Training older Sheltie

Phil Hughes · Aug 18, 2017

Our Kozi has been with us for a couple of weeks now and for a 7 year old rescue dog, he is the perfect gentleman. Good around the house and quiet. Potty trained and crate trained. He walks well on a leash. However it is apparent that he has never received any type of obedience training. I just want the fella to learn sit, down, stay and come. I have trained a few dogs before, just never one this old or a Sheltie so wonder if anyone has any good tips about obedience e training an older Sheltie?

Chris · Aug 18, 2017

Take him to an obedience class. He'll do you proud!!!

Calliesmom · Aug 18, 2017

teaching an older dog is the same as teaching a younger dog. I'd say the only thing to be aware of is if his joints hurt while doing sits and downs.......

Ann · Aug 18, 2017

In my experience, it takes a bit longer to teach older dogs commands than puppies. I don't know why that is, but I wonder if their habits are ingrained and to some extent learning a new command requires unlearning something in their little doggie heads. So a bit more patience is required but they certainly can learn obedience commands. Keep training sessions fairly short, as you would with a puppy, and use lots of treats and praise. Shelties are very smart and fast learners. Your boy will surprise you!

Hanne · Aug 19, 2017

You both are already - unusually - connected. Definitely you can easily teach him.

if you go slowly, praise and treats and teach him one thing at a time
"sit" he has learned before the week is over - Kozi come" i think you already use that

ghggp · Aug 19, 2017

I totally agree with going to obedience classes!

I adopted Baron in May at five years old.
He did not even know the SIT command!
He was brought up in a rural setting so cars, trucks, people, and strange environments scare him!

I enrolled in Beginner Obedience classes and just he graduated! Now he is so proud when I say SIT and his butt hits the floor immediately!
His sheltie smile says it all, yep... got this now MOM! Once he understands what am asking him to do he seems to gain confidence.
He really needs socialization too. Just training at home may not help as much as a formal class.

After adopting several older shelties before and ALL went to beginners obedience classes, it really helped to cement the bond we had!

Hope this info helps! So glad you are willing to put in the time and dedication to Kozi training!
Keep us updated on your progress! He looks great after his grooming too!

Phil Hughes · Aug 28, 2017

Thanks everyone, Koz is getting used to us, the house and the neighborhood. I think that we are going to give him a few more weeks of just hanging out and getting used to us and his new situation before starting any kind of training program. He is still pretty timid so not sure just how well he will do in a group obedience class but one of the things that we really want to do is to get him socialized with other dogs and people.

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Training older Sheltie

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