Can We Retrain an Old Dog?

Can We Retrain an Old Dog?

我們可以重新訓練一隻老狗嗎

Our dog, Grizzly, is 14 years old. He is well trained and healthy, but has some hearing loss and pain in his back legs, and it’s beginning to affect his behavior. He has always slept in our bed, but now he has trouble climbing our stairs and struggles to get up on the bed. He’s also started stealing food. We’re worried about him getting hurt or eating something he shouldn’t, but we don’t know what to do. He won’t go near the ramp we bought him, and we’re not sure if it helps to use commands like “no” or “leave it” if he can’t hear us. Is it possible to retrain him — or is it too late for him to learn anything new? 我們的狗狗Grizzle現在十四歲，他很健康也受到很好的訓練，但是他的後腿有點疼痛而且有點重聽，這也開始影響到他的行為。 他總是會睡在我們的床上，但是現在他卻很難爬上我們的樓梯，艱難的爬上那張床。 他也開始偷食物。 我們擔心他會受傷或是吃到一些他不能吃的，但是我們不知道要怎麼辦。他不接近我們買給他的斜坡。 我們也不確定要不要用"不" "離開他"這樣的指令，如果他聽不到我們的話。 我們有機會重新訓練他嗎?或是對他來說已經太好以至於學不起新東西了?

Your old dog certainly can learn some new tricks! Training can benefit a senior dog in a number of ways: It creates an opportunity to bond with you, it challenges his mind and it can even help him cope with some age-related physical changes.

你的老狗確實可以學習新把戲! 訓練在許多方面上有益於老狗: 訓練創造和你聯繫的雞會，他挑戰狗狗的心智而且甚至幫助他處理一些關於年齡的生理變化。
Keep in mind, though, that for older dogs, unlearning an established habit and relearning a new behavior in its place can come with certain challenges. In your case, Grizzly’s ability to learn new behaviors will be tempered by his health issues. For example, his hearing loss may mean you need to use hand signals rather than verbal commands. Be sure to consider this when you are setting goals for training.

然而，記住對於年老的狗兒，放棄已經建立的習慣重新學習新的行為，總會伴隨著某些挑戰。 在你的例子，Grizzl學習新行為的能力將和他的健康狀況有關。 例如，他的重聽將會意味著你必須使用手是，而不是聲音的指令。 當你在設定訓練目標的時候，務必考慮到這。