Q&A for How to Train an Adult Dog

Try training your dog in a quiet, relaxed environment where he can focus. For instance, if you need to teach your dog to walk on a leash, do it somewhere quiet like in your backyard. Other places are too stimulating for your dog to focus and concentrate on the mechanics of leash walking.

If you’re going to punish a dog, try thinking first in terms of taking something good away or stopping something pleasurable rather than adding something bad. Doing this will make it easier for him to understand.

First, teach your dog to bark on command. Once he has mastered this, you can teach him the opposite command "Quiet" by rewarding his silence and giving it a cue word. To teach him to bark on command, knock on a wall to trigger him to bark. Praise him, label with a cue word such as "Speak" or "Bark," and reward with a treat.

At home, first teach your dog to "Look" at you. Then desensitize the dog to others by arranging for a friend and their dog to appear in the distance. Reward your dog's calm behavior. Gradually decrease the distance between the two dogs. When your dog starts to react to the other's presence, tell him to "Look" and focus on you while the other dog is walked away. Gradually you will gain control and be able to be near other dogs without problem.

It's never too late to train a dog! However, older dogs may have physical infirmities that make it difficult to sit, so always work within the dog's capabilities. Also, they may have hearing or sight impairment, so adapt your commands to a form they can sense. Also, they have a shorter concentration span, so frequent short sessions are best.

You need to remove the opportunity for them to toilet in the wrong place, and team this up with rewarding the dog when they toilet outdoors. Consider restricting the dog to one room and supervising them at all times. As soon as the dog sniffs as if to toilet, take them outside. Stay with the dog and then reward them when they toilet in the right spot.

No, a dog is never too old to housebreak, but it is hard work and can take weeks to months to establish the new habit. This is not an easy thing to do and takes considerable dedication to succeed.

Go back to basics and train the dog as you would a puppy. However, you do have one advantage: the dog's bladder capacity is bigger so they don't need such frequent toilet breaks. Use strategies such as never letting the dog out of sight and taking them outdoors immediately when they show an interest in toileting. Restrict the dog to one room or even crate train them, so you can monitor their movements. Then praise and reward the dog when they do toilet outdoors.

Put your dog on a leash. Set up a low jump and lure your dog with a treat over the jump. Say "hup!" and repeat the steps.

Just reward it with treats, feed and water it, teach it tricks, play with it and pet it a lot.

There is no set time to spend with your dog. But, he does need daily attention, such as meal times and potty breaks. And if you want him to bond well with you, the more time the two of you spend playing, training and just being together, the stronger that bond will become. Dogs, like people, can suffer depression and emotional pain, so treat him like a best friend, and set aside lots of time to be with him.

Use treats that are easy for them him smell. A clicker might be loud enough for even a old dog.

As dogs get older, they begin to have less control over bladder and bowels than when they were younger, just like humans do. Keep on a consistent schedule, and try taking her down more frequently. If this isn't possible, try training her to go in a certain place indoors, like on a puppy pad.

Most adult dogs should be fed two or three times a day. Just ask your vet.

Get a leash that can lock, and go for a short walk. Lock the lease so your dog can get ahead, but not to far. Every time he pulls ahead, gently yank the leash back and give the command "heel." Do this every time you go for a walk and your dog should pick up the command and hopefully stay by your side when walking. The first few times, bring some treats and reward your dog for good behavior.

Like training a dog to do anything on command, it starts with a clicker, time, and reinforcement training. I've found that training with real meat is very effective (more so that training treats). For something like "speak" as a command to bark, you may have to wait a while as the dog goes through other behaviors you've trained him in, trying to get the treat. Eventually it will start to make a small sound. Click and reward. Do this over and over, each time holding out for a slightly louder bark, and then reward.

When you see a car coming, have your dog sit and distract him/her with a treat, letting them smell/taste it but not eat it until the car has passed by. Using the clicker helps, but the key is to remain calm because your nervous energy can translate to excitement to your dog.

Use treats and a clicker. If you don't have them, you can get them affordably at a local pet store.

Try a shorter leash that goes around her chest instead of neck. When she pulls, just stop. Wait a few seconds and go again. Repeat if she pulls. When she is pulling, she really wants to go somewhere, and she should figure out she won't get there as fast if she keeps having to stop. Since the leash is around her chest and not her neck, there's no possibility of her being choked while you're doing this.

Put separate kennels in two different rooms. Then, when your family comes, they won't be able to fight, bark, jump on your family, because they won't be able to reach each other.

If he is really old, it is best to let him rest. If not, start by doing basics like "Sit" and "Lay."

Labs can be very food-driven. We had labs in the past, and had to move the kitchen trash to under the sink to keep them out of it. Some new kitchen trash cans have well-sealed lids that may help. If it is outside garbage, keep a tight lid on the can or store it in a place the dog can't get to. In essence, keep the trash out of the dog's reach.

Have the dog on a leash and have someone else hold the cat in their hands. Distract the dog by putting a treat by their head and command them to sit. Reward the dog when they ignore the cat. If the bad behavior continues and doesn't improve in about a week, you may have to separate them, or even give one up for adoption.

It's not a good idea to try to train your dog to attack; you'll end up with an aggressive dog that will end up biting someone and need to be put down. Work on basic training with your dog. You'll strengthen your bond and your dog will protect you if necessary.

She's jealous. Let her know she's alpha. One way to do this is to always feed her first (just make sure the other dogs are unable to approach her food). Don't forget to share your attention and affection equally between all your pets.

Firstly, to help him calm down and avoid the neighbors' complaining, you can try an ultrasonic antibark collar. It is safe to leave on as it has no electric shock involved. The ultrasound is beeped every time the dog barks and quickly teaches him to be quiet when wearing the collar. Some dogs ignore it though, then an electric collar would do the job, although I would not feel safe leaving the dog alone with it, in case of malfunction. Secondly, it is generally a good idea not to leave your dog alone for the whole day. If you can't check in during lunch break, have mercy on the poor creature who, unlike us, can't read or watch TV during the day, and get him a friend, fostering first perhaps. Or, have someone be with him during the day, or as much of the day as possible.

Taking them on walks that gradually increase in length could help. Dogs love walks, and it'll help the lazy dog to gain some muscle and move around more, and tire out the rowdy one.

If it already knows some tricks, then start with something else but if it knows tricks that you have taught your dog, then you are good. However, you could train them to do something like leash training or in-house training, like get off furniture and such.