Dog Expert: Ask Away!

@QJohnsen I haven't given them anything when I'm trying to teach them a trick. Can I still train them even if they're already grown up? The older one knows how to sit and up but the other one I'm having a hard time teaching her she's kind of stubborn to follow my commands.

@rheicel the younger they are the easier it is to train them but as long as their not like 8 you should be able to train her. I suggest starting with getting her to sit and make eye contact with you while you talk to her. This shows her who's in charge. I use either a treat or toy make my dog sit and tell them to look at me holding the reward at the bridge of my nose. I keep doing this till I can tell them to look at me and them keep eye contact with me without the reward being in site.... When using a toy or ball it's important to not give them the reward till you are fully done with the training session. This keeps them training till your ready to stop. With treats you have to give them the treat each time they complete a task to your satisfaction.

Roll is a difficult trick to teach. Out of 8 dogs I've owned I've only have been able to get 2 of them to roll. As far as training a dog to do tricks you should always use a reward. Some dogs go nuts over a ball or toy while others do for treats. Which do your dogs prefer? I also suggest spending 15 - 30 minutes a day training them on only one trick at a time. ALWAYS TRAIN YOUR DOGS SEPARATELY, this not only brings you closer because they admire attention from their alpha but will keep them from distracting one another.

@QJohnsen good for you and Chubbs. Always 'warn a brotha' is a good creed to live by.

Sadly it depends on if you yourself are a criminal. My dog chubbs does but when I was young and dumb I got myself into trouble causing me to be be on probation and well my dog bit someone not long after causing him to be on dog probation. So unfortunately he does "warn a brotha" when he sees 5 0. We both have finished probation since then.

@QJohnsen

Mine as well. They are always there for you. They are protective. Most of all they love when you love them unlike cats who only want attention on their time lol.

@QJohnsen