Thank God for Jocko.

We had reports that there were some problems by the emergency room. By the time I got there with Jocko, there were about twenty angry gang members hanging around and making a lot of people nervous.

The summer of 1991 was a busy one for St. Francis hospital in Hartford, Ct were I was working as a security patrol dog handler.

The emergency room was often a hotbed for activity. On this particular night someone associated with the gang members was injured and they all showed up shortly after he did. Things were going from bad to worse when I showed up.

It could have gotten much worse. As I approached with Jocko the crowd became a little more subdued, I could see a change in everyone. A 85lb fully trained German Shepherd can do that to people.

I stood off about twenty feet away and watched what was happening. They were keeping an eye on me but weren't leaving. That's when I decided to see if I could move them along. I gave Jocko the command to speak in German. He immediately started to bark his head off.

Even though I only gave the command to speak it was enough to convince the crowd to move along. Within a few minutes the emergency room was back to normal. A potentially dangerous situation had been diffused by one very well trained German Shepherd.

In any event...

German Shepherds are great dogs and very trainable. They are very intelligent and have a strong desire to work. They are from the herding breed and some of them do have a strong desire to chase. Here are some steps to help you train your German Shepherd.

The first step in training a is to develop a strong bond with the dog. Developing a bond is done by walking, playing, feeding and spending time with the dog. The better the bond, the better the training will go.

Dogs are pack animals. As the owner, you need to develop a leadership role. A German Shepherd needs a strong leader.

Dogs need exercise. If your dog has too much pent up energy, he will be very difficult to train. Take them running, swimming, and hiking. Let your German Shepherd play with other dogs.

Teach your dog by reinforcing behavior. Some great commands to teach are "sit", "down, " "stand, " "stay, " "heel, " and "come."

If you get your dog at a young age, socialize your puppy as much as you can. Bring him everywhere and expose the puppy to as many places as possible.

Training a your dog is well worth the time and effort. German Shepherds are large breed dogs and need to learn how to respond to your basic commands.