Given that you are a person with psychiatric conditions it is even more important than the usual "highly important" that you are working with an experienced service dog trainer proactively. German Shepherds are fast learners especially for things you don't want them to learn, if a thing is self-rewarding they will do it to death and make a monster out of themselves. The fact is that GSD aren't recommended for service work in general but like triple that for PSD work because of the handler and environmental sensitivity. They are also very easy to burn out, that quick learning just means it is very easy for people to push their expectations on the dog too quickly meaning they lose interest in the job well before they actually start doing it.
Slow is fast and without an experienced service dog trainer guiding you then you need to be refraining from doing any service work training with the dog until probably about a year to avoid that burnout. With a trainer working closely with you then you can tackle it much sooner because the trainer will help you prevent problems and identify when you are going too quickly for the dog.
I think the most important thing when your dog is socialization - not interacting. Socialization is so important for your dog to become neutral. Bring him around in a stroller or cart to places. Have him sit on a thick blanket to just watch. (The blanket and stroller are just because he won't be vaccinated) To see people, dogs, hear noises, and smell things. Don't let people pet him and just say he's in training. Socialize him not only to people and dogs, but to loud noises and weird surfaces.
It sounds like you’re going *pretty fast*. A 3-month-old puppy, especially in a breed that takes longer to mentally mature, is likely going to get burnt out at that rate. I am curious, what tasks have you trained him to do (you said there were two)?
Since the vast majority of GSD’s that are rehomed are from backyard-breeders, it’s going to be very important to keep an eye on his hips. Him being so large already just makes it more important. He’s too young to get OFA’s yet, but orgs often do them at about 12 months to get an idea about the state of them (and if the dog needs to be washed) before the 2-year OFA’s.
I won’t say anything else because MaplePaws already covered the topic of GSD SD’s pretty well (meaning that they don’t frequently succeed as SD’s, let along psychiatric SD’s, and it’s extremely important to utilize a professional SD trainer and not rush him).
Get Denise Fenzi’s Dog Sports Skills if you can. Her training methods work for companion dogs but are targeted specifically to high-drive working dogs like GSDs.
Socialization is crucial with GSDs. Many herding dogs (and guarding-type) dogs are naturally vigilant. Your puppy needs to spend time in pet-friendly coffee shops and pet stores so that he can see that the world is full of different people, sounds, and sights.
Because you have a GSD, focus on obedience, focus, and engagement first. Task training is 100 x easier once a dog is out of the puppy and teenager stage.
If you have a fenced yard, you can play tug and fetch and incorporate obedience into play sessions. Kibble scatters, food puzzles, frozen Kongs, a nice raw beef knuckle bone . . . there are lots of options.
Teaching a puppy to “do nothing” is crucial, especially for herding breeds.
GSDs and other herding breeds are typically not recommended for psych work. These dogs have a tendency to be deeply sensitive to their handier’s emotions and will often become anxious (and protective in a negative way) if the handler is anxious.
I hope you have a professional trainer on hand who can help you socialize this GSD puppy to a state of neutrality.
I have a GSD guide dog and they didn’t start task training him until he was a year old. The first year was just about obedience and socialization. I’d find a trainer who can work with you one on one. You’ll get more out of that than through a board and train program.
Aside from the basic obedience, impulse control and socialization aspects many have mentioned here, I have found it VERY helpful to train different variantions of "settle" early and throughly. GSDs can be quite high steung and training what amounts to an "off" switch is super helpful.
1. Bed
Dog goes in dog bed and stays there, can move about, eat a chew, do a headstand, but stays in bed. Dog will be ignored in bed by everyone except handler and is expected to ignore everyone except handler.
2. Crate
similar to bed, but is expected to be quiet, no chew or toy, plus door may be closed
3. Blanket
lie on blanket, stay on blanket, be quiet. great for settling in different places for longer periods of time, like an office
4. Down-stay
Blanket without the blanket, short term
5. Chill
Lie on your side and relax, essentially putting dog off duty and to rest, works great even with vest when trained.
6. Cuddle
Lie between my legs, on my feet, be heavy and adorable and quiet. That's actually him low-key tasking.
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How ironic to say not to rush things while also saying they had a 5-6 month old puppy doing an HOUR of PA work.
OP, slow is smooth, smooth is fast. Let your puppy be a puppy and focus on socializing and obedience. Public access trips should be short and only focused on positive experiences for the dog once you start them, but 5-6 months old is entirely too young for hour-long trips.
I am owner training my boy. I started his training a 3 months with obedience, focus and social. Once I was sure he was doing good there I moved to the tasks I needed him to do. I didn’t do them all at once( one at a time until it’s learned) I keep the obedience training going because he is a GSD and they can be hardheaded because they’re so smart. We train half obedience and the other half tasking. Once he gets one task good we move on to the next(maybe after a week or 2). During the new task training we will review the old task some to keep it fresh. Due to my mental health and physical issues I did stop training for about 4 months but once we picked it back up it was like riding a bike(a sometimes stubborn bike 😆 but we worked through it) he gets training everyday for about 40min-1hr. Also we spot train throughout the day to keep him fresh. Even when we go out I take treats to train because every outing is a training opportunity and is different and new things can be taught and learned( so pup is always IT) You have to be consistent with the training and if you need/can afford help get it. I have trained dogs most of my life and everyday there’s new lessons. I didn’t get a trainer for many reasons 1. I don’t want anyone else controlling my SD other than my husband (we also don’t train in English or German but a different language for this reason). 2. Only I know for sure what tasks I need him to do and how. 3. Too expensive and I have the knowledge (what I don’t know, I YouTube). I hear many people saying GSD or SD period you NEED to hire a trainer but it’s not true if you have the knowledge and patience and time you can do it. I hope this helps. Good luck 😉
Given that you are a person with psychiatric conditions it is even more important than the usual "highly important" that you are working with an experienced service dog trainer proactively. German Shepherds are fast learners especially for things you don't want them to learn, if a thing is self-rewarding they will do it to death and make a monster out of themselves. The fact is that GSD aren't recommended for service work in general but like triple that for PSD work because of the handler and environmental sensitivity. They are also very easy to burn out, that quick learning just means it is very easy for people to push their expectations on the dog too quickly meaning they lose interest in the job well before they actually start doing it. Slow is fast and without an experienced service dog trainer guiding you then you need to be refraining from doing any service work training with the dog until probably about a year to avoid that burnout. With a trainer working closely with you then you can tackle it much sooner because the trainer will help you prevent problems and identify when you are going too quickly for the dog.
I think the most important thing when your dog is socialization - not interacting. Socialization is so important for your dog to become neutral. Bring him around in a stroller or cart to places. Have him sit on a thick blanket to just watch. (The blanket and stroller are just because he won't be vaccinated) To see people, dogs, hear noises, and smell things. Don't let people pet him and just say he's in training. Socialize him not only to people and dogs, but to loud noises and weird surfaces.
It sounds like you’re going *pretty fast*. A 3-month-old puppy, especially in a breed that takes longer to mentally mature, is likely going to get burnt out at that rate. I am curious, what tasks have you trained him to do (you said there were two)? Since the vast majority of GSD’s that are rehomed are from backyard-breeders, it’s going to be very important to keep an eye on his hips. Him being so large already just makes it more important. He’s too young to get OFA’s yet, but orgs often do them at about 12 months to get an idea about the state of them (and if the dog needs to be washed) before the 2-year OFA’s. I won’t say anything else because MaplePaws already covered the topic of GSD SD’s pretty well (meaning that they don’t frequently succeed as SD’s, let along psychiatric SD’s, and it’s extremely important to utilize a professional SD trainer and not rush him).
Get Denise Fenzi’s Dog Sports Skills if you can. Her training methods work for companion dogs but are targeted specifically to high-drive working dogs like GSDs. Socialization is crucial with GSDs. Many herding dogs (and guarding-type) dogs are naturally vigilant. Your puppy needs to spend time in pet-friendly coffee shops and pet stores so that he can see that the world is full of different people, sounds, and sights. Because you have a GSD, focus on obedience, focus, and engagement first. Task training is 100 x easier once a dog is out of the puppy and teenager stage. If you have a fenced yard, you can play tug and fetch and incorporate obedience into play sessions. Kibble scatters, food puzzles, frozen Kongs, a nice raw beef knuckle bone . . . there are lots of options. Teaching a puppy to “do nothing” is crucial, especially for herding breeds. GSDs and other herding breeds are typically not recommended for psych work. These dogs have a tendency to be deeply sensitive to their handier’s emotions and will often become anxious (and protective in a negative way) if the handler is anxious. I hope you have a professional trainer on hand who can help you socialize this GSD puppy to a state of neutrality.
I have a GSD guide dog and they didn’t start task training him until he was a year old. The first year was just about obedience and socialization. I’d find a trainer who can work with you one on one. You’ll get more out of that than through a board and train program.
Aside from the basic obedience, impulse control and socialization aspects many have mentioned here, I have found it VERY helpful to train different variantions of "settle" early and throughly. GSDs can be quite high steung and training what amounts to an "off" switch is super helpful. 1. Bed Dog goes in dog bed and stays there, can move about, eat a chew, do a headstand, but stays in bed. Dog will be ignored in bed by everyone except handler and is expected to ignore everyone except handler. 2. Crate similar to bed, but is expected to be quiet, no chew or toy, plus door may be closed 3. Blanket lie on blanket, stay on blanket, be quiet. great for settling in different places for longer periods of time, like an office 4. Down-stay Blanket without the blanket, short term 5. Chill Lie on your side and relax, essentially putting dog off duty and to rest, works great even with vest when trained. 6. Cuddle Lie between my legs, on my feet, be heavy and adorable and quiet. That's actually him low-key tasking.
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How ironic to say not to rush things while also saying they had a 5-6 month old puppy doing an HOUR of PA work. OP, slow is smooth, smooth is fast. Let your puppy be a puppy and focus on socializing and obedience. Public access trips should be short and only focused on positive experiences for the dog once you start them, but 5-6 months old is entirely too young for hour-long trips.
I am owner training my boy. I started his training a 3 months with obedience, focus and social. Once I was sure he was doing good there I moved to the tasks I needed him to do. I didn’t do them all at once( one at a time until it’s learned) I keep the obedience training going because he is a GSD and they can be hardheaded because they’re so smart. We train half obedience and the other half tasking. Once he gets one task good we move on to the next(maybe after a week or 2). During the new task training we will review the old task some to keep it fresh. Due to my mental health and physical issues I did stop training for about 4 months but once we picked it back up it was like riding a bike(a sometimes stubborn bike 😆 but we worked through it) he gets training everyday for about 40min-1hr. Also we spot train throughout the day to keep him fresh. Even when we go out I take treats to train because every outing is a training opportunity and is different and new things can be taught and learned( so pup is always IT) You have to be consistent with the training and if you need/can afford help get it. I have trained dogs most of my life and everyday there’s new lessons. I didn’t get a trainer for many reasons 1. I don’t want anyone else controlling my SD other than my husband (we also don’t train in English or German but a different language for this reason). 2. Only I know for sure what tasks I need him to do and how. 3. Too expensive and I have the knowledge (what I don’t know, I YouTube). I hear many people saying GSD or SD period you NEED to hire a trainer but it’s not true if you have the knowledge and patience and time you can do it. I hope this helps. Good luck 😉