Can you successfully train a 1 year old dog?

skintandscared_2

Okay, so when my OH came home one day with a puppy, I immediately assumed we'd be trotting along to training classes together (I'd never owned a dog before - he had, although a rottie rather than the little Jack Russell he'd brought home to us).

OH is very old school and laughed at my inexperience of not knowing that obviously dogs just learn as they grow up and become well trained, obedient dogs all by themselves... *ahem*

So, fast forward a year and our dog is one of the most loveable and friendly little things you'll ever meet, BUT (surprise, surprise) hasn't magically learned to sit, lie down, or generally behave himself whenever other dogs or people are around.

OH has finally conceeded that he might need a bit of training!!!!!

Are we too late??

elsien

Nope, nowhere near too late.
Gitdog is probably about 3 and when he came to me last September the only training he had was housetraining. He's still a little sh!te and is very much a work in progress but he can (depending on the circumstances) sit, wait, settle, down, walk to heel, sit at the side of the road to cross. He's nearly stopped barking and nipping when he gets frustrated. And we're slowly building up to extend what he can do in-house to the big wide world.
We're still very much working on manners with people and dogs, and he loses the plot when he gets excited but we managed a 5 mile walk in the country yesterday using his harness not his head collar. A few months back I couldn't even walk him round the block using his harness.
It's all about consistency and building up slowly. Using clicker training for Gitdog is slower than the old fashioned methods I used to use because it's about the dog thinking for themselves instead of you having to tell them. The plus is that once it's ingrained, it's more automatic.

So yes, go for it. But you both need to be doing the same thing and I'd strongly recommend the positive reinforcement type training. I keep saying to my trainer "why is it taking so long" and her reply is that she wished she'd videoed us at the first class to remind me just how out of control he was....

(Have you seen the rescue agility dogs - if they can learn that at an older age, yours can learn to behave himself while still a babe.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTOAYp7c-yo )

MissWhitehouse

It's never too late to train and old dog new tricks...
Patience and persistence is all it takes.

My pooch is now 18, we rescued her when she was about 2 & totally untrained. It took time but she eventually realised that I wasn't going to give up.... It's worth the effort.

mizmir

Definitely not too late and I'd second elsien's comment about choosing a trainer who uses positive reinforcement. There is no regulation of dog training so there are some pretty dodgy folk out there offering classes - and the wrong trainer can do more harm than good. I'd recommend finding a trainer through a recognised organisation with a code of practice committed to kind, fair, effective methods such as the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (https://www.apdt.co.uk) - all their trainers sign up to their code of practice and they also do a proper assessment of their members' skills and knowledge - it is not just pay your fees and be a member.

Good luck with your pup!

yorkshire_terrier_owner

You can train any dog at any time. I once house trained a 12 year old dog. It just takes longer than it does with a young dog.

Always reward the right behaviour. Never punish the wrong behaviour.

marlot

As someone who has only ever had rescue dogs, yes they can be trained. Its really important to make it fun, to be consistent and to do it in fairly short bursts (maybe 10 mins max at a time).

marlot

PS. Most animal trainers will tell you that their real task is training the owners. Many dogs would learn at 10x the rate they do in class if their owners were consistent, and did the training exercises regularly ...

elsien

marlot wrote: »

Many dogs would learn at 10x the rate they do in class if their owners were consistent, and did the training exercises regularly ...

That'll be me with real life getting in the way.
Get up, walk dog, don't do much training because I need to get to work. Dog spends day at mother's who has been banned from doing training with him as she keeps teaching him the wrong thing by mistake. (example - he now thinks "good boy" is the release command which is very frustrating.) She did come to one training class but hasn't been since. Pick up Gitdog after work, walk him, do some training while out if I'm in the mood - no good if it's been a bad day at work and I've got a short fuse as that's not fair on him. Get home. cook tea, look at clock, realise it's nearly 8pm, think sod it the dog training can wait till tomorrow............
And so a week flies by and all my good intentions come to naught.:o

skintandscared_2

Thanks everyone! I will have a look for a positive reinforcement trainer in our area and see if we can get someone to come to us. I already know I get home too late to go to any of the local groups and I definitely want to be involved.

krlyr

May I recommend Kikopup, for some videos to watch and teach at home?

http://www.youtube.com/kikopup

My GSD came to me aged around 3.5 and knew very little, other than sit and paw. He's learnt a whole lot more since being with me

mizmir

Kikopup is excellent!