Is my dog to old to be trained?

Question

My dog is a shih-tzu mixed with a poodle and she is was born in August 2006 and has never really been trained but next week she will start obedience school but I keep hearing that she might be to old to be trained. Is that true?

Answer 1

no i taught a bull terrier to sit at the age of 6, dogs are never too old but just a bit more stubborn than a puppy, but  with time and patience it is possible best of luck with the training honey

Answer 2

sdgfsdg

Answer 3

Dogs are not the problem it is the people around the dog.

Are you to set in your ways or do you have the know how  to train this dog is the question.

Answer 4

Your dog is not too old to train. In fact, what obedience school is doing is training the handler to train the dog. In any case a dog is not old until it gets to 14years!

Answer 5

Watch the Dog Whisperer Ceaser Milan.  He has proven over and over its never to late.  Anyone who says it is, doesn't know what they are talking about.

Answer 6

No, not at all.  She'll do fine.

We taught several new things to an 11-year old dog at home while our new puppy was obedience class.  We went home and tried them on the older dog too.  She was a fast learner.

Answer 7

that old saying "you can't teach an old dog new tricks"....WRONG. dogs live to please.  she will be just fine, as long as you take the training with her, you need to do this together.

Answer 8

Dogs are never too old to be trained, I suggest a good puppy training class at like Petsmart or something like that, so your dog can get socialized more as well. Mans Best Friend is also really good for training.

Answer 9

Absolutely not!! I have a shih-tzu and she's a quick learner. Like they say, you CAN teach any dog no matter wat!

Answer 10

TULOOLA IS A FREAK! FIRST OF FREAKIN ALL WHOEVER THUMBS ME DOWNED CAN SUCK ON MY LOLIPOP. THE DOG NAME IS TULOOLA AND SHE IS A FREAK SO HA HA HA

Answer 11

Dogs are never too old to be trained! I read it in a puppy training book. She's not very old, you should have no problem!

Answer 12

Mythbusters did an episode on teaching old dogs new tricks.. they could do it with two 8 yr huskies (I believe) so you should be able to do it with a 2 yr.

Answer 13

A dog is never to old to learn. She should be fine.

Answer 14

Well your dog can be trained but its best to train your dog when it was a puppy, but if you train it and its a couple of years old or even about to die the next couple of years it will be harder to tain the dog.

Answer 15

People know very little about dogs in general. The people telling you the dog is too old to be trained are just ignorant.

Older dogs can be trained. The problem is that most are ignored to a point or allowed to do as they please until their human decides to get them trained up. What has to happen is the dogs must be shown something new is expected of them - sit, stay, down and such.

Like most dogs I'm sure yours has been allowed to do pretty much as it pleases. Correct? That is the big issue. The pupper has been allowed to make up his/her own mind, make own decisions. That can't happen now with training or it will be a real struggle. Gently try to convince the dog that you know best in this situation and don't let her ignore you or give you the paw. <=== lol......

Many trainers at these training schools know very little about dogs so be careful what they do. Pressure should never be put on a dog that is starting training. This must be a gentle, slow, process. Anyone tells you they can train your dog in a week is a liar and an idiot. They can beat your dog into submission in a week but not train it in a week. Never leave your dog with someone to be trained, for that week of training. Some of those dogs never make it back home alive.

There are e books online for around $20.00 that are simple and east to follow. Buying one of those will teach you how to train as well as allow you to train your own dog. If someone else trains your dog you still need training. How will you handle your dog if you don't know the commands or s***w them up? The owner/handler must be able to give commands as they were taught to the dog. If not, you haven't accomplished anything.

Some people use the excuse that the dog is too old or some other problem with the dog because those people don't know how to train very well. Read the dog and understand the personality you work with and all is good. Most people can't do that. I can, have and will continue to do so for as long as I can train dogs.

Yep, you can find training material on line. It only takes 5 minutes daily to train your dog. More than that is a waste of time and may allow your dog to get bored and start to drift on you. 5 minutes...

Hope this helps

Answer 16

Any dog can be trained.  Can't teach an old dog new tricks is a myth.

You just have to have patience.  Dogs are eager to please, so heap on the positive feedback when she sits when told etc...  Meaning tell her what a great dog she is.

Answer 17

You CAN teach an old dog new tricks, and your dog is not all that old, anyway. It'll be a somewhat bigger challenge, but not that big a deal. Just be consistent.

Good luck!

Answer 18

She is not too old to be trained.  My dog just graduated from obedience school and there was another dog in the class that was 6 years old.  I think your dog will be just fine.

It is recommended to start training at an early age and I am sure that is where other people are getting their information from.  It's never too late to teach a dog some manners.

Answer 19

Not at all.  Dogs are never really too old to be properly trained.  They often have already learned some bad habits but they can easily let go of them and learn.  Most of the training in training dogs is training the person - the dogs learn pretty fast once their owner learn to interact properly.  Good luck!  BTW, if you are hearing from some trainer that she is too old, that is not the trainer you want to go to.  Any trainer that knows squat would realize that a dog is never too old to learn.