RETRAINING THE OLDER DOG(S)

"No matter how little money and how few possessions you own, having a dog makes you rich."
-- Louis Sabin

Retraining the Older Dog

Thanks to a comment from Debb it seemed like a good subject to address.

 Can we train or retrain an old dog? Of course we can, just like those of us that are 30, 40 , 50, or maybe even a little older. The main thing we have to bear in mind is the student is probably carrying some extra baggage that we might have to train around or gently push to one side so there is room for new ideas and methods.

Have any of you encountered that challenge in your personal efforts to change something old and unwanted or to acquire a new skill? Bet you have, and often an attitude adjustment is required if we are to be successful.

So let’s look at buddy who is our 5 or more year old Lab cross who has some issues and you’ve read some stuff and said “you know I should put some time into Buddy and correct some of his bad habits and teach him some new skills.” What often happens is this thought winds up in the self improvement category and the old “ road to hell is paved with good intentions” concept kicks in because it starts to look like a whole bunch of effort and the reward begins to look too small compared to the perceived effort.

Okay let’s make this a lot more achievable so you’ll at least make the effort to retrain Buddy. This is all about the dog, remember.

Get out that lined pad of paper put a heading of “things I don’t want Buddy to do” and half way down the sheet another heading of “things I’d like to teach Buddy to do”.

Now start with the first section and list all of the things you don’t want Buddy to do. Don’t put them in order and don’t prejudge, just put down whatever comes to mind. Great now go down to the second section and do the same thing with those things you’d like to teach Buddy. Again, don’t prejudge just put whatever comes to mind.

What you’ve done is to list the POSSIBILITIES.

Now take your pencil and draw a line through those ideas that are completely unachievable. For example if Buddy is obese and has sore hips you can scratch the idea of teaching him to participate in Agility Classes.

What you’ve done now is to list the PROBABILITIES.

Chances are you’ll have 6 or 8 items or less in each section. The next step requires a little thought and concentration but we’ll keep it easy. Look at all items and imagine you could magically achieve each one with only ten minutes effort but you only get to do six and you must do the one task most important  to you first, and so on down the list until you’ve used up your six. Now take your pencil and put them in order of number 1, number2, etc.

What you’ve done now is to list the PRIORITIES.

START WITH NUMBER 1

Clearly identify what it is you’re going to teach.

Break it into the smallest teachable and learnable components.

Using the “Lure and Reward” principle we reteach buddy just as if he is a brand new student. If you look back through the previous  month’s blogs you’ll find the methods.

DO NOT PROCEED TO TASK NUMBER 2 UNTIL YOU AND BUDDY HAVE MASTERED NUMBER 1.

Do the repetitions in small bites with lots of positive reinforcement and expect that Buddy might be a bit slower to stick to the new methods of doing things or in some cases not doing things. Remember that just  like  many of us , he has to unlearn some old ways in order to catch on to the new stuff. The neat part is you can be guaranteed that if you proceed with small sections with lots of happy and enthusiastic repetition Buddy will enjoy the experience and reward you both with positive achievement.

Now set yourself some realistic goals and a workable schedule.  Give up 15 minutes of TV and 15 minutes of computer time each day to retrain Buddy. You’ll be amazed how quickly you achieve your  goals and the interesting  thing is many of the items that were a little way down the list will resolve themselves as you both work through the more important items and you’ll subconsciously solve a problem or slip in a new skill just in the process of addressing one of the more important challenges.

STICK WITH YOUR PLAN AND SCHEDULE UNTIL YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE FIRST SIX ON THE LIST.

When these are finished go back to square one and redo the possibility, probability, priority, routine and see if there are still some issues and/or challenges that need to be addressed . It will be a lot easier to proceed from here. The main thing is IF YOU’VE COME THIS FAR DO NOT GIVE UP.

Lastly, let’s briefly discuss the multiple dog  situation. Seriously assess your concerns with each dog and put a priority on each dog and deal with the most serious or most important challenges first. I would suggest that you complete your efforts with the first dog before you go on to number 2 then next etc. What will most likely happen is that as you train through certain situations you will automatically resolve some of these  same issues if they exist with one or more of the other dogs. As you become a more persistent and consistent trainer and pack leader the efforts will naturally flow to the entire family.

Good training! And remember if you have any specific questions please send them on.