Older Dogs: Strategies For Effective Weimaraner Training
Because of the popular saying “you can’t teach old dog new tricks”, it is not unusual if you’ll come across some people who believe that with older weimaraners, it’s not possible to achieve successful weimaraner training. Yes, it can be hard and confusing sometimes but not impossible. Dogs, regardless of age, are capable of learning provided that training activities are programmed or designed to match their age and condition.
The weimaraner is a highly athletic and trainable breed valued for their physical endurance and stamina thus the need to train them as soon as possible to prevent problems from occurring. However, if you adopted an adult dog from the dog shelter or inherited one from a friend or family member, there’s no need to worry about this pet’s habits since there are numerous ways you might want to take into consideration in order to have a well-behaved adult weimaraner.
Before you utilize any training technique, it’s best to find out more about that particular dog’s background first. Is he potty trained? Does he responds well to obedience commands? Is he scared of a particular thing or showing signs of aggression? What’s the main reason his previous owner abandoned him? These are examples of the questions you have to ask in order to assess your dog’s condition, ability to learn and training techniques that would suit him best.
Know that training a healthy young dog is different from training an adult dog that is probably suffering from health problems attributed to old age. Slowing, motion-triggered pains, can’t climb the stairs and getting tired easily are some of the things you should take into account before deciding what weimaraner training strategy to utilize.
With an older weimaraner, training which involves hard work and arduous activities should be avoided as much as possible. Running and walking, jumping, retrieving, obstacle course and the likes must be carried out in short periods of time, if you can’t totally avoid. Rather than 15 to 20-minute session, decrease it to 5 to 10 minutes each session. If you used to throw a ball twenty times to your young dog, make it three or five throws only with your old dog. Recovery period between sessions need to be longer too.
Same with young dogs, using treat is also beneficial during weimaraner training. However, giving of treat ought to be regulated in order to prevent weight problems since old dogs with less active lifestyle gain weight easily and shed weight slowly hence increases the risk of obesity. To reward them, lots of praise and time to play should be utilized instead.
One more thing you should take into account is your pet’s hearing condition. Sometimes, a dog is not obeying commands simply because he can’t hear, not because he’s being stubborn.
Successful training is not impossible to obtain and there are people who can attest to that. You just have to understand and consider your pet’s condition to determine whether or not that particular activity or approach would be useful in helping you raise a well-behaved older dog with wide-set eyes.

