Teaching Commands to my German Shepherd Puppy

When teaching my German Shepherd commands it came very easy to her. After about 10 repetitions she would have it down for a while after. When started to train her I would use small treats, verbal commands and hand signals at the same time. This helped establish that there are different ways to command when called upon, weather verbal or non-verbal. The first command I taught her was sit. This is a very useful command for almost any situation. If you want them by your side, or to sit and relax for a minute while they are excited. I would work on sit as much as I could and keep her excited with it. If you get frustrated the dog will get frustrated and not listen to you. Dogs are very good at sensing what you are feeling towards them and your own attitude. Another command that is very useful is stay or wait. These are two commands that any dog owner should teach early off. It is beneficial because if you happen to drop a food that is toxic to them or drop a medication they will not go over and eat it instantly. This command is taught best by setting a treat on the ground and tell the the dog to wait. At first as soon as they wait for a split second you praise them and let them get the treat. This way they know why they are getting the treat and you can make them wait longer for it. Another command that is good to have is Lay down. It is helpful due to keeping your dog in control when you want them to be. This can be done two ways. The first way involves saying the command and putting the treat and hand on the floor to make them lay down to get the treat or you can apply light pressure near their shoulders so they know they should lay down. Another command that is easy to teach and looks like your dog is very smart is roll over. To teach this command have your dog lay down, then you want to place the treat behind their back on the side that they are laying on to make them roll to the left or right. When training your dog always make sure to say the command once and make sure you find a way for them to do it. When commands are stated more than once a dog thinks they can get away with not listening for long periods of time. This can hinder future training and it can impact how fast your dog will listen to you on the fly when you need them to listen at a words notice.