AlinaHaas Posted March 17, 2021 Posted March 17, 2021 Hi all - New to the training. We've had Duke for just over 3 months. We don't know much of his background except that he was severely neglected and in bad shape when he first got to the shelter. He's a pretty mellow old dude and mostly happy to nap, sunbathe, and be loved on. I do not think he has had any training. We sort of have an understanding of boundaries and what we want from eachother, but we could do with some more structure and I am a novice dog owner. I was interested in this brain training bc his mobility is going to continue to change and I want to find multiple ways to keep him stimulated and to build my own foundation of training and relationship building with him. He's got an arthritic hip that does not slow him down when it comes time for a walk (its his favorite time) and he goes on 2 20-30 minutes walks every day. Like I said, his hips don't slow him down, but it does prevent him from sitting which a lot of training builds a foundation from. And its a bit of a process to get from laying down to standing. Is it okay to just skip the things he can't do comfortably? even though it may be more advanced. He's not food motivated at all. His teeth are all ground down. He's not in pain (we checked with a vet) but he won't eat things without inspecting them first, which makes me wonder how many rocks or things like that he's accidentally eaten out of hunger. And what he likes one day he won't like the next so the same thing doesn't always work for what training we've tried. And toys aren't as much a motivator. He sometimes chews on them but not for long (again maybe from his teeth? can't get a good grip?) Any advice on how to adjust the course or specific senior resources would be amazing. Thank you! -Alina Below is just some more about Duke's general personality and behavior if you are interested. We've been getting to know eachother over the last 3 months. He almost never barks or spooks at noises, people, other animals. He basically only barks to say "Duke's water needs attention, Duke thinks it's high time for a walk, Duke doesn't understand why his bed moved so you could wash the cover". And he does a thing where he faces away from us into a corner or wall and kinda builds up to a good harrumph of a bark. It's hilariousAnd when we stand up and gets excited and walks off looking back every few steps to see if we are following so he can show us where our attention is needed. (He has us trained REALLY WELL). He doesn't have much interest in other people or other dogs. He might look at them. If they are across the street he might whine and wag his tail but he's big and people pretty much avoid us. When there is a friendly dog he'll smell them and then kinda wander off to smell other things. Even at our one dog park excursion just to see. It wasn't very crowded. We had him on leash for the beginning to just to assess the scene and eventually took him off. He was way more interested in the smells than the dogs. He would pause politely for a brief exchange of smells and then he would nose down continue on. And after a lap around, he went back to the exit gate and kinda looked at us like okay. I'm good. It has been a struggle to find food that he'll even eat. The foster he lived with told us we had to soak all his food in water to make is soft and hand feed it to him. That didn't work at all. We changed it up and he likes kibble when it isn't soggy, we just got him a different one with smaller pieces. He gets that with brown rice. He licks up all his food, doesn't bite at it at all. I'm happy to report that he's gone from 6/7 to 2/3 in the poop department! I never thought I would know so much about dog poop or be so excited when it is easy to pick up. Sometimes he is super enthused to eat and eat two meals. Other times he won't eat but once, and I kind of have to convince him it is good. I give him a bit from his bowl in my hand and he'll be like oh wait, I do like that. He's also sort of needs one of us to be in the kitchen with him while he eats. He'll stop and look up at me every now and then, and if I encourage him that he's doing a good job, he'll keep eating. The other thing he does is he'll walk around in a circle and come back to it.
Adrienne Posted March 17, 2021 Posted March 17, 2021 Hello and welcome the the forums! Bless you heart for opening your heart and home to this senior sweetheart! These oldies really need some stability in their lives and they have so much to offer. Duke is very lucky to have found you and I am so glad that your paths crossed! Yes, by any means, if he is arthritic and in discomfort, skip the sits and downs. We don't want him to associate training with pain. However, I would ask the vet if there are any supplements that can help his mobility. When my Rotties got older and they started having trouble getting up, Yumove by Lintbells really helped them. Every dog is an individual so they may all respond differently, so sometimes it takes trying several different ones. Your vet may be in the best position for suggesting what can help him out. I did notice in the picture that his bottom teeth are worn down almost to the gums. This can be as a result of occlusal wear, that can happen as a result of a malocclusion which is a misalignment between the teeth of the two dental arches when the dog’s jaws close. This form of wear occurs gradually and regularly over the course of years, especially when there is abnormal tooth-to-tooth contact. As the wear takes place, the pulp of the dog’s tooth tries to repair the damage by laying down dentin, which appears as a dark brown spot found in the middle of the tooth meant to cover the vulnerable pulp. In other cases, teeth worn down like that may be due to dental abrasion which occurs when a dog’s teeth are worn to the gums as a result of mechanical wear. This mechanical wear often occurs as a result of the dog repeatedly chewing on items that are harder than what teeth can normally withstand, such as chewing on rocks, the bars of a cage, chain or wire. Overzealous chewing on Frisbee and tennis balls can also cause in the long term damage to the dog’s canines and premolars. Some veterinarians call this “tennis ball mouth.” The problem with worn down teeth, is that, if the nerve is exposed, it can turn out being painful to eat and the dog may need extractions. I know your vet said he's not in pain, but some behaviors seem to suggest that, although some dogs may do some of those behaviors too with tummy troubles. A veterinary dentist may be able to provide a better insight on that. In the meanwhile, there are many activities you can provide and behaviors you can train to help you two bond. You can use as treats, whatever he is eating at the moment (kibble, canned food, string beans, rice). Rather than tossing the treat, you can directly hand feed him if he struggles with chasing food around and making abrupt movements. If you are unsure on some activities, ask your vet if he thinks they are OK just to play it safe. Of course, go slow. Baby steps, make it fun and easy and keep sessions short. -When he's active and walking around, you can train hand targeting: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/preschool/targeting/ -Look into my eyes is a deeply bonding game: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/preschool/look-into-my-eyes/ -The Airplane Game will keep him thinking on what to do next: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/preschool/the-airplane-game/ -If you must feed soft foods, you can fill up a muffin tin with it to keep him busy: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/elementary/the-muffin-game/ My senior Rotties have enjoyed playing treasure hunts up until their senior years (we had to then start feeding Einstein in a raised food bowl at 11 due to neck pain) https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/elementary/the-treasure-hunt/ -if his neck/spine is OK you can do the magic carpet game: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/college/the-magic-carpet/ -Training leave it and drop it can turn handy in senior dogs as they sometimes may want to ingest odd things: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/take-leave-it/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/drop-it/ If he struggles with sitting and lying down, you can still train him to "stay" as he's standing (however, don't have him stand for too long as some older dogs struggle standing for too long). https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/stay/ Some tricks that can be fun: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/train-dog-give-paw-shake/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/train-your-dog-to-turn-on-a-light/ Many of these use a clicker: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/clicker-training/ Careful with the clicker though as some older dogs may be sensitive to sounds, here is a guide if you use a clicker, to make its sounds less intense: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/your-clicker-best-friend-or-worst-enemy/ Pulling on leash at this age isn't normally a problem, so while he's heeling nicely next to you, you can ask him to make eye contact every now and then as described in the attention heeling section: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/heeling-attention-heeling/ At this age, other dogs may not be as relevant as when dogs are younger. Senior dogs may just be past the excitement of meeting and greeting other dogs, and play with younger dogs may be just too much for them, so they rather do others things. I had to sadly stop allowing my Rottweilers to play with other dogs at a certain point, because after play they would either start limping or getting a sore neck. The desire was there, but their body wasn't collaborating. Many older dogs also struggle with boisterous, young dogs and may growl/snarl to ask for space. I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any questions! Best, Adrienne
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now