CAN Old Dogs Learn New Tricks?

Just thought we could have a nice friendly conversation on what you think-- can old dogs learn new tricks?

What do you think? Does anyone have experience with this? If I were to get a shelter dog that did not no ONE ounce of obedience training would I be able to teach obedience to it? Would it take as long?


Thanks everyone-- this is actually something I'D like to know and one of the reasons I was kind of hesitant in getting an older dog before getting Rocky. Like if it wasn't housetrained and they said it was, then I thought it would be MUCH harder for an older dog to learn than a younger dog.

Let's keep this friendly

Maybe, maybe not. Sometimes I think it would be easier because the dog is calmer and more open to listening?

I taught my old dog to shake paws when she was 5 or 6...

I can say older dogs are much calmer and they love to please. However it has been rough trying to teach maggie, she is the stray I picked up at the store. She is extremely sweet but has some wierd traits we have not been able to change. We are still working though. She has come along way. She used to live under our bed. She does come out now and occasionally socialize.
But she was already housebroken. Did not have to go thru that. She likes people. but does not like nail clipping, and does not care much for other dogs.

I was about 9 or 10 when I decided to train my 12 yr. old Lab mix, Bruno some obedience. He already knew some basics like sit and down. He was well mannered and obedient. But I took him outside every day and taught him to heel and front, come around me and sit at my left, stay while I walked way far away from him and some other trickier skills. He was a calm dog and had been part of our family since the day he was born (a pup of our girl dog) and he knew some stuff. But he was very capable of learning all kinds of neat things. He was a very willing to please type dog and loved doing this.

So, I would say that yes indeed....old dogs can learn new tricks. They're usually calmer, as it was said and if you motivate them, they're ready to learn. It will vary a little from dog to dog depending on their past experiences and temperament etc.

Yes, old dogs can definetly learn new tricks. Alot of the dogs we get in obedience are there as a last resort, when they are between four and nine. They can learn all the obedience skills a dog that had been training from puppyhood can, they just take a fraction longer and you may have to work on reducing some ingrained habits (fear aggression, nervous barking, jumping up etc).

I started teaching Skye stuff when he was 7. So yes, it's possible.

While you may have to spend some time on unlearning some things, I've really found it easier to teach an older dog. For one thing, they typically have a better attention span and catch on more quickly than a pup. But bear in mind that all of the dogs I've rescued as adults - with one exception - have either been German Shepherds or GSD mixes. Another type of dog might not be as focused or might be more headstrong.

I think its possible. We taught our Boxer lots of new stuff at the age of 5 when she came along with our Rotti to puppy school and she had not had any previous training at all.

YES!! I teach my nine-year-old labrador retriever many new tricks. I'm teaching her rollover and like my other two she's learning take a nap, and left, and right. I've taught her how to stop on command also.

I decided that it would be good for us to take some classes, it would help him get used to commands from me and give me a chance to learn. I learned alright, I learned that teaching a 5 year old, smart, hard headed, stubborn, and did I mention smart, dog to do anything he doesnt want to do is not possible. He was great with walking on the leash, we had been doing that for a while and he was used to it when he was in shows. Sit? Yea right, you got a treat? OK maybe I will sit. Stay? What the hell is that, you may have a treat in your hand or pocket, I better go check. Walk on the leash then stop and sit, didnt we just go over the sit part? I finally decided that he wasnt going to learn anything this way. I took him out and we just worked on things at home. Beside's that he got grumpy our last day at obedience school and was rumbleing at his class mates, so we went home.

That saying "can't teach an old dog new tricks" refers to old men lol As for actual dogs yes you can teach an old dog new tricks. I used to have a min schnauzer when I was younger and I taught her how to sit pretty when she was 8.

positively absolutely and PROOF http://www.chazhound.com/pictures/showphoto.php?photo=5814&cat=500&ppuser=2623

yep they can. older dogs have the same capacity of learning than younger dogs do, it might just be at a slower pace.

a friend of mine adopted a senior dog who was already 9 when he got him. he's now close to 15 years old and learned a lot, since his previous home was a hunting kennel where he was neglected because he wasn't a good hunting dog.

this neat dog went from living in a kennel with some other dogs for company to being the perfect house pet with perfect manners, including basic obedience.

To come to think of it, Chulita, my 5 year old Chihuahua is already 5!!! LOL. I forget she's getting older and not still a pup. I just last week decided to try her on some agility equipment (1st time) and she picked up the weave poles and jumping in about 10 minutes. I still have to lure her through the weaves, but I do with Lyric a little also and he's been doing it longer. She even went up the teeter totter...no problemo. So, 5 isn't a pup anymore, nor is she really old, but older. And I thought Chihuahuas weren't the brightest bulb on the tree. She's bright enough. I bet if I worked with her more, she'd be great. She's quick and treat motivated. Plus she absolutle thrives on attention and affection/approval.

So, it depends somewhat on the dog and the motivation given...but I don't think age has much to do with it. They are better able to focus and if there isn't a lot of bagage to remove from a past life, you're in business.