When Should You Start Training Your German Shepherd Puppy?

Congratulations! Adding a fluffy new German Shepherd puppy member to your family is always an exciting occasion. You've made the preparations for homecoming, and it's time for the fun part: Potty training, obedience training, and socialization. Training your German Shepherd puppy instills good behavior and builds an unbreakable bond. The best time to start training your puppy is immediately. Starting early sets a foundation for a well-behaved and happy adult German Shepherd dog. Remember, training should be a positive experience for you and your young furry friend.  

The best puppy training age is typically around eight weeks old or as soon as you bring your German Shepherd puppy home. While some trainers and veterinarians used to advise against training classes until all vaccinations and boosters were up to date, they now recommend starting as early as seven weeks, assuming your puppy received at least one set of vaccines and dewormer at least seven days before the first class.

A puppy training schedule can prepare you and your German Shepherd puppy for success. This timeline explains development milestones and commons your puppy should learn as it grows.

Your German Shepherd puppy can start with basic training and simple commands to build a foundation. Since your puppy is still young, keep the sessions short and engaging.

• Socialization: Familiarize your puppy with people, children, and other pets to prevent reactive behavior in public settings.
• Different Environments: Introduce your German Shepherd puppy to new environments to help your puppy adapt. You can make outings a positive, relaxing experience with treats and toys.
• Daily Schedule: Your puppy needs structure and stability. Establish a daily routine for feeding, play, training, potty breaks, and naps.
• Potty Training: Start potty training immediately upon bringing your puppy home. Determine the potty break frequency based on age. Rule of thumb: After waking up, eating, drinking water, playing and training, it's potty time.
• Crate Training: Using a crate is valuable for housebreaking, independence and reducing anxiety.
• Basic Commands: Introduce basic obedience commands like "Sit" and "Come" using food and positive reinforcement as rewards.
• Redirect Chewing: Redirect chewing behaviors by introducing chewing toys, ice cubes, bully sticks, marrow bones, and kongs.
• Name Recognition: Teach your German shepherd puppy their name through reinforcement, eye contact exercises and repetition. It will help to establish a strong recall. 

As your German Shepherd puppy reaches the three-month milestone, continue the following:

• House and Crate Training: Continue Crate training and taking your puppy out for potty walks, especially after naps, meals, play and training time.
• Obedience Training: Maintain training while teaching more commands like "Down," "Place," "Heel," and "Come." You can use food and other positive rewards, including a favorite toy. Practice impulse control by saying "Sit" before feeding, which will discourage your puppy from lunging every time it sees an opportunity.
• Socialization and Exposure: Continue to allow your German Shepherd puppy to meet more people, including children and vaccinated puppies and dogs. Take your puppy to different environments to introduce your puppy to positive experiences and to show your puppy the world is a fun place. We do not recommend dog parks for many reasons, including illness and people not having control over their dogs.
• Leash and Harness: Familiarize your puppy with a leash and harness. Let your puppy wear them around your home to help your puppy get used to them.
• Body Handling Exercises: Gently stoke different parts of your puppy's body, gradually increasing the duration as your puppy becomes more comfortable with you and others touching, examining, bathing and grooming your puppy.

You'll start to notice your German Shepherd puppy having more energy and interest in their environment at this stage. You may feel like everything grabs their attention except your commands. Go through the basics as needed while adding the following training:

• Polite Play: Teach your puppy when to stop playing and what's off-limits. Discourage biting household items and your hands and ankles.
• Being Alone: Get your German Shepherd puppy used to spending time alone for short periods. Make sure your puppy is comfortable and has a safe toy to keep it busy.
• Obedience Training: Practice commands outside your home and in public places, adding duration, distance, distractions, and loose leash walking.
• Impulse Control: Reinforce polite behavior by having your puppy sit before activities such as feedings and playtime.
• Replace Rewards: Gradually transition from food rewards to praise and affection for positive training responses. 

They grow up so fast! During your puppy's adolescent phase, keep reinforcing what they've learned to prevent behavior regression. Training strengthens the bond between you and your German Shepherd. It fosters communication, trust and a positive relationship built on mutual understanding. 

You must keep working with your German Shepherd, even into adolescence and as an adult, to remind your dog of what it has learned. While training sessions are no longer needed unless you are teaching your dog something new, continue with commands in a daily setting as you work and play with your dog. Raising and training a German Shepherd puppy is a lot of hard work. The results are priceless. Enjoy the journey together.