Can you teach an old dog new tricks (literally)?

Older dogs can be easier to teach new tricks, actually, because they're calmer and have learned to understand human body language. They pick up quicker on what you want them to do. I have three dogs, one is fairly well-trained already although the beagle in her doesn't like to listen!

I've been working with the two older ones ( 6 and 8 years old) and they are picking up their lessons rather quickly.

Our 6 year old Queensland Healer / German Shephard mix dog is so eager to please us that I bet he will be willing to learn new commands his whole life. My husband just taught him to jump over things yesterday. Some dogs just have an obedient spirit about them, they so enjoy making their owners happy.

Our other dog though, he doesn't have this eagerness to please us. He is not a stupid dog, far from it. He figured out how to open the gate by himself.

He is just more independent. He is very affectionate, though. Maybe if we withheld affection unless he obeyed, then he would learn new things.

We don't have the heart to do that, though. He is definitely a pet and not a working dog. They both are.

If they can teach a cat to use the toilet I think you can teach a dog a trick at any age.

My dog seemed somewhat receptive, since she knew me. She trusted that she was safe with me. Since she has a history of being abused, I don't think I could have tried training her right away.

She really needed to bond with me first. Since it is new to them, I think positive reinforcement is really important. Rather than punishing the behavior you don't like, you should reward the behavior you do like with treats and praise.

Since you are the established leader of their pack, praise can go a long way. Patience is required with training any dog, as dog's pick things up at their own pace. Lots of repetition and love can definitely work with an older dog.

My queensland sheltie mix molly is the joy of my life. She is a great watch dog (just ask my gardeners!) She barks a lot and I can handle that. Once a visitor comes she is nice to them after she smells them.

My problem is other dogs. If she sees a dog near our house she goes crazy! She notices them before I do.

On 3 ocasions she has sneaked past me before I even know what was happening and gone after other dogs. She has never drawn blood but 2 of the dogs were small and she picked them up by the back of the neck and shook them. She is 7 years old and I love her dearly.

She is really smart. When she is in the back yard she knows how to open the door and let herself in and closes the door behind her without even being told. Is it possible to socialize a dog that is 7 years old and seems to have such anti-social tendancies when it comes to other dogs?

Asked by Judi 55 months ago Similar questions: teach dog tricks Pets > Dogs.

It's possible, but it's difficult I would suggest finding a pet behavioralist. If you live in/near a big city, I'm sure there is one. Ask your vet for a recommendation.

This specialist will help you understand how your dog is interpreting the situation and will give you a strategy to change her behavior. We adopted a 2 year old dog that was afraid of her own shadow. She's made great strides in the last few months and is still cautious, but will greet new people and new dogs.

She's still scared of kids, so we have more to work on. Things I would suggest. Remove the opportunity for problems.

Don't put your dog in a situation where she can get out to attack other dogs. This requires more effort on your part to be more careful, but you owe it to her. Create good environments for her to meet other dogs of your choosing.

Find a friend with a large, confident male dog, preferably of a "soft" breed (goldens, labs, etc. The dogs that don't start fights). She's more likely to accept a male dog. She's more likely to not attack a large dog.

And if the other dog is calm and confident, she'll pick up his signals. Arrange these meetings away from your home, so she doesn't feel like she's needs to be protective. Meet either at the park or at the other dogs home.

Make sure your dog is well exercised, before going into a situation to meet another dog. Get rid of that nervous energy! Use lots of positive re-enforcement when she's good and cut off bad behaviors immediately.

Do NOT reinforce them. As she gets more comfortable with her new boy dog friend, you can start to try introducing her to more dogs of different sizes/breeds/etc.Again, always start with the situation in control (her on leash). Work on your training exercises (sit/stay/come/etc).

The training will drain off her energy, so she's less likely to fight and the commands will give you more control over her. I'll suggest some books, below. Good luck!

ThoughtMonkey's Recommendations On Talking Terms With Dogs: Calming Signals Amazon List Price: $12.95 Used from: $8.50 Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5 (based on 52 reviews) Positive Perspectives: Love Your Dog, Train Your Dog Amazon List Price: $19.95 Used from: $11.74 Average Customer Rating: 5.0 out of 5 (based on 11 reviews) These have lots of good information on how dogs think and how the learn. Both are very useful. I've also heard good thinks about the Dog Whisperer books, but I have not read those, myself.

Absolutely! My sixteen year old Lab mix has, over the last year, lost her hearing. She's still bright and wants to please, so I've been working with her to relearn her tricks to hand signals.

She's just like a younger dog when she figures it out - and it's been a pleasure for both of us. I've also taught her a couple of new tricks, strictly to hand signals, and she's picked them up as quickly as she did when she was young. Unfortunatly, it seems to me that you really don't want to teach your dog a trick, rather you want to modify her behavior.

This is tough even in young dogs. I had a chow once who displayed similar behavior. I tried everything I could think of, but never really got her to modify that behavior sufficiently for safe socialization.

Finally, after she became the bane of the neighborhood (it was one of those neighborhoods where fences weren't allowed) I had to have her put down - a terrible experience. But chows can be agressive by nature, and shelties are a working breed. You might be successful if you can muster the will to discipline her severely when she does behave agressively."Scruff" her (shake her by her neck while strongly verbally letting her know she's a "BAD DOG!

"). It sucks to do that to a dog you love, but it really is for her own good. I wish you the very best of luck!

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A Dog is never to old to learn. It is true dogs learn faster when they are young, just like people. With your dog being a Sheltie, is she dog aggressive when not at home?

She is a herding dog that was developed to guard and protect, so she maybe being protective more than being aggressive. Either way, yes you can train Molly not to attack other dogs.

Yes, but the problem you describe may be one of the more difficult tricks My 10 year old austrailian shepard mix has the same problem: very agressive around other dogs. My wife says it is only when I am around, as the neighbor's dog has infiltrated our backyard (and vice versa) with no problem between them. When I am with her, she barres her teeth and will attack other dogs.

I think it is a protective instinct that has been bread into some dogs. They recognize that we are their sole source of food and shelter, and they instinctively protect that. She protects me from being harmed by other dogs, and discourages other dogs from horning in on her food and shelter.

I have given up trying to train her out of this behavior. I admit that I have not tried professional help. What little success I have had, disappears the next time the same dog is encountered, and does not seem to apply to other dogs we have not trained with.

I have resigned myself to keep her on a very short leash. This behavior did come in handy once, and was troublesome twice. Twice, unleashed dogs disregarded my dog's aggresive stance and they got into it, causing major damage to one dog, and minor damage to the other.

Both lived. And then there was the time we were cornered in a cul-de-sac by an unleashed rotwiller. I am in the military, but I have never been so scared.

This dog weighed almost as much as I did. We tried crossing the street, but the rot moved to block our path. I had picked up my dog, but she was growling and barking the whole time.

I called for the dog's owner with no effect. The rot loped toward me and my dog wriggled out of my arms and met it half way, all 30 pounds of her. They locked up, and I heard her yelp, but they separated and the rot backed off.

I scooped up my dog and made it home and called the police. My dog needed stitches, but it could have been a lot worse, for her and me. Turns out the dog had been abandoned by their previous owners who had moved the previous week.No forwarding address.

Bums. Good luck with your dog.Be aware of insurance details with respect to dogs. It varies state to state, but owner of one of the unleashed dogs tried to sue me.

To no avail since we were not on his property at the time, but that caused me to do the research for my state, and I now know what to do to keep from getting sued because of my dog's aggression, instead of finding out after the fact..

" "Anyone know what kind of dog treat works best for traning a dog to do tricks. For a small dog" "What trick did you teach your dog that you now wish you hadn't? " "How do you teach your dog disciple each day" "What is your favorite book about dogs or a dog?

" "How do you teach your dog to stop & obey?" "I have a dog who is an outside dog. When growing up, we had dogs and they always stayed outside.

Anyone know what kind of dog treat works best for traning a dog to do tricks. For a small dog.

How do you teach your dog disciple each day.

I have a dog who is an outside dog. When growing up, we had dogs and they always stayed outside.

Well if you like feeding your dog a lot of salt, There is no nutrinal value in the for dogs.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.