German Shepherds can turn into one of two kinds of dogs. They can either be the best dogs you ever owned or they can be an owner’s worst nightmare. German Shepherd problem behaviors will usually arise from human interaction or a lack of it. A German Shepherd has natural instincts but it will gladly put aside those instincts to make its human family happy. A German Shepherd can get very attached and protective of it’s human family and if you do not follow the proper training procedures when the German Shepherd is a pup then you will get German Shepherd problem behaviors.

One of the first things that can help your German Shepherd adapt to life in the world is to socialize the dog with other animals and other people as soon as possible and as young as possible. The sooner the dog learns how to be a social animal the less likely it is to attack other animals and people. A German Shepherd’s natural instinct is to hunt and herd and herding can mean protecting its family so if you do not get it used to other people and animals then you are asking for big problems.

A German Shepherd needs a lot of attention and if you want to avoid German Shepherd problem behaviors in the future then you need to always keep your German Shepherd active and involved in family things. A bored German Shepherd will probably start to resort to it’s hunting instinct and chase cars, other animals, and people and that can turn into a bad thing. So show your German Shepherd plenty of attention and you should be able to avoid this German Shepherd problem behavior before it can develop into a real problem.

A German Shepherd, by nature, is a working dog and if it does not have some sort of assigned task then it starts to get antsy. Always make your German Shepherd feel like it has important work to do even if that important work is just being the family dog. Left to its own devices it will resort to herding activities and that can escalate quickly to more aggressive behavior so be sure to keep your dog busy.

I have always been shocked at the people that get so trusting of their German Shepherd that they let the dog watch the kids for just a minute or two. Never leave your children alone with your dog because one of the German Shepherd problem behaviors is the herding instinct. If your kids are unsupervised with your German Shepherd and that herding instinct kicks in then there could be trouble. So be a smart owner, and a responsible parent, and never leave your German Shepherd alone with your children no matter how well behaved you believe your Shepherd to be.

All a German Shepherd wants to do is be part of your family and if you treat it like a part of the family then you can avoid a lot of the German Shepherd problem behaviors that can occur with this breed. If you neglect the dog, or do not show it enough attention, then you will have a problem dog on your hands and a German Shepherd with an attitude is a dangerous thing. So be a good owner and treat your dog right and they will treat you right.