In order to have a well-trained guard dog, you will need to start socializing your German shepherd from a young age.  Puppies are more receptive to new things until they are about 18 weeks old. During this time, the things that they see, hear, and smell are less frightening. It is important to make sure that your German shepherd puppy is well-socialized during this time so that he will confident rather than anxious or fearful. To socialize your puppy, make sure that you expose the puppy to all sorts of different situations. Walk him past schools when kids are around, walk beside busy roads, take him out in the rain to see people with umbrellas, expose him to a vacuum cleaner and hair dryer, and introduce him to lots of other types of dogs and people. Try to make the experiences as wide and varied as you can. To teach your German shepherd to be a guard dog, he will need to be well-behaved and you will need to train with him every day. The best way to go about this is to find a good trainer or obedience course to help you. Look for a dog trainer or training class in your area that uses modern, well-informed methods of training based on either clicker training or reward-based training.   Clicker training is a method of training that marks positive behavior with a clicking sound. Trainers who use this method also use rewards such as treats and praise, but the clicker helps to mark good behavior. Reward-based training uses praise, treats, and other things that will motivate your dog to follow your commands. Do not use old-fashioned methods of dominating a dog, such as alpha-rolls or scruffing techniques. These methods are outdated and ineffective. Before your German shepherd can become a guard dog he needs to learn how to listen and respond to your commands. That is why it is a good idea to start with basic training commands such as sit, stay, and come back. Once your German shepherd has mastered basic commands, he will be ready to take on more challenging ones. Make sure your dog is well cared for, fed good quality food, and receives plenty of exercise. You want the dog to be fit and mentally stimulated. A bored, out of condition dog is more likely to overreact in the face of an intruder, which may lead to one of your friends or neighbors getting injured. Train your dog daily, ideally in two to three sessions a day. Each session varies in length depending on the attention span of the individual dog, but German shepherds are often capable of being trained for 20 minutes at a time. Your German shepherd will enjoy training more if it always ends with a treat and some praise. If your German shepherd starts to make mistakes, bring the lesson to a close with a simple command that you know the dog is capable of doing. That way you will be able to reward him and end the session on a positive note.
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One-sentence summary -- Socialize your German shepherd when he is a puppy. Find a dog trainer or obedience course. Teach your German shepherd to follow basic commands. Take good care of your German shepherd. Develop a regular training routine. End each training session on a positive note.


While you may be proud of a particular job experience or educational opportunity, it has no place on your resume if it has nothing to do with the job you're applying for. You can cut a lot out of your resume by taking out everything that isn't directly related to this employment opportunity.  For example, suppose you're a recent graduate applying for a full-time job as a financial analyst. While in school, you worked as a parking attendant. However, since your work as a parking attendant is not relevant to the work you would do as a financial analyst, you can leave it out. Some part-time jobs may have relevance, even if they aren't in the same industry. Think about your job experiences critically. For example, if you're applying for a job as a veterinary technician, it might be relevant that you worked as a pet groomer or pet sitter. Your resume essentially markets you to the potential employer and shows them why you are a strong candidate for the job. You don't need to include anything that doesn't add to that message. Read the job listing carefully and look for hard skills that the employer requires or recommends that candidates have. List as many of those as possible on your resume.  Hard skills include certification or demonstrated proficiency in computer programming or operation, the ability to speak languages other than your first language, and office skills such as typing speed. Do not include soft skills, such as "leadership" or "team player." Instead, show these qualities through the description of your accomplishments. It can be tempting to list hard skills you don't actually have. Be careful with this because it may come back to haunt you. Assume that, if hired, you will be asked to do anything included in the job listing as part of your job. Work experience means work that you've done – not just work that you got paid for. Volunteer work or internships that are relevant to the job you're applying for can help boost your resume, especially if you're looking for an entry-level job.  For example, if you're applying for a job as a veterinary technician, you would definitely want to include information about volunteering at your local animal shelter, zoo, or nature center. If you have the space, you can leave in significant volunteer work even if it doesn't directly relate to the job you're applying for. This is a good idea if you've researched the employer and know they support particular causes related to your volunteer work. A potential employer may ask you for references, but they generally aren't necessary on a resume. Cutting them out can buy you a few lines. There's also no need to include a sentence that says "references available upon request." If an employer does require references, you can often include them on a separate piece of paper, rather than including them on your resume. The section on hobbies and interests in any resume is typically fluff that can easily be removed if you're trying to cut your resume down to one page. However, if they relate directly to the job you're applying for, it's a good idea to keep them in.  For example, if you play a sport in a community amateur league, you might want to keep that information on your resume if you're applying for a job as a sports writer. If you really need the space, you might include them as a line under your work experience section. Change the section heading to "Experience" rather than "Work Experience." Through your research, you may have discovered that you and the hiring manager have various hobbies or interests in common. In that situation, it's tempting to leave them on your resume. However, it's better to save them for the interview when you can strike up a conversation about your mutual interests. It may be that you've earned a degree or certificate that is entirely unrelated to the job you're applying for. If that's the case, simply list the degree and the school, but don't include any additional detail.  If the degree isn't required for the job, you can leave it off entirely. For example, if the job listing states that a bachelor's degree is required, you would need to include your bachelor's degree on your resume even if it was in a field of study unrelated to the job. However, if you had a higher degree, you could safely leave the bachelor's degree off to save some space. If you have a bachelor's degree, you don't need to include your high school education. The potential employer will realize that you have a high school diploma if you have a bachelor's degree. However, you may want to leave it on if you went to an elite high school and you learned through research that the hiring manager graduated from the same school.
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One-sentence summary --
Eliminate items that aren't relevant to the job you're applying for. Highlight hard skills that set you apart from other applicants. List relevant volunteer work in your "Experience" section. Remove references unless required by the potential employer. Include hobbies and interests only if they're relevant to the job. Trim your "Education" section to relate specifically to the job.