Teaching an old dog new tricks

[Stanley Mccarthy]

I was given this mixed breed Pomerania-Japanese Spitz and it seems the old owners didn't really teach her a lot. She's a gentle dog, mild mannered but other than that i can't get her to do simple things like get out of my way when i'm busy in the kitchen. all she wants is to follow me and be by my side. The old owner says she's around 3 years old, i think that's in human years. i just would like to see her listen to commands like stay, or heel. Any training advice from you guys?

[Alan Pugliese]

try givin your pet rewards each time she follow instructions correctly give her food treats or a pat on the head, as much as possible never use the word 'no!' when she has failed to follow a command, coz each time she hears the word that wud give her the impression,she messed up somethin'..

[Tim Lassek]

before the tricks get complicated, dogs should be given names that would'nt confuse them, say, there's a Jill at home, the dog should'nt be given a name which has a 'ill' sound like Bill..just a simple trick

[ghostcoyote]

Are there any places in your area where you and your dog can join an obedience class? But make sure you find someone who actually knows what they are doing. Just because someone says that they are a dog trainer doesn’t mean anything. Have you ever gone to www.dogster.com? There are a lot of people on there with dogs, and some are even trainers. You might ask your question on the behavior and training forum and see if someone can offer some advice.

[Kenny Bates]

be careful in choosing dog trainers, there are trainers around who will not hesitate to hurt pets during training period..

[Patrick Ratzenberger]

With the way you described it, your dog doesn't need an obedience school. You just need to spend a little more time with her and she'll eventually learn to follow your commands. Dogs can sense how we feel. Your dog will surely learn to feel and understand what you want her to do, especially such simple things as making her stop annoying you in the kitchen.

Buddy, my ever loyal Lab, learned to be obedient that way.

Just be patient.

[Liz Munro]

"before the tricks get complicated, dogs should be given names that would'nt confuse them..."

i agree with Tim. giving our dog the right name matters a lot. it's the first step towards training them. later on, we could really use a good help from training collars out there, for controlling their barking, jumping, running, etc. Watch out for the training collar types that use remote control or sprays, they are humane and all.

[Sasha MacNeille]

go send her to a dog school or any professional. even at her age she can still be properly trained.

[Melrose Clement]

i say try training your dog first using the techniques mentioned here by our resident "experts". if at first you don't succeed, try again.. if all else fails, then maybe that's the time you take your pooch to a dog trainer.
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[ghostcoyote]

I don’t see what’s so negative about obedience classes. I feel like people think I was talking about some sort of doggie boot camp, so I'm feeling a little defensive. When I said training class, I meant the ones that both they and their dog would attend with a group of other people and their dogs. What the trainer would really be doing is working with the owner and dog both, and showing the owner how to train their dog themselves. They would still be training their dog themselves, just with some guidance. They would still be spending most of the time training with their dog at home. Not all classes use things like choke collars in training either. More positive training methods such as clicker training have become more popular. My dog loves the clicker. I’m not really all for people sending their dogs off to be trained by someone else, unless there is some good reason that they need to.

[Beatrice Dixon]

of course, it is best if a pet owner trains his/her dog rather than take the pet to a trainer. nothing can beat that.

[Edith Pope]