Okay, you decide to train your German Shepherd and you don’t know where to start? Do you want to know which training equipment for your German Shepherd dog are a must-have? First of all, we want to congratulate you on a good move, and we are sure that your German Shepherd will love training!
Well, before you start, we suggest you inform yourself well and find all the necessary training equipment, some books, and good video lessons.
The items in this blog post are crucial when it comes time to train your dog. Thanks to them, your German Shepherd will learn new commands and tricks much faster and easier.
Also, we suggest you find one person (dog trainer) at the beginning who you follow and listen to. Later, you can watch lessons from another dog trainer, but in the beginning, it’s important to follow the same trainer.
Every dog trainer has different techniques, very similar, but still different, and that’s completely fine. Follow that one dog trainer to the end, analyze what’s working for you and what don’t. Each person is unique, like a dog, and we must find our common language.
When you train your German Shepherd dog, the most important thing to learn is trust. We can’t describe how important is trust. And also, you must be patient.
We know that’s hard to train your dog. They won’t listen to you, always chewing, biting, pooping inside the house, and much more, but please, be patient, and we can guarantee to you that all your hard work will pay off!
Okay, let’s see now with which dog training tools and toys you can achieve better and faster results. Welcome to our list of top 15 must-have training equipment for your German Shepherd dog!
1. Dog jute pillow
Jute pillows are one of the most popular German shepherd dog training tools out there for sure! You have maybe already seen this amazing training tool in action. Usually, this toy is used for police, military, and Schutzhund dog training.
Can you use it? Of course! Many professional dog handlers recommend this training tool for training or playing with your dog. This tool is perfect for your German Shepherd puppy. It’s a soft, durable, and very interactive training tool and dogs like a German Shepherd loves that!
Most dog handles use this as a reward toy. As soon as your German Shepherd obeys your command, reward your dog by letting him bite this jute dog pillow.
2. Dog treats
Treat is one of the most powerful rewards for your German Shepherd dog. For a good treat, the dog will do basically everything you say and teach them! But should you use ordinary dog treats or some special dog treats?
Well, it depends. If you are training your first-ever dog or puppy, it would be much easier for you and your dog to use a higher-quality treat in the beginning, and later, you can start using ordinary treats.
3. Treat bag (treat pouch)
Food rewards are a great motivation for your German Shepherd dog to learn new commands, and by using a good treat pouch, you can with ease reward your dog and save you getting greasy, smelly pockets.
4. Dog training clicker
When we were kids, we would do whatever our parents told us to, just to get out or stay longer and play with other kids, right? We listened to our parents just to get out, and that was our reward. We knew we would get out and play with other kids, as soon as we finished all the commitments.
This is exactly what a clicker is used for. In most cases, dog trainers use this amazing tool to let their dogs know that something special is coming, something special as a dog treat.
When you say a command, for example, “sit”, you can press a few times dog clicker to let your dog know that he will soon receive treats.
“But how do dogs know that they will receive treats when you use a clicker?” Because you will teach them, and that’s super easy! We suggest you watch this amazing tutorial and learn more about this great training dog tool.
5. Long leash
Long leashes are one of the most important training tools for your German Shepherd dog. With a long leash, you can teach your shepherd easily to come or to stay. You can also work on “off-leash” dog behavior with a proper long leash.
It looks simple, but trust us, with a long leash, you can teach your dog one of the most important commands.
6. Collars
A collar is one of those obvious items. Whether you’re training your German Shepherd or not, a dog collar is absolutely a must-have item. So, why dog collars are so important?
7. Target sticks
This training tool is really interesting for every dog, and it’s super powerful! First, you want to teach your dog to touch the end of the target stick with his nose, and then to follow it as you move it.
8. Training guide (book, e-book, online course)
To keep your training running smoothly, we recommend you to find some training guide. Today, you can easily find free resources on Google, watch some cool videos on YouTube, or buy advanced books or courses.
9. Dog training ball
We all know how much dog loves ball, and for training, we can use special once! Professional dog handles usually use balls on the rope so that they can always keep their furry friend focused on the ball.
10. Paw bell
Paw bells can help you to better understand your German Shepherd dog. Usually, people use these paw bells to teach their dogs to ring when they want to go outside.
11. Crate
Some of them think that crates are bad for dogs, especially for the big ones like a German Shepherd dog. We think that crate can be a great training tool, as long as you use it properly. Crates should be nice looking and comfortable so that your dog can associate the crate with good things, not bad things.
12. Silicone lick mat
Without this amazing training tool, our furry friends wouldn't be the calmest… Most dog owners use silicone lick mats when they shower their German Shepherd dog or brush him. This tool will help you to keep your dog calm, even during some “extreme” situations.
13. Muzzle
No matter how friendly your German Shepherd is, the dog muzzle is must-have dog equipment. Many dogs will need muzzles only when they are going on a visit to the vet, but some of the dogs must wear muzzles until they learn good behavior.
Suggestion: German Shepherd Shopping List
14. Training E-Collar
Okay, this is a hard one. Some people are against e-collars, and some people support e-collars. And the sad truth is that e-collars can hurt your German Shepherd if you don’t use them properly.
Ordinary collars can also hurt your dog if you pull too hard your German Shepherd dog during the walk. The leash also can hurt your dog, even some toys.
The product alone can’t hurt your dog. If you are using e-collar and shock mode to punish your dog, then don’t buy e-collars.
But what if you are a good dog owner and you want to use e-collar the right way? Then this is an absolutely amazing training tool for you and your dog. Usually, e-collars have more than “shock” mode. The most famous mode of e-collar is “vibration” and “beep” mode, and we recommend you to use these two modes.
“Can I use shock mode sometimes?”. Yes, BUT try to use it on the lowest level of “shock power”. Each e-collar has different levels of shock power, and we recommend you try the lowest one first.
Do you think that an e-collar can hurt your dog? Then try it on yourself. Seriously. Before we decide to test our e-collars for dog training, we test them on ourselves first. It’s not painful at all, you will feel some uncomfortable feeling, but no pain.
We will leave here one of the most popular YouTube videos about this topic, and you decide whether e-collars are good or bad.
15. Patience
This is something that you can’t buy. Before you start teaching your dog, you first must teach yourself to be a patient and good person, otherwise, don’t even start. Dogs are truly one of the most special beings on this planet, and their love is the purest love.
Start with the small steps, dream big, and work hard. We promise to you, that you will be proud of yourself and your lovely dog once you “make a connection”. There is no feeling like this. Great things take time. Please, stay patient.
Conclusion
You will realize how easy is to train your German Shepherd dog once you become a more patient person. While you training your dog, you must be fun and the most interesting person to your dog, otherwise, it’s gonna be harder to teach your dog new commands.
And keep in mind, your dog is not “stupid”, your dog is not an “idiot”. Patience. Results will come much faster than you think, and start as soon as possible teaching your dog new commands, they learn much faster and better while they’re young.
We hope that this article will help you to not only find the best training equipment and equipment for your German Shepherd dog but to better understand that dog training is nothing more than building a strong relationship with your dog.
