Twosday Training Tip

TRAINING TIP #1: HOLIDAY VISITORS PT. 2
If your dog is having trouble with your visitor routine, be ready to reward more frequently and ask for something easier. For example, if you were asking for a sit-stay when the doorbell goes off, instead ask for a quick sit, then release your dog to say hello.
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TRAINING TIP #2: TRAINING AN OLDER DOG
You’ve no doubt heard the adage, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” If you have an older dog, you’ll be relieved to know that for the most part it’s false. Older dogs are perfectly capable of learning, though there are a number of factors that influence how much and what your mature canine pal can learn, including:

• Your dog’s training and behavior history.
• Physical conditions that limit his mobility.
• Your skill as a trainer and commitment to your dog’s training program.
• What you are trying to teach him.
• What methods you have used – and are using – to teach him.
• Mental conditions that limit his cognitive abilities.

Positive trainers like to say “it’s all tricks.” Any new behaviors your senior dog can learn count as new tricks, even if he’s no longer jumping through hoops.
- excerpted from The Whole Dog Journal

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