teaching an old dog new tricks

Constant movement like pacing/circling/following people everywhere/etc. is very easy for a lot of anxious and impulsive dogs and keeps the dog very stuck in her anxious mindset and impulsive choices.

Sitting still and being calm is extremely hard for anxious and impulsive dogs (or even impossible before training!) but developing the skills for impulse control and a calm mindset helps improve overall behaviour, increases confidence and independence and decreases anxiety!

One of my favourite ways of building and developing these great new skills is through place command training (aka doggie meditation!) and when we have an older dog who has been anxious and impulsive for many years it’s very important that she spends lots of time everyday maintaining her new skillsets for calmness and independence.