German Pinschers are active and need daily exercise either through a good run in the backyard or two long walks on lead. Supervise your German Pinscher when exercising, since he'll go bounding off after anything that's worth chasing. He'll be all right in an apartment if given enough exercise, but he prefers a home with a fenced yard in which he can play. He isn't suited to living outdoors full-time in a kennel or dog run, however; he thrives being with his family.

He's a working breed and enjoys having a job to do. An unstimulated, untrained, and unexercised German Pinscher can head down a scary path of boredom and destruction. Give him something to work on while you're gone, such as interactive toys or Kongs with frozen peanut butter. He's no couch potato, content to lounge about all day enjoying bonbons.

Crate training benefits every dog and is a kind way to ensure that your German Pinscher doesn't have accidents in the house or get into things he shouldn't. Like many other dogs, a German Pinscher can be destructive as a pup, and when even when he enters adulthood. Crate training is for his own safety. A crate is also a place where he can retreat for a nap.

Crate training at a young age will help your Pinscher accept confinement if he ever needs to be boarded or hospitalized. Never stick your Pinscher in a crate all day long, however. It's not a jail, and he shouldn't spend more than a few hours at a time in it except when he's sleeping at night. He isn't meant to spend his life locked up in a crate or kennel.

Exercise, training, and laying down house rules for your German Pinscher all will help ensure that your companion is well behaved. It alleviates stress for you and him and provides opportunities to bond.

« Personality | Next: Feeding »