If you have adopted an older dog only to learn it has some behavior problems, don't worry-you can teach an old dog new tricks. It is a very good idea to know something about a dog prior to adopting it, but there may be times you just won't know what you are in for. As often as not, adopting an older dog means he will bring his previous behavior issues with him. Unfortunately, sometimes adopted pets have problems such as soiling inside the house, acting aggressively or barking incessantly. Whichever problem your adopted dog may have, by using the right training techniques with your new pet, you can train him to be a welcome addition to the family.
Make sure you give your new pet a thorough check up for any behavior problems. One of the first things to check for would be to see if your dog has problems with aggression towards other dogs, people or over food or territory. If you do see signs of aggression, you will need to learn how to deal with those issues immediately-and avoid any chance of a biting incident occurring. You will also want to see if there are other behavior problems requiring special attention, as well as if your dog has had any previous training or not. Check out his previous training by giving him some commands and checking his responses. By his reaction to the commands you will be able to see if he had previous training or not. Watch to see if he responds fearfully to a command to come or sit as this may mean he was abused by a previous owner. You will want to be sure your new pet is thoroughly house trained, too. It is smart to check out your dog thoroughly to find out whether it has any dog training problems, so you know what behaviors need solutions first.
By following the step by step techniques found in a great dog training program, you can easily retrain an older dog. A good training program helps you avoid making the same mistakes everyone always seem to make. The best training programs only use positive training techniques. With positive training you give your dog reward for doing his exercises correctly, and this quickly teaches him how to behave. The best programs teach you how to use the right vocal tones and body language to communicate effectively with your dog what you want him to do. Once you know how to use your voice and body language properly you can train your dog must more effectively.
It is important that you learn how to be your dog's Alpha leader. Once he recognizes you as the pack leader, he will be eager and happy to follow your lead. This works because of every dog's natural desire to please the pack's leader.
Training your older dog means that everyone in the household has to stick with the same methods, to avoid confusing your pet-which will make the training efforts less effective. However, with the correct training techniques, your adopted pet will quickly learn his place within his new "pack" and behave properly. By establishing yourself as the Alpha dog, the pack leader, you will be able to get good results with solving behavior problems your dog may have brought with him.
By training your older dog to be well behaved, he will be a welcome family member, you can rely on to always behave his best in any situation. Since you adopted the older dog to be a new part of your family, you should not allow him to be anything other than a joy to have. Therefore, be certain to make the effort to train your older dog some new tricks, and soon he will be the great pet you were hoping for.
