A Balance Between Love And Discipline: How To Punish Your German Shepherd Puppy?

How To Punish Your German Shepherd Puppy

Is your German Shepherd puppy misbehaving and do you think that punishing it will solve it? You must learn to control, direct and sanction your canine friend when necessary.

Every dog owner should understand what produces excess or lack of affection. At the same time, it is fundamental to know the role that discipline plays in everything related to the German Shepherd attitude.

Punishment should not be taken as an act of cruelty to the dog. It is a call for attention that allows it to understand that it has crossed the allowed line.

It is a basic element of education that we must know how to employ so that it takes effect and does not become counterproductive.

Punishing your furry friend should always be an educational act so that it understands that what it has done cannot be repeated.

Keep in mind that using violence to punish it can be a step backwards and the only thing you will do is to make it aggressive and distrustful.

However, for a punishment to be effective it must be fair and just. So, how do you punish a dog?

Taking Apart the Good from the Bad

When the dog is born it does not know what is good or bad. It doesn’t know what is acceptable or not. It doesn’t know how to communicate what it wants or the behavior it should adopt.

It will be from the first minutes of its life, and throughout it, when it will learn the notion of good and evil (including its family, other animals and environmental factors).

A German Shepherd that follows a normal process lives the first two or three months of life with its mother.

It will be the dog and its siblings who will teach it some of the canine language, hygiene (doing its business outside the litter), the concept of rank and not biting.

If we take the trouble to observe the mother with her pups, we will see that when everything is fine, she does not say anything, but when it is not so, she moves them, grunts and places them in a submissive position.

All this will make the dog understand the concept of good and evil in its learning.

Then,

When to Punish Your German Shepherd Puppy?

The punishment should be done immediately after the German Shepherd has done something wrong, never after a while, since it would not understand what the reason is for your anger.

Or even worse: your furry friend might associate the punishment with something it has done before that is not necessarily bad.

Punishing your puppy at the wrong time will only make it afraid and distrustful of you over time.

What is wrong will be corrected and negatively sanctioned with an intensity of logical correlation with the bad doing in question.

That is to say, you will be more severe the greater the bad action gets.

Let’s take an example: imagine that it makes pee in your bed when you’re not there and you don’t see it for many hours.

In that case, it is best to assume that it is late and that using punishment as a tool is no longer effective.

Wash the sheets, change the mattress and next time be more careful not to leave any doors open if you are not in. The formula is clear: the punishment must be immediate and very little recurrent.

How Do I Apply A Punishment In The Correct Way?

The vast majority of owners do not know how to properly punish their puppies. Here are some guidelines that experts in animal behavior recommend following so that the punishments are effective, clear and precise on your German Shepherd.

You must keep in mind, above all, that if the punishments are very constant, your dog will get used to them and they will stop working.

Education must be something premeditated, never impulsive, and irrational. Try to calm down if it repeats the same thing several times and think that mischief is also part of its nature.

Don’t think that by punishing your dog too much you will earn its respect, you will only earn its fear.

Never hit a dog, never throw water on it with a spray, and never use anything that might scare it, such as canes or bars made of newspaper.

The different types of dog punishment

Applying a punishment is one thing, applying the appropriate punishment to your German Shepherd is another.

To punish a dog effectively is to be fair and just. For this, there are several degrees of punishment that can be adopted. You must be reasonable and apply the one that best suits your puppy.

Ignore it: Generally, it is the most efficient way used. Without violence, the puppy is able to understand that what it has done is not right (the dog has constant interactivity with its master).

Ignore it if it barks to get your attention (it is more effective than scolding it). It is also the most recommended reaction since it allows the caretaker to not enter the dog’s game and maintain control.

Also, it’s the most commonly used method of punishment for your puppies. When the dogs are young, they are constantly trying to discover, learn, and catch the attention of their master.

Ignoring it is a good way to make it understand that you don’t care and don’t like it.

Disinterest: It is mainly used in puppies, but sometimes it is a life that voluntarily changes the dog’s ideas.

For example, it suddenly starts digging a hole, and sitting inside makes it forget your presence.

The warning might stop what it’s doing, but it’s best to direct the puppy’s attention to another activity. In this case, call it with a squeaky toy and lure it towards you to engage in another activity.

Any behavior that is not maintained with a puppy will be forgotten.

In other words, if the puppy can never finish making his hole, it won’t try to do it. But, again, the puppy’s temperament comes into play, and sometimes the punishment will have to be more severe.

Create a keyword: Using your voice is good, but never say a long sentence to it, such as: “Have you noticed that what you have just done is bad?” Obviously, your dog will not understand.

Make up a word and use it only in the moments when you must apply the punishment. Try to keep them short and easy to say out loud, like ‘Ah’, ‘Eh’, ‘No’, ‘What’, ‘Hey’, etc.

Don’t repeat it many times. Just say it out loud once, after it’s done something wrong, and point it out so it knows you’re saying it to it.

Remember, stay firm!

Obviously, don’t let yourself be carried away by their charms and kindness of your puppy, German Shepherds are tender, sweet, and when they know they have done something wrong, they make a face that touches us.

It is important that after telling it the word you have chosen; you do not laugh or pamper it.

Doing something like that will be contradictory and confusing for it, right? Resist and eat it with kisses a few hours later.

Punishing your puppy is not abuse. It’s about having control over it. Learning to know it and being known.

In this way, a harmonious relationship and simple communication will be established based on the rules that have been established. There is no problem in punishing your German Shepherd while being fair and equitable!

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