CAN YOU TEACH AN OLD DOG NEW TRICKS?

Dear Jubilee:

Hi, I am getting an Airedale that is nearly two years old. She is spayed and potty trained and very lovable. But when she is let out of her crate, she goes wild. She jumps and carries on like a wild puppy.

Will I every be able to train her to be a well-behaved dog at this age?

 Need Advice

 Dear Need Advice:

 I do believe that you can train a dog at any age.

I would recommend clicker training: You need to find someone in your area that does clicker training and that is Airedale friendly. Airedales, no matter how old they are when they start this kind of training, absolutely love it. They think they are in control of you and that it is a wonderful game to get you to click and treat. But they learn to do what you want them to do without any force at all. Just be sure to find a good trainer. There are also books, videos and training kits available on the Web. For more information, go to:

www.dontshootthedog.com
www.clickertrain.com
www.clickandtreat.com

How long have you been leaving her in her crate? Four hours are about max (except for sleeping at night). They will be excited when they first come out of the create because they have a lot of energy that they have not used for awhile.

First, when you take her out of the crate, take her immediately outdoors and let her run off some of that pent-up energy by chasing noises, squirrels, birds, whatever catches her  attention. Try throwing a ball and teaching her to retrieve: many Airedales are wonderful retrievers. 

When she tries to jump up on you, walk directly into her. That will make her back up and she needs four feet on the ground to back up. Or, turn your back on her and keep turning around as she tries to get to your front and side to jump on you – eventually she will sit and ponder what you are doing! Whatever you do, do not back up when she jumps: that tells her to come after you and jump some more.

A good video to get is Calming Signals which is available from www.dogwise.com or www.sitstaygoout.com (both good sites for training materials).

Even better: ask yourself what you want her to do instead of jumping on you. If it is sit and stay or fetch a toy or something else, focus on teaching her that behavior and when she has it down pat in regular training, just use that command when she is excited. You may have to help her in the beginning, but dogs respond to positive commands better than to No and other negative commands.

Good luck. The more you work with this girl, the more love you give her, the better she will respond. Remember, be patient, don’t laugh at bad behavior, and stay calm. She is probably so grateful to you for her new home that she has to show you through her exuberance. You need to harness that energy and show her how to use it in a positive, more appropriate manner.

Jubilee