German Shepherds Forum banner

What do you think is the most important...

4K views 33 replies 25 participants last post by  MilesNY 
#1 ·
...thing to train at first? A couple friends and I had a group socializing session today, and we got talking about what first to teach a new dog/puppy. We all agreed, of course, that training should start right away and be constant.

However, we all had different ideas for what we should teach first. A few of them said recall, another one said leash manners and heeling, and another said stay.

What do you guys think?

Also, sorry if this is in the wrong spot!
 
#3 · (Edited)
While I think most teach sit, which is pretty easy,, RECALL is definitely the most important command of all..

good trick for teaching since you have some friends to help...two of you,,sit aways apart,,each with treats, call the puppy back and forth, back and forth, always treat and have a party:)))
 
#5 ·
If socialization is a form of 'training', I always pick that first! A well-rounded shepherd is a good citizen, a great foundation, and a happy pet.

IMO, the first thing to do is load your Training Gun; clicker or marker association! The first command I teach my pups is "touch" (touching their nose to my palm when presented with a flat hand and/or a verbal command); it functions as a focus tool and an unofficial recall, plus it's fun and easy.

In the end, it doesn't so much matter WHAT you train... the important part is that the dog learns how to learn. The process of how to process instruction and translate it into a retrievable command is learned and improved over time. It takes more time to learn the first command than the second, and by the twentieth it's a piece of cake.

Good on ya for going to a socialization class! Great start. :)
 
#23 ·
This!!!

... The dogs have no clue or could care less that their owners are on the other end of the leash, heck for that matter that their even in the building..
No doubt! That's how I figured out I had a problem. Unless a prong collar was on Jax she couldn't have cared less that I was at the other end of the leash.

Relationship...focus....more relationship...more focus!
 
#8 ·
I think that recall is important, but I don't think you will get that without some kind of focus. I also think leave it is a very strong command, it can be a life saver for dogs that like to pick stuff up and eat it. I kinda roll the focus and recall into one, because both are needed..they kinda feed off each other. My male GSD has had no formal training as of yet, but he's got pretty good recall, that is probably because I'm always yelling for him because who knows what he's getting into:D
 
#9 ·
We still do restrained recalls on the older dogs to speed them up on 'go outs' and 'to the handler' exercises. Recalls are IMO the most important thing, but don't over do them. We do focus work, perch work(rear end awareness) and positions.

End the session with a restrained recall or two and put the pup up in a crate for some processing time. That crate time is just as important as the training session when a dog is learning something. Goes for the tracking phase as well.
 
#10 ·
A lot of people have already given great advice!

I am assuming you have a puppy. I have very little puppy experience. The dogs I have fostered or adopted have typically been between the ages of 7 months to 6 years – although I have fostered 6 week old orphans and 9+ year old seniors too.

With that said, I believe the single most important thing you need to work on before anything else is positive engagement with the dog (no matter the age). As others have said, building focus is an important piece of that, but make it fun… be the most positive and interesting thing in your dog’s life… learn what motivates and encourages your dog. In so doing, you will find that your dog will also start to learn what motivates you... lol!

Once you have established a positive relationship with the dog, the rest comes a lot easier. So, in my opinion, the focus of early training should be on building a foundation of mutual understanding and trust.
 
#11 · (Edited)
In terms of importance after a rock-solid recall, I think "leave it" is also a potential life saver (and possibly a life saver for your neighbor's cat, a tiny yappy dog off leash charging at you, etc. if your much dog's prey drive can be kept under control with that command). I'll take some sloppy leash work in exchange for a reliable recall and reliable "leave it" any day, if I had to choose.

I tend to agree with LifeofRiley that in terms of order I think it's vital to start with the relationship. Build the dog's self-confidence and build trust between dog and person, then use that foundation to build skills.
 
#12 ·
+1 for focus/attention. Hard to do anything else until you have that. ;)

I actually don't start by training a formal recall, although I agree with everyone else that it's one of the very small handful of commands that every dog really NEEDS to have down. But I don't train it formally until relatively late in the game. For me, the first focus is to build up relationship so the dog wants to be with me and is interested in me and whatever I'm doing.

Yeah, I dunno, the more I think about it, the harder it is to separate out any one thing. All my training overlaps and blurs and builds on itself. Games are meant to be training exercises, and training exercises are taught as games. Not many clear lines of demarcation.

So I'll go with "focus" as my answer.
 
#14 ·
I don't think you work on just one command first. "watch me" command is a good focus command and is also an subtle submission command also. Starting out, sit and down commands along with the watch me command. They can master those pretty quick, but I think the recall and leave it command are equally important and are most important. Socialising along with puppy messages are important at a young age too. Puppy messaging gets them used to being touched, feet, ears, tail ect. It helps later on when taking vet visits, if you have your dog groomed or if you do it yourself.

Soon after or along with them, I like to introduce the wait command too. Making them wait to walk through doors after you go through first, when feeding by puting food in the bowl nd setting it down while they are in a sit and wait then releasing them to the bowl ect. It comes in handy. As they grow, they love to blow through doors ahead of you or the same time your tryiing to walk through. Not a good thing. You can intriduce the stay command along with the wait command but you have to teach them differently. A trainer can show you the difference. It's not complex, but it is easy to confuse the dog between the two if you don't teach it correctly.

Also, try to teach them while using hand signaled commands for sit and down. Hand flat palm up for a sit, and flat with palm down for down. Try using those after they get the verbal with hand signals without the verbal.
 
#15 ·
I think recall is the most important thing to teach your dog, then focus and leave it. :)
 
#24 ·
"NO" is not a command, and is meaningless to a dog. Instead of tell the dog "no", they should be telling the dog what they want the dog to do.

Dog is digging? "Come!", and then play with your dog. He's obviously bored.

Anyway, this is the philosphy that I learned early in my doggie training experience, and it's taught at my obedience club. (I don't remember if that's where I learned it.)
 
#18 ·
For me the first thing to teach is focus, without focus everything becomes very difficult.
Absolutely 100% this ^^!! Along with creating a strong relationship..
 
#20 ·
#21 ·
Sport people and pet people usually have different perspectives on this.:D
So true...

I see it week after week after week in our basic ob classes.. The dogs have no clue or could care less that their owners are on the other end of the leash, heck for that matter that their even in the building..
 
#22 · (Edited)
Most important is for the dog to learn that training is fun. I just have to say, "Who wants to play games!" and everybody wants to train with me. I end up with 3 dogs on heel position trying to get the closest to me.

I train all the time. Stay and come are the most important. When we go for walks in the parks, I always make 1 or 2 stops for "stay" practice. I like bringing an older dog with a younger one to lead by example. It's been really helpful when I train.

Plus, you don't need to train one thing at a time. Wait a few minutes after training one thing and then work on something new.
 
#25 ·
"NO" is not a command, and is meaningless to a dog.
I think dogs do understand and it can be used as a marker word.. for when the dog is incorrect or makes a mistake..
 
#30 ·
^ I agree.

I use Ah! (with varying degrees of intensity/harshness) to indicate they aren't doing something right. I've used it with every dog I've had (and with the horses), from border collies to GSDs and with each one you could see them stop and rethink.

No means stop what you are doing this instant.

Any command given constantly becomes background noise, whether its to fur babies or to skin babies (or heck, husbands ;) ).
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top