Because my own dog does not like to be touched by strangers either. She has been this way since day 1.

I hate when people assume an animal has been abused because it's a rescue and doesn't like to be touched. Not all nervous rescues are abused.

Some dogs are just born shy and never gain confidence just like people.

Note that the op also said at first the dog did not like to be touched that they didn't think the dog had been set any boundries. Maybe it could not be set boundries because he was nervous to begin with. A natural born nervous dog is very hard to work with at first.

I tought Millie trust by ignoring her bad begaviours and rewarding her good ones a lot it took some time at first but we soon got their now I can brush her without haveing my arm chewed. When Millie let go of my arm I praised her lots for doing the right thing.

i have been doing the Kennel Club GDCS Scheme and hes just done his bronze, i would say it has been really good obedience training but having gone along to a different club i can see that it is more regimental and when it comes to a "real life" situation hes not quite so obedient lol! anyways after just one class at this new club i learnt so much and found they really helped with the actual probs i was having instead of it just being focused on rosettes etc, its positive reward based training with voice tone etc, in my personnel opinion classes allow for different situations to occur so it can be corrected such as learning to be around other dogs calmly etc so 1 - 1 training wouldnt be any good for my dog. I dont like the sound of this training that the op is using, what will being tethered do? and whispering i dont get it?
I tried clicker traing and found it didnt work too well but then again i know other ppl where its worked brill so maybe worth a try?
good on ya for giving him a second chance, it sounds like hes not had the best start in life, patience will be important for him, post some pics i bet hes so cute!

Nothing wrong with using a quiet voice to train a dog - they have good ears and dont need us to shout - and too often people are all over the place with their tone of voice so a whisper is more consistant

forget about dominance - that isnt helpful. Yes you could possibly find a way to explain how the dog is being dominant by not letting you touch a part of his body - but at the end of the day how arrogent are we - its HIS body, if he is saying he dosent like it being touched then better to find out if there is any pain there and if not then work up on his trust so he learns to be cool with you touching it

As for timeframe
whats the rush?? training is a lifelong thing, quick fixes break quick, better to take your time and build solid foundations, build a strong bond and understanding between you and your dog

Obviously there are other things in this training that are sounding a little odd, possibly it might be best to look around at other trainers too - and you cant go wrong with Kikopup

One dog then.

rune

firstly let me thank everyone that has responded to my questions and concerns, this is much appreciated!

let me try and answer everthing so far in order on page one.

nickmcechan - one example is during my whisper walks I keep Simba on a short lead, i try to get him to stick by my side, if he struggles i whisper the command ah ah (our naughty word).

something worth mentioning is that this trainer is very big on establishing the ranking order of the family and not letting the dog dominate.

milk maid - tethering is basically tying up on a short lead. its supposed to calm the dog down by lowering heart rate, way it was explained to me when dog is 'loose' he is switched on and patrolling the back yard, monitoring the family etc. when tethered he switches off and has a sleep, which most of the time is what happens to Simba.

i should also point out that the back concern was only evident in the first 2-3 days, after spending time with Simba and showing allot of love he now happily lets me pat him anywhere.

krlyr - i have noticed this also and is one of the reason why i decided to post about the training i have chosen. i still feel that i should give this method a proper go and not cancel too soon if this makes any sense.

claireanddaisy - thank you muchly for the recomendations, i will try to get my hands on these. i can assure you and anyone else that reads this is my current trainers methods are anything but cruel in anyway, they are very gently and loving.

hevvur - the only reprimand is the ah ah naughty word that is 'whispered'. there is no punishment of any kind that my trainer has advised me to use.

ok this post is in response to the comments on page 2, again let me thank everyone for putting in their input.

pippam - you are correct i assumed that because Simba has been mistreated this resulted in him not liking me to touch his back, what I should have mentioned is 2-3 days after we got him and allot of TLC he happily lets us pat him anywhere.

marleysmum - please see my above post regarding tethering, hopefully this explains it a bit better.

ben mcfuzzylugs - thanks for the advice, i know i need to be more patient and will work on this. I will also look around for other trainers (i know of one that uses clicker training).

I adopted a 9 month old Lab who had never been trained and had had no real boundaries set and who had also clearly been harshly punished for certain things. First month or so with him was the "oh my god, what the hell have I taken on?!" sort of thing lol. I've clicker trained Spencer and now have a 15 month old dog who is usually extremely willing to work with me and who follows known commands quickly and enthusiastically. I love clicker training and both of my clicker trained dogs have seemed to really enjoy it too.

First off, a 10 minute walk per day doesn't seem anywhere near enough for an 8 month old German Shepherd. Is there any reason he gets this little exercise? Or am I misunderstanding something there?

Secondly, are you supposed to tether your dog an hour a day for the rest of his life? Or is this a way of teaching him to settle so that he can settle while loose?

What is the whispering supposed to do? Have you been given any sort of explanation for that? I speak to my dog in a normal tone of voice. Most of the time anyway, if it's 3am and we have to go outside I whisper and I've yelled a couple of times (hey, I'm human!) but generally I just talk normally.

I wouldn't put Simba not wanting you to touch his back at first down to dominance. More likely to be fear, whether because of his past or because he's in pain or because he doesn't trust you or simply because he doesn't like to be touched there.

In all honesty, I would be very wary of using any dog trainer or method that went on about dominance, being the alpha, being the packleader etc. I've been there, done that, bought the tshirt with the whole dominance thing and it caused me nothing but problems. I simply set boundaries, teach my dog what is expected of him and we get along just fine. No need for me to dominate him or anything like that.

hi sarah1983 - firstly thanks for taking the time.

the 10 min walk per day isnt to excercicse the dog its more to show the dog who's in control (according to the trainer) and drill in what the naughty word is (ah ah).

i believe after my next lesson this weekend I will be venturing out the back with Simba and going for longer walks.

as for excercise currently i run him in the back with a ball or toy, luckily for the next six month i have a big back yard so he can really stretch his legs and have a good run which I always do every night.

i do not know how long the tethering will last, I will be asking this question on our next lesson as its something ive wondered about myself.

the explanation we were given is becuase the dogs hearing so so much stronger whispering gentle commands is easier and kinder to the dog, plus its a consistent volume. ive tried to always whisper but i have raised my voice a couple of times we Simba pushes the boundaries.

There was ALLOT of discussion fist up about dominance, packleader etc.

I will defo be looking at clicker training based on your experience, thanks again.

At 8 months your GSD is likely to be in adolescence or getting there. Doubt it's dominance.

10 minutes training walk is probably not enough. I'm out with my two for about 2 hours per day through the week. I stop about 10 to 20 time on each walk and do some training exercise. (sit / down / stand / come / speak etc). I think that's more fun than the drill you have to go through?

Most of the dominance based training involves suppressing your dogs drive and often involves aversive techniques. I'm guessing the reason your even starting the thread is that you are not entirely comfortable with the techniques being taught and something inside is telling you it's not quite right?

E.g. if my dog was anxious the last thing I would do would be to walk it on a tight lead. Indeed, I would use that technique if I wanted to wind my dog up.

What are your main issues with your dog?

I checked out their website and it looks like a lot of their training philosophies are good, however I still wouldn't walk and anxious dog on a tight leash.

Thought it was good they stated they will not use harsh techniques and advocate reward based training