, or doggy bed, whatever you choose to use, and that is where their toys should be kept. They will make this distinction of what belongs to them and where their area is rather quickly. If you catch your pup chewing on something they should not be, this is easily corrected by just taking the item they are chewing on, verbally correct them, and AT THE SAME TIME replace it with what you want them to chew on and give them some verbal praise when giving them your toy of choice. Make sure you verbally correct them when taking the item from them, and verbally praise them when replacing it with your item of choice, and tell them how good they are. This is important because you don’t want to confuse them by making them think they cannot chew at all, you just want to let them know they have boundaries. If you use this method, you should only have to do this a few times before they learn what’s mine and what’s off limits. The same method applies for housebreaking as well. Crate training will also aid in the housebreaking and teaching the dog where his space is. These methods certainly are not exclusive to German Shepherds. It is the opinion of NicholBridge Shepherds that all dogs are as smart as their owners. Any dog can be taught these and many other things, and I think all dogs want to learn. If you have a dog that is starved for attention (which we consider abuse), hasn’t had the proper training, or only interacted with during feeding time, you will get what you deserve. An unruly dog that is not socialized, does not have a purpose and is an embarrassment. It infuriates me when people keep the dog tied up in the backyard with little or no attention, or did not give it a chance by teaching them right from wrong, and then have the nerve to say their dog isn’t good, or isn’t smart. It is the owner that isn’t good, or isn’t smart and is showing their ignorance by making a statement like that. Just like children, our pets are a reflection on us and can only be as good as we mold them to be. It is not fair to the animal, no matter what type of pet it is, to just let them exist. They need education, care, love, attention, and plenty of affection. They should be part of your family.