How to train an adult dog?

Can an adult dog be trained?

Dogs of all ages can be trained. But to achieve the greatest success, you must follow the rules:

• professional control. Popular TV shows and articles on the Internet will never replace classes with a real dog handler. The specialist will help you find an individual approach to your animal, identify the weaknesses of his character and correct all the negative manifestations of his behavior. Only training under the supervision of a professional will help save a puppy or an adult dog from various types of aggression (food, sexual, territorial, hierarchical, zooaggression). Independent attempts to resolve this issue can lead to an aggravation of the problem or trauma to the pet’s psyche;
• from simple to complex. At any age, the same principle applies – first, elementary commands are taught, and only after they have been successfully mastered should one move on to something more serious. Many owners who get adult guard dogs tend to skip this stage of training, believing that they do not need it at all. This is a huge mistake that always leads to tragic consequences. Learning simple commands, the animal also learns to quickly get involved in the work, even if a couple of minutes before that it was busy playing. Thanks to this, the pet becomes more manageable;
• control of emotions. The mood of the owner greatly affects the pet. Even adult dogs get confused during training if their owner is nervous. No matter how your pet makes mistakes and gets confused during the exercises, you must remain calm and friendly. Commands must be given clearly and without nervousness. If you feel that the nerves are on edge, stop the activity, otherwise your breakdown may discourage the animal from exercising;
• systematic approach. Even well-learned commands require regular repetition. If you completed the OKD course and decided to use the knowledge gained only after a year, then the pet can pretend that most commands are heard for the first time;
• the right motivation. For every dog, especially for an adult, the training process must be made interesting so that the pet gets involved in the work with passion and strives to complete the tasks assigned to it. This is the only way to achieve true success and get positive emotions from the path traveled. To do this, you need to find the right motivation. At the first stages of training adult dogs, it is advisable to use several of its types at once – food (goodies), tactile (strokes) and voice (praise).

What are the features of adult dog training?

Anyone who is interested in how to train adult dogs needs to know the following fact – the older the age, the more difficult it is to develop conditioned reflexes. But if the owner is ready to devote enough time for regular classes, then the desired result will not be long in coming.

During the training of adult dogs in the early stages, it is worth using only positive reinforcement. Commands should be given at first from close range, but over time it needs to be increased. Classes are best done in quiet places where there are no irritants (other animals, people and cars). Irritants must be introduced gradually and very carefully.