Old Dogs CAN Learn New Tricks – Dog Myths Busted!

There’s an endless supply of myths out there in relation to dog behaviour and training, speak to any dog enthusiast and you will come across an array of beliefs seemingly handed down from generation to generation. So which ones do we believe and which ones are pure hogwash?

Myth #1:

“Old dogs can’t learn new tricks, only puppies have the ability to learn new things.”

This age old myth is definitely one that should be left to the dogs; it is more useful as a metaphor than something to judge your own dogs training capacity by. While younger dogs may pick up voice, facial and hand commands quicker there is nothing to say older dogs, with the training know-how, can’t just as easily learn new things.

Dogs that have life experience may have picked up bad habits and lack of obedience from previous owners, inconsistent or punishing training techniques, or sheer lack of attention. It is important to remember that even though these bad habits seem ingrained, they can be successfully trained out of the dog with regular, consistent training and the ability to recognise and remedy bad habits through encouraging the good habits.

Myth #2:

“Dogs that pull on their leash, jump up on people or barge through doors are dominant.”

There is no disputing that dogs live in a social hierarchy, however, human concepts of dominating behaviour are not congruent with those of dog behaviour. We may perceive a pushy demanding person as dominating, but a pushy unruly dog, in most cases, means the dog has not undergone successful training.

This myth can encourage dog owner’s to use forceful methods in order to establish dominance over their dog, and as a result creates a timid or aggressive animal. A dog responds to positive results, for instance, a jumping dog that receives pats and attention when jumping is going to learn that repeating this behaviour fosters good results. Behaviours that are reinforced will continue regardless of our desire for them, so be sure to use positive reinforcement for the positive behaviour and ignore the negative behaviour. Consistency is key!

Myth #3:

“Dogs can’t learn from positive reinforcement. You have to punish them so they know they are wrong.”

The belief that causing a dog harm, fear or pain when they do something wrong is potentially dangerous for both dog and trainer. Think about it – when you’ve made a mistake in the past did you respond positively to being physically or emotionally punished for it, or respond better to the praise of doing something right? Further-more, even if you were rewarded for correct behaviour chances are being punished for wrong behaviour will likely impede your ability to learn and cause fear for trying new things.

It’s all about letting your dog know that bad behaviour makes a good thing go away, for example, patting and praising your dog when he/she has all four paws on the ground but when she/he jumps up, the praise stops. And remember again, consistency is key!