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Can you teach a old dog new tricks?


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Can you train a old dog (8 years old +)

new tricks? Which could be good enough for competitions etc.... 

 

Any type of compitition really,if its hearding, tricks, fly ball etc 

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I continue to train my 11 yr old new tricks, he seems to enjoy it. Any kind of activity that gives you and your dog the chance to work as a team is good.

Agility/flyball should be approached w/caution. Those are both impactful sports, between jumping over stuff and turning hard at speed. I'd say start w/an instructor and explain that your dog is almost a senior, and you want to be careful that he doesn't get injured. Border collies are known for an inability to monitor themselves.

If there's nose work or scent work in Brisbane, that is an EXCELLENT sport to get your dog involved in. Very, very easy on the dog, and it's focused on the dog's strongest attribute ~the nose! I've taken 12 yr old dogs to nosework classes ~ they love it!

Good luck!

Ruth & Gibbs

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My older dog is 9 1/2 and I continue to train new skills in agility with him, he still competes. That said he is very experienced with the learning new tricks and new concepts. Older dogs can learn lots of things but at 8 in the fast impact sports they probably will not be able to compete seriously as it takes a long time to master the skills, but older dogs can have lots of fun learning the concepts without ever having to jump or do high impact activities. 

 

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Ruth's suggestion of nosework is a very good one. Dogs universally love it, and it is a safe sport for a dog at any age.  Dogs can learn new things at any age and enjoy it. But I would agree with those who urge caution in taking an older dog into agility. 

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Not sure if there is any NADAC in Brisbane? Tunnellers or the hoops may be better for an older dog than the jumps.  Otherwise nosework, or even something like Rally can be good for an older dog.  Rally can have one or two jumps in higher grades, but with straight approaches and not at high speed.  I call it an obedience obstacle course.

Or you can look into track and search or lure coursing.  I just checked Dogs Queensland's website, and there are trials in both disciplines, so there must be clubs that teach it.  These might work for an older dog that is still active.

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I adopted my Sheltie, Noel, when she was 7 years old and started agility shortly after that. By the time she was 8 we were competing. She wasn't super fast, but she loved agility and we had a great time. We qualified quite a bit and earned novice and open titles. She was over 16 inches at the shoulder, but I always jumped her at a lower jump height due to her age. 12" at first, then dropped it to 8" when she got older. I stopped competing when she was 12, and I mostly retired her from agility when she was 13 because she started going blind and I didn't want her to hurt herself. So my long answer, is yes, you can train and compete with an older dog. Just have fun and keep it safe!

My current GSD mix is just 6, but has a bad back and tore both ACLs (CCL). So she isn't doing agility but I'm doing trick training with her. We both enjoy it, and for her it is a good way to keep her busy and mentally fit. It keeps me mentally fit too:)

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  • 2 months later...

Thanks for the advice guys, I will now start training my old border collie tricks and uploading them to you tube as I teach them to her

for now here is a simple first, catching a ball 

 

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