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April 28, 2011

My 4 year old rescue German Shepherd is so afraid of meeting new people he shakes when he is around a lot of people. What can I do?

Full Question:
I have two dogs. My first is the younger of the two, she is a Rout/Beagle mix who was trained as a pup to work with handicapped children. She is well trained but sometimes refuses to go outside because she escaped once and the pound picked her up and had her for a week. My second dog just turned 4 and is a GSD. He is papered and was neutered. He is leash and house broken but does not respond to commands like sit, stay, and come. Is he to old for obedience training? He is very well behaved and non-aggressive. He is incredibly timid and visibly shakes when he is in a store or around lots of people. I am extremely interested in buying the basic obedience video, but I want to make sure the video will work for a 4 year old GSD and a 3 year old mix.



I have had the GSD for only 6 months and the rout/beagle for 1 1/2 years. I want to keep my dogs for a long time, I am a pastor and I need well behaved dogs, is it to late to train my dogs new commands? I am a new dog owner and inexperienced in training animals. Is there another video that you would recommend. I do have a prong collar for my rout/beagle. I use it only on walks and correction is rarely needed. She was a puller/tugger until I got that collar and her attitude changed considerably.



Thanks you...
Rob
South Bend, IN
Cindy
Cindy Cindy's Answer:
It is never too late to train any dog. That is an old wives tale.



The tape is very good – but if you get it I would also recommend getting a prong collar for the work. It just makes things easier and more clear for the dogs.



I would recommend taking the GSD everywhere you can. I would let people give him pieces of hot dog so he can learn that strangers are nice people. Be a little careful about allowing strangers to pet the dog. We do not want him to learn that growling will make people stay away from him. That’s when they start to become fear biters. Just have people toss a small piece of food on the ground in front of him – if he take food gently from the hand then let them give it to him on the palm of their hand (not by the finger tips – that’s how they get fingers pinched).

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Expert Dog Trainer Cindy Rhodes
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