Training Your Dog -

Can You Teach an

Old Dog New Tricks

There are more or less favorable ages for

training a dog. Very young puppies are

preoccupied with discovering their environment, but

they are never too young to learn the basics. In

general, puppies under 6 months will benefit

greatly from their experiences with their

brothers, sisters, and mother. This is when they

learn the elementary "social graces".

While they are learning from their siblings, you can

take this time to teach the most basic element of

training, trust. They are too young to concentrate on

formal lessons, but they can acquire an

understanding of your expressions of pleasure and

displeasure through sights and sounds as you grow

closer together. This is more of a time to bond, but

they are always learning, and you can help the

process along.

Most training schools and classes will not accept

canine students less than 6 months of age, due to

the teething process, another distraction. Also

during adolescence, dogs, like children, tend to

resist authority. Again while formal training may not

be possible, you can still work with your dog and

help him get through this difficult time.

Generally speaking, you can start to give a dog

formal training with the best chances of success

between the ages of 12 and 18 months. Small breeds

and females, who mature earlier, can start sooner

than large male dogs. Working dogs, such as guard

or guide dogs are never trained before the age of 1

or 1 ½ years, while hunting dogs are taken out with

well-trained older dogs when they are 4 or 5 months

old.

There is no maximum age for starting to train a dog.

You can teach an old dog new tricks as long as he

lives. One of the best obedience competitors in

history was a Dalmatian who started training at the

age of twelve. The principle handicaps in training

unschooled adult dogs are the need for unlearning

bad habits, and the greater length of time it usually

takes to establish the basic learning process in his

undisciplined brain.

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