Training a German Shepherd

My father was convinced that no dog in the world was a match for the German Shepherd in terms of intelligence.  He actually trained them in the military as a young man...and had the scars on his forearms to prove it.  My mother is a devoted fan of the German Shepherd, as well...primarily because when my father was serving in Korea, and she was living alone in Indiana with two small daughters, she purchased a German Shepherd for protection.  This dog...Brutus...not only accomplished this exceedingly well, he also helped me learn how to walk when I was a baby by letting me pull myself up on his body and walk with my hand on him.  I called him Brutee.

When I was 5 years old, we got another German Shepherd...Prince I...who was also the model of patience with my parents' young family.  My father took dozens of pictures of me as a child with my arms wrapped around his neck, hugging him as if I were trying to choke him.  The only person Prince I didn't care for was the garbage man, because he would try to sneak up and take the trash away.

We had other German Shepherds when I was older...Prince II and Count..both of whom were extraordinarily protective and extraordinarily patient.  The only fault Count had was that he liked to steal our dolls, and run away with them with his ears folded down!  

I grew up with the impression that German Shepherds were the smartest dog in the world, too...but what I never realized was that their very intelligence might make them a little bit more difficult than the average dog to train.  I discovered this the hard way...when I purchased my first purebred German Shepherd, Prince Blackstar (or Prince III) from a breeder in Columbus, Nebraska.  

Prince's parents were German imports, so Prince is bigger than the average German Shepherd in America...he is over 100 pounds.  I suspect Prince's ancestors were also possibly used for police work, due to various ingrained habits he arrived with, as well as herding, for the same reason.  This made Prince's puppyhood an especially challenging time.  Yet I actually learned more from training Prince than I have from training any other dog I have owned, and in this blog, I would like to share some of that for anyone who is trying to train a German Shepherd and may be encountering situations similar to those which I did, or for anyone who needs a good laugh.  

I'm pretty sure Prince approves.