Re-training an old dog - is this doable?

ILoveRedVino

We have an 8 year old pit.  He sleeps in our bed and is allowed on couches, however, with a baby on the way, I want to break him from the couch habit (they are soooo dirty with him being allowed on there).  He has a little dog bed in the living room but rarely uses it.  After baby arrives, he will continue to be allowed in our bed at night.

Is it possible to teach an older dog that "his" couch is no longer "his"?  Or is this going to confuse him to death?  How would you go about doing it?

 

sparent2010

You can. It is about being consistent. We retrained our dog to stay out of the bedroom after FI and I moved in together. We just told him no and to go to his bed.

That worked for us, but he is a herding/working dog and I think they are the easiest to train. 

Caz1221

Based on my experience, adult dogs can certainly be re-trained or taught new rules, but you have to be 100% consistent, as in every single time he gets on the bed, you tell him to get off.  S was almost 4 when we adopted him, and we crate trained him (he was used to sleeping in bed), obedience trained him, got him his CGC, and taught him not to bark (he was a huge alarm barker).  It can be done!

bridget1312

I think so...  When I moved in with my guy his dog used to sleep with him was allowed on everything.  Lol, that changed real quick...  Just always be consistent.  If and when he jumps on the couch, scold him, just make sure to do it every single time...  He will learn, it may take a little time, but he will stop..  good luck!!!

bridget1312

Caz1221:

Based on my experience, adult dogs can certainly be re-trained or taught new rules, but you have to be 100% consistent, as in every single time he gets on the bed, you tell him to get off.  S was almost 4 when we adopted him, and we crate trained him (he was used to sleeping in bed), obedience trained him, got him his CGC, and taught him not to bark (he was a huge alarm barker).  It can be done!

 

 

How did you get the dog not to bark???  Our dog barks at EVERYTHING!!!!

Caz1221

bridget1312:

Caz1221:

Based on my experience, adult dogs can certainly be re-trained or taught new rules, but you have to be 100% consistent, as in every single time he gets on the bed, you tell him to get off.  S was almost 4 when we adopted him, and we crate trained him (he was used to sleeping in bed), obedience trained him, got him his CGC, and taught him not to bark (he was a huge alarm barker).  It can be done!

 

 

How did you get the dog not to bark???  Our dog barks at EVERYTHING!!!!

Lol.  The FAQs has a great section on all types of barking.  I taught him the "quiet" command by first just rewarding any time he was quiet, then pairing the word "quiet" with him being quiet and eventually using it as command.  He figured out pretty quickly that he wasn't supposed to bark at normal city noises, so we rarely have to use the command for that type of stuff (sirens, footsteps, etc.). 

He also used to bark at birds, squirrels, etc. that he saw out the window.  For that, if he barked/whined, we immediately put the shade down so the "fun" view went away.  Once he was quiet, we lifted the shade.  Now he watches the wildlife but never barks, so we don't need to use the command.

The last bastion for us is the doorbell.  It's his strongest trigger.  He's gotten much better, but we are still working on getting him to automatically go to his bed (his "place") whenever the doorbell rings.