If you have a new German Shepherd puppy, no doubt one of the very first things you are going to want to teach it are to sit and lay down on command. One of the quickest and easiest ways to do this is by using a small treat (and praise) when your dog does as it’s told.

Teaching Your Dog To Sit.

More often than not when teaching a new puppy to sit on command, owners will use the command sit while at the same time pressing on the dog’s backside, while this can and will work, using the treat method can be quicker and more effective:

Simply hold a treat just above your dog’s head, and slightly behind, while saying sit move the treat back a little and you’ll see that your puppy will naturally sit down to keep the treat within its line of sight. As soon as the dog is sitting, reward him with both the treat and praise.

Teaching Your Dog To Lay Down.

Again, often when people are training their dogs to lay down they grab their front paws and drag them into a lying position this also isn’t necessary and again might be uncomfortable for your puppy.

Instead, once again use a treat. When you have your dog’s attention, hold the treat almost to the floor and slowly bring it toward you, while using the command down, once again your dog will follow the treat by laying down. As soon as he is in that position, reward him with both the treat and praise.

Remember too that when you want your dog to lay down, make sure you use the one command all the time, don’t say “drop” one time and then “down” the next. Personally I suggest using “down” as “drop” may get confusing if you’re teaching your dog to “drop” a ball or stick etc.

Another article you may find of interest:

Article Matrix » Blog Archive » Training Your German Shepherd Dog - The German Shepherd Dog truly is a wonderful animal and not only do they make good working dogs, they also make superb family pets. They are however very different from other pet breeds and need to be handled and trained with a different approach to say your average labrador or poodle for instance. The German Shepherd Dog is a large, strong athletic dog, which needs a lot of mental stimulation and exercise but a well trained shepherd can learn to do almost anything.