Training Older Dogs – The Easy, Step-by-Step Way
When you hear of someone of getting a new dog you probably think of a puppy. But with the growing trend towards adopting dogs from shelters, it’s just as likely these days that the new dog will be an adolescent, or even an adult dog.
This is an admirable trend and one that should be encouraged, but it does raise some problems. Chief of these is that many of the dogs come with established behaviors and habits. Some are just difficult or stubborn, some have anxiety issues, others are outright aggressive.
Often this will result in the dog being taken back to the shelter, which is a pity because most dogs, regardless of age or temperament, are trainable if you employ a good method and put in the hours required.
Before you begin with training though, there are two beliefs you need to eradicate. The first is that the dog needs, or deserves, your pity.
It’s a sad reflection on our society that many of these dogs have been beaten, mistreated and abused, but unfortunately you can’t change that. What you can do is provide love, care and affection. You can show them that not all humans are like those that have hurt them. But pity plays no role in this.
Dogs are quite willing to forgive and forget, so focus your energy instead on creating a stable environment, and providing consistent leadership and positive training.
The other fallacy is that a “difficult” dog can somehow be forced into compliance with negative training methods. This is quite simply untrue.
Most of these methods, which include things like shock collars and choke chains, have been proven to be ineffective for dog training, and no reputable dog trainer uses them.
No only that, but they can be dangerous. You may be dealing with a dog that was previously abused by these methods, and if so, they dog may well attack you. This treatment of a previously abused dog may also cause other behavioral problems, so there really is no dividend in negative training methods. Just don’t do it.
What is the best training method to use? Most dog trainers will tell you that positive, reward-based training is the only way to go. Start at the beginning with crate training, house training if needed, and then some basic obedience training.
Be mindful that your results will be less predictable than if you were training a puppy, and that you’ll need tons of patience and persistence.
Also bear in mind that not all dogs are as easy to train as others. Many factors come into play, such as breed, age and state of health. With an adopted dog there is also the issue of an unknown past life which may have left the dog traumatized and fearful.
But with persistent application you will succeed. Need a role model? Well Frank Inn, the famous Hollywood dog trainer found virtually all his star performers (including Higgins, the dog who played Benji), at dog shelters.
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