You CAN Teach an Old Dog New Tricks
I was asked recently if you can teach an old dogs new “tricks”. The answer is a resounding, YES! The undeniable proof, my 15 year old Shipoo, Muttley. Mutt, AKA Little Man, has been with me since last September. He was my mom’s dog for 14 years, living in a small suburban cul-de-sac neighborhood where he took mile long weekly walks on his flexi lead. Since he didn’t have a fenced in yard and never really learned a recall, he either went out on a tie out or on the enclosed deck. He did know some tricks, even earning his Novice trick title at one point, but his general skills were lacking. Coming to live with us has been a big change in a lot of ways, and there has been a lot of learning!
We walk daily and hike regularly and since he was eager to participate we needed to work on his leash skills. Since we don’t own a flexi lead and I wasn’t about to buy one, he was assigned his very own 10’ biothane leash for walks and a 25’ long line for exploring, and the training commenced! He figured out pretty quickly that he had some new limitations and after about 2 weeks of somewhat chaotic walks, he and Nova fell into a comfortable routine. He is VERY food motivated so teaching him to check in with me was a breeze and if he isn’t walking on my right side, he is out in front following right alongside Nova.
I can’t even take all the credit for his newfound skills, a lot of that recognition goes to Nova. Dogs can learn by watching other dogs, this is called mimicking, my Rottweiler Mongo learned a few tricks this way and now Mutt seems to be doing the same. He is Nova’s little shadow and he doesn’t miss much, if she’s going somewhere and doing something, especially when snacks are involved, he won’t be far behind. Considering he is deaf now, this has definitely made training certain skills a bit easier!
So what exactly has he learned this past year?
Loose leash walking
Recall with hand signals
Handler check ins
Stay (very important, we take a lot of photos)
Parkour
Food puzzles
Off leash hiking
Navigating terrain
June 16th, 2025 - Mutt poses with Nova for a photo at the Overlook Mountain Hotel Ruins
I think what I find more impressive than anything are the things he has learned organically in the context of the environment. When we first started hiking, an activity he had never done before, his proprioception, coordination, balance, and self preservation was poor at best. He made very questionable if not terrible choices when it came to navigation if left to his own devices. When off leash he would run down the trail with his little legs flailing, trying to make much larger jumps than he was physically capable of, often causing him to face plant when he misjudged an obstacle in his path.
Since we started hiking regularly in April 2025, he has completed the WNY Summer Hiking and Urban Treks challenges, 4 of the Catskills Fire Tower hikes and summitted 15 Adirondack peaks. We have worked on spotting, lifting him for certain obstacles, and leading him towards the best path when presented with choices. I have watched him learn to approach difficult sections of trail with caution, make thoughtful choices about which path to take, wait for assistance with something he cannot safely traverse, and show increasing problem solving skills on the trails. We have heavily reinforced check ins so he will only go so far ahead before stopping to turn back and check in or return to us. The biggest improvement may be his “stay” as it was non-existent when he came to live with us and he can now wait just about anywhere for me to take yet another photo. He went from zig zagging on a leash in the neighborhood to successfully traversing hundreds of trail miles in just 7 months time, not too bad for a super senior!
September 26th, 2025 - Mutt waits for me to catch up on the trail to Kane Mountain Fire Tower
Mutt certainly isn’t my only senior dog to excel at training. Nova started hiking at the age of 8 and now at 12 she has hiked 50 different mountains, gaining lots of new skills along the way. Mongo, my Rottweiler, earned all of his Canine Good Citizen titles after his 8th birthday, never really having done any formal training prior to that. Not to mention all of the adult and senior dogs I have worked with over the years in basics, agility, and tricks. Not only did these dogs learn new skills, they thrived in training! Learning doesn’t have an age limit, like humans, dog’s can continue to learn new things throughout their lives and honestly I think learning enriches their lives as they age. If you have an adult or senior dog, it’s never too late to start training, no matter what your goals are, there is always something to learn and so many benefits to gain!
