[David Winners]

I do the same, and also lots of capturing - marking and rewarding behaviors offered spontaneously. Whether luring or capturing, you'd add the verbal cue after the dog is reliably doing it, basically naming the behavior so the cue becomes associated with the behavior and the hand signal. There's no point in telling a puppy to do something in particular if he has no idea what the word means yet. And you definitely don't want him to associate the wrong behavior with a command either, such as learning that he can blow off your recall cue, for example.

Don't name it till you love it!

The old obedience adage.

@JustSomeGuy you seem worried that someone will take control of your dog. That's just not a thing really. Military dogs are all trained in English and their commands are published right in the field manuals. Your dog hasa relationship with you which is partly why he will respond to commands.

 

[JustSomeGuy]

Maybe. There's a couple of women who have been making the rounds around British Columbia and Alberta (quite a large area, kind of like Washington state and Montana) stealing dogs. They're pretty good at it. Not to mention random dog thefts by others, which might be even more tempting when they see a purebred German Shepherd. I actually worry about my mixed breed Boston Terrier being taken from my fenced backyard in suburbia.

Hopefully my new dog will respond only to me, and if properly trained, will protect and go after the bad guy(s), though in this day and age, that will probably result in a lawsuit where the criminal wins anyways. Sometimes thinking too far ahead can be depressing and stressful.

 

[Mozie’s fur mum]

We used basic IPO/Schutzhund Because we purchased him from an Amish breeder who spoke German to him from birth. Commands have been in both English, German and my native tongue. As dogs respond to tone, I’m not sure that language has made a distinct difference.

 

[JustSomeGuy]

That's pretty neat that your puppy came from a breeder who spoke German to him from birth! But like you said, dogs respond to tone as well. A few times I've been angry at my dog for doing something bad, but I restrained myself and said it a friendly cheerful tone with a smile because yelling at a dog when you discover something long after it happened does absolutely no good.

 

[Kazel]

Maybe. There's a couple of women who have been making the rounds around British Columbia and Alberta (quite a large area, kind of like Washington state and Montana) stealing dogs. They're pretty good at it. Not to mention random dog thefts by others, which might be even more tempting when they see a purebred German Shepherd. I actually worry about my mixed breed Boston Terrier being taken from my fenced backyard in suburbia.

Hopefully my new dog will respond only to me, and if properly trained, will protect and go after the bad guy(s), though in this day and age, that will probably result in a lawsuit where the criminal wins anyways. Sometimes thinking too far ahead can be depressing and stressful.

You may be overthinking it a little bit. Dogs will be dogs, a person doesn’t have to use commands to steal a dog, generally the dogs will run up to a person or they won’t. And plenty of dogs run up to fences to bark at strangers. Best way to prevent a dog from being stolen is to not leave them outside alone very often of get a fence people can’t reach over or open a gate easily.

And as others have said it’s more so the bond that lets you command a dog, not always the direct commands. Along with tone. My dogs will listen to my dad so-so because they know they can blow him off because he isn’t consistent. I wouldn’t necessarily expect them to listen to a stranger, especially not in the context of a random stranger coming over and giving them commands or giving commands from a distance. They might listen to a sit before getting attention, but that also goes back to me training them to sit before getting pet.

Also I didn’t add it in, but I also really like hand signal for training. Dogs tend to pick them up really easily and it’s another good way of communication. You can always add a snap to get their attention if they aren’t looking at you.

 

[Bearshandler]

Most commands I teach start with lure or shaping, then transition to hand signal, then to words. If I want to use a different word for the action, it’s usually as simple as pairing the word with the hand sign a couple times. Some commands like heel I don’t have a hand sign for, or intentional one anyway, so it’s a little different. As far as stealing your dog, that’s going to come down to their attitude towards strangers. Though anyone could sweet talk their way in with enough time, unless you’re dogs was specifically trained against it. The best method is to just not leave your dog outside unattended.

 

[JustSomeGuy]

Seems like good, consistent training, hand signals, forming a tight bond with the dog, etc, will go a long way. I live alone now, and probably will forever, not counting the dogs. Even before, with my first dog, he formed an obvious stronger bond with me than with anyone else, though he could be tempted or lured away with the right treats, verbal commands or anything else. I'm hoping more advanced training will help counter this.

Those two women that go around stealing dogs in my area and other areas are very proficient and have been known to lure dogs to fence lines of fully fenced yards in urban, suburban and I l believe rural areas too, sometimes with difficult approaches or terrain. Even if they moved away or stopped stealing dogs, what's not to say someone else could try it? Especially when they see a nice, purebred German Shepherd.

Although it would be ideal not to leave the dog outside unattended, it's not always practical or possible. Sometimes my dog spends just a few minutes outside, sometimes a half hour, an hour or even a few hours. I work from home, and can't be outside that long, though I certainly welcome the opportunity for a break to stretch my legs and get some fresh air and sun. But sometimes it's cold, dark, rainy or windy. The dog might not mind it, but I do. And when it's dark, despite having a few flood lights, I can't see every corner of my rather large but fully fenced backyard. Yes, I like bonding and interacting with the dog - sometimes I'll go in the backyard and play with my dog, but even as a senior dog, he has more energy and stamina than I do. I'm sure my future German Shepherd puppy will have just as much if not more. Leashed walks are another part of our daily routine.

Just trying to think ahead and minimize the risk for as many possible dangers as I can. Some people may think I'm worrying about this too much. Maybe I am. But the older I get, the more I realize there are some nasty people out there who will not hesitate to do whatever they need to do in order to fulfill their wants and desires without any consideration for the impact on others.

 

[cmacc]

Seems like good, consistent training, hand signals, forming a tight bond with the dog, etc, will go a long way. I live alone now, and probably will forever, not counting the dogs. Even before, with my first dog, he formed an obvious stronger bond with me than with anyone else, though he could be tempted or lured away with the right treats, verbal commands or anything else. I'm hoping more advanced training will help counter this.

Those two women that go around stealing dogs in my area and other areas are very proficient and have been known to lure dogs to fence lines of fully fenced yards in urban, suburban and I l believe rural areas too, sometimes with difficult approaches or terrain. Even if they moved away or stopped stealing dogs, what's not to say someone else could try it? Especially when they see a nice, purebred German Shepherd.

Although it would be ideal not to leave the dog outside unattended, it's not always practical or possible. Sometimes my dog spends just a few minutes outside, sometimes a half hour, an hour or even a few hours. I work from home, and can't be outside that long, though I certainly welcome the opportunity for a break to stretch my legs and get some fresh air and sun. But sometimes it's cold, dark, rainy or windy. The dog might not mind it, but I do. And when it's dark, despite having a few flood lights, I can't see every corner of my rather large but fully fenced backyard. Yes, I like bonding and interacting with the dog - sometimes I'll go in the backyard and play with my dog, but even as a senior dog, he has more energy and stamina than I do. I'm sure my future German Shepherd puppy will have just as much if not more. Leashed walks are another part of our daily routine.

Just trying to think ahead and minimize the risk for as many possible dangers as I can. Some people may think I'm worrying about this too much. Maybe I am. But the older I get, the more I realize there are some nasty people out there who will not hesitate to do whatever they need to do in order to fulfill their wants and desires without any consideration for the impact on others.

My 7 year old is bat **** crazy, generally ignores people, turns his nose up at treats and I usually have to put him away when people that don't live in the house come over, he's a jem with just his family... anyway...we live in a rural-ish subdivision on a fully treed lot except for our driveway, I let him out to use the bathroom like I always do (he's NEVER left the yard) I call him to come back in and nothing, less than 3 minutes had passed. I go into panic mode thinking he's chased someone or something so put some shoes and a jacket on and go outside to bring in back in from whatever distraction but he was gone. I'm beside myself, husband goes out looking....drives around the neighbourhood .. nothing.. up the road and nothing. We post that he's missing everywhere I can think and my husband starts to head towards town spots him in the window at one of the vets (not ours). The person that had him said that they had a really hard time getting him into the car but they were concerned about him. He was grabbed out of the driveway and they took him for a checkup before they were going to take him home, when we spoke to the vet he was appalled that someone just happened to "find" a well bred, well looked after, trained dog and to take it back where they found him as they couldn't find his microchip. The next day he went back to the same spot at the end of the driveway and started rooting around in the snow, we checked it out and it was baited. It's not something I would have ever thought about but I am much more vigilant now and we routinely inspect our property boundaries because you never know.

 

[Bearshandler]

Rain, sleet or snow, I have never left bear outside unattended.

 

[herojig]

Been training my GSDs in both Nepali and English for decades. They don't care what language that I use, as long as they get a kibble, and they seem to understand Bhas and Sit equally well. Not sure we can say they hear what we do when we speak, so perhaps the words we speak to them is picked up differently, in a way that the actual language is not as important as the sound \ inflection \ expressiveness of the words being spoken, Just my guess...

Rhamro Bhaboo!

 

[JustSomeGuy]

I guess I feel somewhat safe having a fully fenced backyard, for 9 of the 10 years I've had my dog (first year I was in an apartment, so I always took him on a leash, and he was always under my supervision). But I have to admit, even having a fully fenced backyard, I still get a bit worried that someone could take my dog or there could be an incident with a wild animal. In this area, there are aggressive deer which have never been able to get into my yard, though once I saw one hit my chainlink fence with its front legs after my dog was barking at it from the other side (luckily there's a steep hill on the other side so it's too high for the deer to jump over). Apparently bears have been known to be in the forested areas not too far away away, but in the suburban residential area it's extremely uncommon, though not unheard of to have a bear wander in. Raccoons are occasionally seen too. All of these things worry me. Even if I was there, I'm not sure what I could do. My presence may or may be enough to discourage a human predator. That's where the commands in another language idea came up.

 

[geo.ulrich]

I trained mine for basic commands in english and hand/ finger snaps and finger signals for protection or alert he is trained in Russian. my grand parents were from Russia so I know enough to hold a casual conversation. another thing teach your dog to not be bought off with treats by a stranger, when offered anything from someone outside my family he was taught to sit and growl.

 

[JustSomeGuy]

I trained mine for basic commands in english and hand/ finger snaps and finger signals for protection or alert he is trained in Russian. my grand parents were from Russia so I know enough to hold a casual conversation. another thing teach your dog to not be bought off with treats by a stranger, when offered anything from someone outside my family he was taught to sit and growl.

The hand and finger snaps are good. But it's teaching the dog not to be bought off with treats by a stranger that I'm really interested in learning. My current dog would can be easily bribed by treats from anyone, in fact, he will run up and beg for them - which is not what I want. This is something I definitely want to change with my next dog (and if possible with this dog too).

 

[David Winners]

 

[WNGD]

One of my females was not taught to, but would not take food from a stranger. We found out when the only time I had to kennel her and she refused to eat for 4 days. Something to think about; maybe when a stranger gives a code word, they can eat

 

[geo.ulrich]

Thats where the second language comes in also.....

 

[JustSomeGuy]

Interesting video (has to be watched directly on YouTube, embedding doesn't work). I wonder if it's easier to do with a puppy rather than an older dog set in his ways? Or can you "teach an old dog new tricks?"Now that I have experience with my first dog, I'm know what I'm going to do differently with my German Shepherd puppy.

My dog is a picky eater and has been known not to eat when left with a dog sitter for a few days too. Perhaps a code word or second language would come in handy? But I think my current dog is just too stuck up and picky, it wouldn't matter. Sometimes he will eat when other dogs are around so the other dogs won't get the food, or he will eat their food because it's something different.