# TRAINNING IN THE AGE OF 3



## Fofi (Jun 6, 2007)

Hello everyone!! I am a new member and for telling the truth a very new owner of Maltese Dog.
My dog's name is Rocky and although he is new for me, he is already 3 years old. Unfortunately Rocky has not been trainned very well. I would like to know, is it possible to train him at this age??? I'm afraid is too late..... Thank you in advanc!!!


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## Katkoota (Feb 18, 2006)

hello and welcome to SM









It is never too late to train a dog. My Snowy is 3 years old and he is still learning new tricks...









you gotta be patient with him. I know that the younger they are, the easier and faster it is for them to learn, yet they can still learn as they grow up

kat


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## Carla (Aug 30, 2005)

Shotzi was 7 yrs. old when we adopted her 2 years ago. She has completed basic and intermediate dog obedience classes and has learned many new tricks. Obedience classes are great if they are taught with a positive approach and never punitive. 

Shotzi is now 9 years old and has recently learned to touch the cup (choice of 3 cups) that a treat is hidden under.

Carla & Shotzi


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## CrystalAndZoe (Jul 11, 2006)

<span style="font-family:Comic Sans Ms">I think you will be pleasantly surprised at how smart these babies are!! The thing to remember with Malts are that they really want to please you and are (at least mine is) very sensitive and do not take harsh correction well. If you treat and praise to high heaven, you will soon have your new little one doing all sorts of things. Good luck and congratulations on your new Malt!!</span>


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## momtoboo (Jan 30, 2006)

Sure you can train at 3 yrs of age. Might be a little harder to potty train a 3 yr old but Maltese are very smart at learning.Hannah was almost 5 when I adopted her & I taught her to sit & turn around in one day.


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## Laceys mom (Nov 12, 2004)

Of course you can train. These little dogs are so smart. I'm always trying to teach Lacey new things and we are always going to new classes. Good luck.


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## revakb2 (Sep 8, 2006)

Yes, you can certainly train a three year old dog. It takes time and patience, but that is the case at any age.


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## Deanna (Jan 14, 2005)

Wilson was 1 1/2 yrs old when we got him, he had a pretty hard life before us-- and 0 training. 

Wilson hasn't been the easiest to train, but he does learn and he tries so hard to know what I am saying. 

I think the first step in training an adult dog is gaining their trust. Once he trusts you and realizes you aren't going to leave him or hurt him he will start to be open to learning. For Wilson it took close to a year for him to fully trust us. Since then he has really picked up lots of new words and tricks, and of course he is now fully house broken. I have found with Wilson that he doesn't really respond to treats during training- he responds to affection and praise. 

Good luck!


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## Katkoota (Feb 18, 2006)

> <span style="font-family:Comic Sans Ms">The thing to remember with Malts are that they really want to please you and are (at least mine is) very sensitive and do not take harsh correction well. If you treat and praise to high heaven, you will soon have your new little one doing all sorts of things.</span>[/B]


yeah..that is totally right, Crystal

how I forgot to mention this...Snowy and Crystal -my two maltese- enjoy their training sessions coz I always make sure to make the sessions exciting...they get rewarded when they do the right thing (not only by food, but also by playing with them their fave game) 

never ever be harsh when training any dog I should say, especially a maltese 

good luck









kat


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## Eddie's Mama (Jun 10, 2007)

At puppy preschool the trainer saud that what puppies learn and the habbits they form in the 1st 6 to 12 weeks is what stays forever, and it's really hard to change them.









After reading the other posts im seeing a brighter future ofr older untrained dogs. I think with a lot of love and hard work you can train them. I do think it will be harder because you do have to change their old habbits. Be patient and good luck


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## Michelle&Roxy (Mar 10, 2006)

Don't even bother worrying!







My parents' have a pointer/lab mix named Sparkey and he's going on 13 years old. He used to be an outside dog, but since he's gotten older (and since my dad finally warmed up to dogs inside since the two chihuahuas got there) they've potty trained him so he can be an inside dog. Him, going to be 13- still learning new habits! And he does too, you'd never guess he'd been an outside dog almost all his life. If only they'd done that sooner... but nonetheless, it can be done!


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