If you could only teach your GSD one single skill, what would it be and why?

[Malakai The Great]

If you could only teach your German Shepherd one single skill beyond the basics (sit, down, stay, recall), what would it be and why?

For me, I keep going back and forth between a strong place command (because it makes life at home so much smoother) and a rock solid, off leash recall (because nothing beats the freedom of safely letting a shepherd run). Both are game changers, just in different ways.

It got me wondering... what’s the one skill you think makes the biggest impact on day to day life with a GSD? Could be practical, could be fun, could even be something unique you’ve taught your dog.

Really curious to hear everyone’s take on this.

 

[MyDogBitz]

I'm not sure about a single skill but the three things that I think are most important for the average dog owner are:

- Recall.
- Loose leash walking.
- Place-stay.

I actually teach these first before anything else. IMO they're foundational. I want to get the dog off leash as quickly as possible so the recall is paramount. Loose leash walking keeps the dog focused on ME when out in the environment and the place command teaches impulse control and more importantly I can introduce the concept of a release signal.

Simultaneously I'm teaching the dog how to play and I teach the out command, along with building our communication system.

 

[Kaia Murphy]

I'm not sure about a single skill but the three things that I think are most important for the average dog owner are:

- Recall.
- Loose leash walking.
- Place-stay.

I actually teach these first before anything else. IMO they're foundational. I want to get the dog off leash as quickly as possible so the recall is paramount. Loose leash walking keeps the dog focused on ME when out in the environment and the place command teaches impulse control and more importantly I can introduce the concept of a release signal.

Simultaneously I'm teaching the dog how to play and I teach the out command, along with building our communication system.

Is your dog always off leash? Can you walk downtown like that, or are there still times where you use a leash even with an adult dog?

What kind of communication system do you work on?

I agree, recall sounds like it’s of the utmost importance.

 

[MyDogBitz]

Is your dog always off leash? Can you walk downtown like that, or are there still times where you use a leash even with an adult dog?

What kind of communication system do you work on?

I agree, recall sounds like it’s of the utmost importance.

I train to off leash obedience. It's my goal. The finished product is a gradual scale of success. As the dog matures and shows obligation, the level of freedom increases. Currently, I can heel my pup off leash through a moderately busy neighborhood street or a beach town boardwalk but he's not ready for the highschool soccer games yet. LOL.

I build my markers, singles, queues (whatever you want to call them) through play.

Recall and loose leash walking go hand and hand. Without getting too deep into it, both disciplines keeps the dog in a state of mindfulness and concentrated on what I am doing instead of the other way around.

 

[Kaia Murphy]

I train to off leash obedience. It's my goal. The finished product is a gradual scale of success. As the dog matures and shows obligation, the level of freedom increases. Currently, I can heel my pup off leash through a moderately busy neighborhood street or a beach town boardwalk but he's not ready for the highschool soccer games yet. LOL.

I build my markers, singles, queues (whatever you want to call them) through play.

Recall and loose leash walking go hand and hand. Without getting too deep into it, both disciplines keeps the dog in a state of mindfulness and concentrated on what I am doing instead of the other way around.

That’s awesome, I didn’t realize you could build it up like that in steps. The way you explained it makes it sound way less intimidating than I thought. I like how you tied it to play too, makes it seem more fun for both of you. Do you think most shepherds can get to that level of off-leash reliability if the training is consistent?

Are soccer games off leash an ultimate goal for you? Pun intended

 

[MyDogBitz]

That’s awesome, I didn’t realize you could build it up like that in steps. The way you explained it makes it sound way less intimidating than I thought. I like how you tied it to play too, makes it seem more fun for both of you. Do you think most shepherds can get to that level of off-leash reliability if the training is consistent?

Are soccer games off leash an ultimate goal for you? Pun intended

Just about every dog can get to off leash obedience. The soccer game is just a small stepping stone. Honestly, I could have him off leash now BUT it wouldn't be fair because he would be too aroused and I would have to correct him, but he wouldn't understand the correction because he doesn't know what's expected.

Now, after two or three visits, he'll understand what is expected and a correction would be fair.

My goal posts constantly move. Once I'm comfortable with the dog off leash everywhere we'll find something else fun to do.

I'm always working on two or three things at any one time.

 

[Kaia Murphy]

Just about every dog can get to off leash obedience. The soccer game is just a small stepping stone. Honestly, I could have him off leash now BUT it wouldn't be fair because he would be too aroused and I would have to correct him, but he wouldn't understand the correction because he doesn't know what's expected.

Now, after two or three visits, he'll understand what is expected and a correction would be fair.

My goal posts constantly move. Once I'm comfortable with the dog off leash everywhere we'll find something else fun to do.

I'm always working on two or three things at any one time.

That’s such a cool way to look at it, like the soccer game is just one stepping stone instead of the final goal. I like the idea of always moving the goal posts and working on a couple things at once. It makes training sound like it stays interesting for both you and the dog. Do you usually plan out what comes next, or just go with whatever you feel your dog needs most at the time?

 

[Malakai The Great]

I'm not sure about a single skill but the three things that I think are most important for the average dog owner are:

- Recall.
- Loose leash walking.
- Place-stay.

I actually teach these first before anything else. IMO they're foundational. I want to get the dog off leash as quickly as possible so the recall is paramount. Loose leash walking keeps the dog focused on ME when out in the environment and the place command teaches impulse control and more importantly I can introduce the concept of a release signal.

Simultaneously I'm teaching the dog how to play and I teach the out command, along with building our communication system.

Recall, loose leash, and place are three skills that ripple into everything else. I like how you framed those as the foundation. You nailed it with impulse control. Place is such an underrated command for teaching a young shepherd to settle and wait, which carries over into so many parts of daily life.

I also like that you tie in play and the out command right away. Too many people forget that building communication through play is just as important as structured drills.

 

[MyDogBitz]

That’s such a cool way to look at it, like the soccer game is just one stepping stone instead of the final goal. I like the idea of always moving the goal posts and working on a couple things at once. It makes training sound like it stays interesting for both you and the dog. Do you usually plan out what comes next, or just go with whatever you feel your dog needs most at the time?

"Do you usually plan out what comes next, or just go with whatever you feel your dog needs most at the time?"

That's a good question.

I guess a little bit of both. I teach functional obedience via progression. We can't get to "C" if "A" and "B" aren't in place - if that makes sense.

Then, there's the unplanned training. For instance, if I'm struggling with a behavior or a bad habit that popped up or developed unexpectedly, I can work on that as well, outside the obedience & play training.

As we make progress I can start to address it in the obedience & play training and then in highly distracting environments.

It also helps to have access to really good trainers who are far better than yourself. I do 90% of my training on my own. But I do see a TWC training team every 4-6 weeks. Usually it's for small things I'm not sure of, or maybe an odd behavioral quirk that I want to address, or even something fun that I want to add.

One thing I'll add, IMO all of the training should have an overarching goal of improving the dog's life and how they live with people in a way that allows for more and more freedom.

For me, stable behavior, off leash obedience and cooperative, structured play are my ultimate goals. Anything beyond that is just extra.

 

[murph]

If you could only teach your German Shepherd one single skill beyond the basics (sit, down, stay, recall), what would it be and why?

For me, I keep going back and forth between a strong place command (because it makes life at home so much smoother) and a rock solid, off leash recall (because nothing beats the freedom of safely letting a shepherd run). Both are game changers, just in different ways.

It got me wondering... what’s the one skill you think makes the biggest impact on day to day life with a GSD? Could be practical, could be fun, could even be something unique you’ve taught your dog.

Really curious to hear everyone’s take on this.

Recall is the most important thing I think, but the second for me is for them not to eat random shit on the floor and not to take treats from strangers.

I also have a problem at vet visits because she doesn't like to be touched on her paws. So desensitization with that. That is the biggest thing i did not teach her.

 

[Malakai The Great]

Recall is the most important thing I think, but the second for me is for them not to eat random shit on the floor and not to take treats from strangers.

I also have a problem at vet visits because she doesn't like to be touched on her paws. So desensitization with that. That is the biggest thing i did not teach her.

Totally agree on both of those, recall is life-saving, and teaching “leave it” or “ignore” around food and random stuff might be just as valuable in the long run.

The paw desensitization point is a great one too. It’s one of those little things you don’t realize you’ll need until vet visits become stressful. Sounds like you’ve put a lot of thought into her foundation.