Training older dogs?

The idea for this blog post was inspired by Harper the 11 year old Chihuahua pictured above.

Her owners contacted me for a consultation and then ultimately to train Harper via the internal training program.

Harper has a long history of reactivity, aggression, and more than a few bites.

It was clear and her consultation that Harper was not only a dog who had learned to reward her self through her fearful aggression, but also that she was a trainable dog who would benefit greatly from learning a new way of doing things.

When people say “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks” it isn’t really accurate.

Dogs fall into patterns often by accident. They try something and if it works – why not stick with it?  People often train their dog unknowingly – meaning they reinforce the wrong things, usually because they lack the clear understanding of the science of dog training and how reinforcement works. 

In Harper’s case she showed a high degree of reactivity and fear – people would then back away and Harper believed that she needed to continue doing this in order to remain safe. This was compounded by her owners picking her up, or trying to offer Harper some comfort which in turn sounds like praise to a dog.  So Harper’s logic was very simple: “This works!”

My job was to teach Harper some skills and then show her that we can utilize those skills to her ultimate goal of safety.  This creates a huge win/win in dog training.