Does Age Matter When You're Training Dogs?

Training your dog is an important step to building a trusting bond as well as establishing your dominance as the pack leader. A dog that obeys you and is well trained is more likely to get along well with other people, have limited behavioral issues, and be a happier, healthier pet. While all dogs have different temperaments and learn in different stages, the earlier training begins, the better the results.

  1. Training Puppies

    • Puppies can begin following basic obedience commands as early as 8 weeks of age. The sooner good habits are ingrained, the sooner they̵7;ll become part of your dog̵7;s normal behavior and routine. Puppies often do well being trained in obedience classes with other dogs, which simultaneously provides them with socialization skills. Obedience classes also help new pet owners understand the best ways to go about basic training procedures.

    Training Older Dogs

    • An adult dog, one who is between 6 and 12 months of age, who was not appropriately trained or socialized as a puppy, can be slightly more difficult to train, simply because part of the process will involve breaking the dog of pre-learned bad habits. For example, if a dog is not trained at a young age to stay off the furniture, making that transition and letting him know the couch is off limits can be tougher, because the dog is already used to that routine. On the other hand, many older dogs have longer attention spans and are already housebroken and know basic commands.

    Training Rescue Dogs

    • If you rescue a dog from a shelter or bring in a homeless dog, you might not know much about his background or what kind of training, if any, he has. Rescue dogs may have trust issues or high anxiety levels, particularly if they were physically abused for disobedience in past living situations. These dogs must be trained and handled with patience and TLC to help establish a bond of trust while simultaneously ingraining new positive behaviors.

    Tough-to-Train Dogs

    • Regardless of age, rescue pups or dogs with anxiety issues or fear of other animals may do better with in-home training than in group obedience classes. In-home training with a professional can give you one-on-one opportunities to work with your dog in a calm and familiar environment. This is also a good opportunity to interact and bond with your pup and build a sense of trust, and to socialize him to another person who has the dog's best interest in mind.