Our family is waiting for our German Shepherd puppy to come to our home in March - What would you recommend as we start our preparation and plan our training for the dog in the next 12 months?

Hi Vincent,

What type of activities will you be doing with your new puppy? Family dog? Will you be getting into any organized dog sports like competitive obedience or agility? What I suggest may vary based on your long term goals.

OK, that helps. I'd start with our puppy material, I'll link that below this message.
Start with Your Puppy 8 wk to 12 months and Living with Your Puppy.
We also have some housetraining material, that you may or may not need.

I would also start with the Recall training as soon as you can and the puppy is settled in, it's the MOST important behavior for any dog to know.

After that, Basic and Intermediate Obedience. (this will likely not start until your pup is a little older-generally between 4-6 months depending on the puppy's maturity level and attention span)

We also have a video on how I handle hiking with my dogs, it's not really a "training" video so much as bringing attention to things that so many dog owners do incorrectly or allow when out in public with their dogs.

You're welcome, congrats on the new puppy! I wish everyone would do their "homework" before they bring the puppy home. It's much less stressful for everyone.

Keep in mind that there may be some overlap in content in these videos, but that's intentional so that it's reinforced in the human's mind for the benefit of the puppy and family members. We all learn best with repetition. :)