Adopting 2yr old rescue

[Mojo1]

We are adopting a two yr old male check rescue. He must have been an outside dog. His foster mom says he is a little nervous inside. He doesn't know any commands like sit or stay. My current boy is bell trained and knows all his commands and he is only 10 months old. Can a dog at 2yrs old learn all these behaviors? Or is it going to be difficult due to his age? Anyone have success with older dog?

 

[Net45582]

You CAN teach an old dog new tricks! It may take a bit longer or he may just take ques from your 10 month old. Good luck!

 

[DarlingBri]

Eimear is 4 and she learned to potty outside in 3 days. It's just like having a puppy... out every two hours, leashed to you in between, etc.

As for the training, there's actually a book called Old Dogs, New Tricks: Understanding and Retraining Older and Rescued Dogs by David Taylor that I found very reassuring. We have not gotten to obedience training beyond lead walking yet, but it is very do-able; I've done it with other mature dogs!

 

[Murp.mm]

First of all CONGRATULATIONS on your rescue. As far as training an outside/adult dog. I believe you can. We adopted a 1-2 yr. old poodle back in 1991. He was so afraid of everything. The broom would scare him to death (I wonder why!!!). Well he wasn't house trained and knew nothing about commands. Well, after a month or so when he became secure enough to know we weren't going to put him out in the cold we started teaching him commands. He did great. He housetrained in no time and was a great little pet until age 12 when I had to have him put down. I still think about him and the kisses he gave my 10 yr. old daughter the day we picked him up. I firmly believe in adopting. My daughter is grown now and has adopted a beautiful blind husky mix. Good luck to you and I know you won't regret your decision in adopting.