GSD owners, have a training query

Fuzznugget

Fuzznugget

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gloucestershirehorseriders.webs.com
OK, so will be taking the pup to a training class soon, but in the meantime I'd love to know what worked for you regarding teaching your GSD to walk next to you (because walking into the stroller isn't fun for anyone! :rolleyes: ). He was starting to get it after a while, but all the new stuff - sights and sounds and smells and OTHER DOGS! - was oh so exciting. He's 3 months old.
 
All good things come from you. Get a nice big fishing or camera jacket, put some or all of his daily allowance food in the pockets, do not feed him before you go out. Also, good quality balls on ropes, two of!
Start in the house - watching you and paying attention = food and/or ball. Then take it out to the garden, then on walks, especially if you see something interesting. Not watching, paying attention or not walking on a loose line? Get nothing and go nowhere. Walking nicely to heel? Food and hold the ball :) incentivise it for him.

You might want to look at clicker training also.

And bear in mind your collar and lead combo - leather line and a half check will give you lots of control.
 
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A good training class will help, as your dog will learn to work even though other dogs are about. In our puppy classes we work on meeting and greeting, starting off with just passing one another at a distance, and working to being able to stop and shake hands with the other handler without anyone having their head jumped upon.

To add to CC's advice - do not ever let your dog greet another while on the lead, as when on the lead you want them to be working and focussing on you. If other people bring their dogs over to say hello, you need to politely explain that yours is in training and ask them not to.:)
 
All the above, the most important thing is to get the pup to focus on you . I am currently trying to get our heeler pup to walk to heel, tit bits get his attention well but because he is so tiny he tends to jump up rather than just look at them/me. What I am doing is lots of changes of direction, so he really does have to watch me to know whats going on. It took me about 20 minutes to walk 100 yards up the road the other day but it does work, I realise if you are walking and pushing a stroller at the same time this might be difficult, but try and take him out on your own whenever you can and concentrate on his focus.
 
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