How to keep your German Shepherd Entertained

If you are thinking of getting a German Shepherd or you have recently gotten one then you’re probably wondering how to keep it entertained.

So, how to keep your German Shepherd entertained?

To keep your German Shepherd entertained you should start by giving it lots of exercise to prevent it from becoming hyperactive.

Then, you can keep it occupied by doing things such as training it, playing fetch or tug of war with it, giving it toys to play with, giving it chew toys, having it pull you on a bike/skateboard, giving it puzzles to complete or you can take it to doggy daycare.

German Shepherds are a breed that was bred to do energy-intensive tasks on a daily basis. So, it will usually take a lot of exercise to properly entertain them.

You will likely be surprised at just how much exercise and entertainment it can take to properly wear a German Shepherd out.

It is important that you do it, however, since it will prevent your German Shepherd from becoming hyperactive and hard to manage.

How to keep your German Shepherd entertained

Walk it

Before you even consider how to keep your German Shepherd entertained you should make sure that it is getting a sufficient amount of exercise. If it doesn’t then no matter what you choose to entertain it with it will still be hyperactive and difficult to manage.

Vets will often recommend that you give your German Shepherd at least one hour of exercise per day. So, your primary focus should be to make sure that it gets it.

One good way to give your German Shepherd exercise is to simply walk it daily. Since German Shepherds were bred to be very active you might find that a simple one hour walk isn’t enough for your German Shepherd so you might have to take measures to wear it out even more.

You could do this by walking it in a hilly area, walking it in a dog park off the leash if you can get it to come back to you or you could even make it wear a weight vest for dogs that weighs less than 10% of its body weight.

Play fetch

Another way to give your German Shepherd exercise and attention is to teach it to play fetch.

Fetch is good because it gets your German Shepherd to do a lot of sprinting without much rest which will help to wear it out quickly. It will also get it used to interacting with you in a positive way and it will help to make it more responsive to your command.

It can be quite difficult at first to teach your German Shepherd to play fetch but I go through it step by step in the link above.

Teach it to swim

You can also give your German Shepherd exercise and keep it entertained by teaching it to swim.

Swimming is good because your German Shepherd will have to move its legs around a lot to stay afloat. This will result in it having to expend a lot of energy over a short time period.

Some German Shepherds can be nervous to go into the water by nature. But, there are ways to get it to like swimming that I talk about here.

Give it toys

A good way to keep your German Shepherd entertained is to give it lots of toys to play with.

By doing this you will be able to keep it occupied with something that you want it to be occupied with. This means that you’ll be able to divert its attention away from destroying things if you need to.

Give it lots of training

Giving your German Shepherd lots of exercise is a great way to keep your German Shepherd entertained.

In the act of training your German Shepherd, it will need to focus on you which will help to drain its energy a little bit. It will also make it more responsive to your command and help you to keep your German Shepherd under control.

When you start training your German Shepherd you should start by teaching it the basics such as to sit and stay in an environment where there are not many distractions. Once you can get it to do it in an easy environment get it to do it in a tougher environment where there are more distractions.

Then, once you have taught it the basics, you can advance on to harder tasks such as to teach it to come to you on command.

You can look at the book Training Your German Shepherd on Amazon to get more tips about how you can train your GSD.

Give it puzzles

You could also give your German Shepherd puzzles to play with that will help to keep it occupied. There are a number of puzzle games that you can buy that are designed to make your German Shepherd think and put its attention into it in order to get the reward. I would recommend getting one that is slightly more challenging so that your German Shepherd can’t figure it out quickly.

Play tug of war with it

Another way to entertain your German Shepherd would be to play tug of war with it. You’ll likely find that your German Shepherd will love to play tug of war so it’s a good way to keep its focus onto something that you want it to.

Use a dog walker

If you don’t have the time to entertain or to exercise your German Shepherd then you could consider paying a dog walker to do it for you. There are apps that you can download now that let you book a local dog walker directly on the app.

Walk it with other dogs

Another good way to give your German Shepherd exercise and to entertain it would be to walk it with other dogs.

By walking it with other dogs you will be able to give it more exercise since it will be doing more by playing with the other dogs and you will be able to give it the chance to interact with other dogs which can make it better behaved.

Give it chew toys

You could also keep it entertained by giving it chew toys to focus on. There are even some that are designed to calm them down that you could give to it to prevent hyperactivity when you think that it might start misbehaving.

Have it pull you

You could also give it exercise by getting it to pull you along on a skateboard or bike. You’ll likely find that your German Shepherd will be able to run faster than you can for longer so this can be a good way to properly wear it out.

Doggy daycare

If you don’t have the time to entertain your German Shepherd then you could consider taking it to a doggy daycare that will look after it while you’re away.

Things to consider

German Shepherds can require a lot of effort

German Shepherds are a breed that was bred to work with humans on a daily basis. With that being the case, it means that they will require a lot of effort. If you are unsure that you will be able to spend lots of time working with your German Shepherd then consider a different breed.

Age

It’s important to consider the age of your German Shepherd. If it is young then it will require a lot of attention but you will be limited in how much exercise you can give it.

Generally, it is recommended that you don’t give it any more than 5 minutes of exercise per month of age. This is because, when it’s young, its joints and bones are still developing and lots of exercise could damage them.

Give it attention daily

German Shepherds are a breed that requires a lot of exercise and attention. If you’re thinking of getting a German Shepherd then be prepared to give it attention on a daily basis.

Related

Am I spending enough time with my German Shepherd? If your German Shepherd is behaving in a hyperactive way then it would indicate that you’re not spending enough time with it. German Shepherds are a breed that requires a lot of exercise and attention to be properly stimulated. You’ll likely be surprised at just how much your German Shepherd can handle.