Puppy Series #5: Maintaining the Mature Dog's Good Behavior

We started with puppyhood in our first article and have, throughout our series, led you through your dog’s pre-adult years. This article will focus on the fully grown dog – what it means to be an adult dog and how good behavior can be maintained throughout your dog’s life.

Adulthood, or maturation, typically starts at about 2 years of age and continues on until about the age of 7 (after which comes the mid-life and senior stage.) Most dogs in this period have made it through the difficult teenage years and learned some basic good manners. Most families, in turn, have accepted any of the dog’s remaining behavior faults and are either actively working to improve them or have made lifestyle compromises in order to maintain an acceptable living situation in spite of them.

So, what can go wrong in adulthood? Without maintenance of training, your dog can slip back into old habits or engage in new, negative, behaviors, such as not coming when called or greeting new people nicely.

The keys to maintaining good behavior in your adult dog:

1. Once again – exercise! Just walking your well-trained dog isn’t enough. Instead, improve both your pet’s aerobic workout and COME command out on your walk by asking for a short WAIT, walking out to the end of your leash, then calling your dog and continuing to walk. Many people ‘don’t have time for training’, yet with this exercise you can practice and reward 20-30 perfect COME commands…. in about 10 minutes of walking!

2. Refine your rewards. By now you shouldn’t have to give treats for EVERY command. However, if you’ve always rewarded your pet’s good behavior with treats and then quit altogether… your dog will lose motivation to obey you in a very short period of time. (You wouldn’t work without a paycheck, would you? Neither will your dog.) So, mix it up! Try these ideas:

a. Give intermittent rewards. If, for example, you expect your dog to lie down and STAY for half an hour while you are eating dinner, reward after 5 minutes, then maybe 12 minutes. The next evening, reward after 2 minutes, then not again until 20 minutes. Random rewards actually help strengthen your dog’s behavior.

b. Give occasional jackpots. A jackpot reward can be 20 kibbles instead of the 1 you usually give. Or, if you are really clever, it can be that bite of leftover chicken from the night before. Completely unexpected and wonderful – that’s what jackpots are. Give them for outstanding effort or response, and only once in a while.

3. Give your dog new things to learn. What makes many dogs great for the first two years is that they are focused on learning new things, gaining rewards, and bonding with you. Keep that same pattern alive:

a. Take your pet with you. As often as possible, bring your dog camping, boating, hiking, etc. If your pet is social, he should be able to use all the training you’ve invested in him to be able to behave well in fun new environments.

b. Keep teaching your dog new stuff. For example, if you are out at the park and your pet always jumps up on familiar bench…reward the behavior and put it on command (“Rover….jump up!” ) Your pet will be excited to be rewarded for trying the new command, and you will be helping your dog stay in good physical condition. Of course, teaching “Rover, jump off!” is just as important!

c. Try a new activity. Go ahead… take an advanced obedience class! Join an outdoor group hike. See what Rally Obedience is all about. Challenge yourself and your dog to learn something new, solidify your bond, and guarantee that you will spend time together each week.

4. Earn your CGC Certificate. The AKC Canine Good Citizen Certification is a national program designed to reward owners of dogs who have good manners both at home and in the community. CGC dogs are good ambassadors for responsible dog ownership and care. Go to www.akc.org for a list of the requirements for achieving this title.

Maintaining your pet’s training as an adult dog is perhaps not as taxing as your work prior to this stage, but it is still important. Just like any skill, you use it or lose it! Same is true for your dog, so keep up the good work!