training german shepards

Question
I have read that it is not good to train w/treats because the mother does not give out treats.  We have a ten week old german shepard pup that can't seem to get the concept of sitting or to shake.  What is your opion?

Answer
Hi, I totally agree that you should not use reward training to actually train a dog.  Not only because their mother doean't give out treats, but also because they will start to rely on the treats to do everything, and if you don't happen to have a treat and want them to do something, they may figure it isn't worth doing because they won't get a treat for it.  I would rather have a dog trained to listen to commands because they want to, not because I'm bribing them.  
I am a firm believer in leadership training, where you use their natural instincts as canines to train them.  This is not like dominace training, where you actually dominate them to make them do something.  Leadership training is where you guide them and actually use your body movements to teach them.  It is a more natural way of training them.
If you need more help with your puppy, just let me know.


Hope this helps, and good luck.

Dawn