Searching for new commands

[Geminon]

Hi, my GSD, Geminon, is almsot 4 months and has learned most of his basic commands, sit, lay, come, leave it, take it and stay(well still working on stay) But I want to know what are some other commands that I can teach him. I've had some people tell me to not worry about other commands yet because he's still too young, which i don't agree with. I know GSD can learn so much so fast and at a very young age. So my question is what else can I teach him to stimulate his mind more and keep him thinking? Not only is he my first GSD but my first dog so I'm really starting at this with no prior experience.

Also is he too young to start protection training and is that something that should be taught by a proffesional or something I could tackle myself? (he barley ever barks with the exception of one of my neighbors)

any help would be amazing

[robk]

heel, come, down, retrieve, stand, go out, let go / out, bark/ speak, search. Or you can start training in German: Fuss (heal) Hier (come) Platz (down) Shtay (stand) Bring (retrieve). There are so many and yes your dog can learn them all! Have fun!

[Dooney's Mom]

Drop it, crawl, search/find it, pick it up, back up, stand, i taught mine side (which basically means come to my side in a heel position- could be heel as well) she also knows front (come and sit in front of me). Hup (means jump up on something) off (for off the bed off the couch off the houseguest- lol) sit pretty (she sits back on her haunches with her front feet up in the air) wave, paw

the possibilities are endless!!!

I have no idea on the protection- you may want to go to the protection section of the boards and ask there!

[Stosh]

Try to remember that he is just a baby! I have leftovers in my fridge older than that. Like the last post said, the possibilities are endless but I use 'with me' rather than a heel, 'that'll do' when I call an end to whatever we're doing, 'settle' on his bed. We herd sheep so the commands are different than other sports or work.

[doggiedad]

something tells me you should reinforce the commands
you have taught him. with the commands he knows, can
someone come along and call him and he'll hold his command?
if a dog walks near him will he hold his command?

you could teach him hand signals, teach him not to exit the house without a command, don't exit the car without a command, heel on either side
with or without a leash, pick things up if you drop something,
back up, don't snatch food when hand fed, find it, carry things for you,
retrieve things when you throw something, give either paw, stop/wait,
go to (send him to someone by name), quiet.

leave the pp to a professional.

Originally Posted by Geminon

Hi, my GSD, Geminon, is almsot 4 months and has learned most of his basic commands, sit, lay, come, leave it, take it and stay(well still working on stay)

Also is he too young to start protection training and is that something that should be taught by a proffesional or something I could tackle myself? (he barley ever barks with the exception of one of my neighbors)

any help would be amazing

[Castlemaid]

I'd work on focus, and focus with distractions, and engagement (see here: Engagement - Key to Training ), but as others have said, he is just a little baby, so don't expect much at first, and move ahead slowly.

Not too young to start protection training, but at this age it is just prey drive development and bite development, all in the form of fun games. For SURE you need the help and guidance of an experienced person. Protection training should never be attempted by a beginner, so many things can be messed up and your pup can suffer psychologically if done wrong. First thing you should do is find a Schutzhund club or a reputable trainer and get him evaluated for this type of training - only dogs with the right temperament are candidates for protection training.

At four months old, he shouldn't be barking an anyone at all - he should be happy, confident, outgoing, friendly, trusting, and on his way to being well socialized. Protection comes out when dogs are mature, around 18 to 24 months of age, sometimes later, if at all, depending on the dog's mental/emotional make-up. Up until then he needs all the exposure to good, safe, and normal people, places, and situations as possible so that when he gets older he can differentiate between the sultry brooding, but harmless teen walking down the street wearing a hoody, and the deranged maniacal axe murderer on the rampage.

[Geminon]

today on a walk we passed by our neighbor who he tends to bark at, i asked him if he could just stand still for a moment to see how geminon would react, he did his usually sniff around and then started licking his pants so i have a feeling his barking was due to maybe curiosity ?

Im going to start looking for some good protection training places here in my area.

How or what is the best way to train him to hold something in his mouth without eating/destroying it lol. Should I wait a bit longer before we move to that command since he's so mouthy ?

[Kittilicious]

Some how along the line I taught my Golden to "go wake up the girls". I say that and she runs upstairs and goes from one bedroom to another until both of them can't stand her barking anymore and get their butts outta bed