Too late for training?
 

Hello,

Two days ago we have adopted our 9 months old male Yorkie from a family that didn't want to keep him any longer. This is our first Yorkie but myself had a boodle as a kid. Overall he is an adorable dog but his former family didn't give him the training that he deserves. The last two days we manage to leash train him and last night we took our first walk ever!! Yes that's right, his former family never walked the dog because they said he is afraid of the leash ???

Anyway, I am wondering how far can we get with Lucky since most trainers suggest starting training as early as 4 weeks old. Is it too late to learn new things? What is the best approach for this kind of dog at this age? He doesn't seem to be so interested at his treats (or food in general), sometimes he will play with his toy but again he wont "do things" for getting it back

Absolutely not too late. We adopted Simbo when he was 9 years old (he's almost 10 now) and with the help of a trainer we have him as trained as he has ever been, and probably the most trained we'll ever get him to be (age does affect certain things, just not all.)

He came us with no training _ none, though he did sort of know how to walk on a leash. He didn't let us brush him, would pee everywhere, wasn't crate trained, nothing.

We now have him sitting, staying, heeling, doing a few tricks, totally potty and crate trained … took about three months, give or take.

Don't despair.

Hi & welcome to YT! 9 months old is definately not to old to start training. I adopted my Phoebe when she was 8 months old. She was completely untrained & had terrible separation anxiety. She is 4 now, and completely potty trained, knows sit, stay, down, & rollover. Also, no more anxiety. I try to train with her for a few minutes 3/4 times a week. I would do it daily but I have 3 pups + a foster, & I like to do "private" sessions with each of them.

My golly, a dog is almost never too old to train. I got my dog, Tibbe, at 9 mos. of age, having spent his entire life, completely unsocialized, living alone in a cage in a shed out back of his breeder's home and didn't know a thing about anything but fear and running away from anyone who approached him. He was terrified of people and the world in general, fearful and almost feral, kennel-crazy and totally wild. He screamed when left in a crate but snarled and fought when approached and so skittish of every sound he could barely get through the day without numerous panic attacks. He knew nothing of grooming, housebreaking, living in a house with people, doors, TV's, refrigerators and odd noises - or even how to drink out of a dog bowl! Bless his heart, after 6 months of intensive training and a total of 18 months training at home, he'd lost most of his fears, was totally housebroken - and is totally clean in the house since - and has since been a well-behaved, lovely, calm but happy, bouncy, ultra-friendly, frisky little Yorkie who charms me every moment with his love and feisty attitude and, who, by the way, is a wonderful watchdog. I couldn't have chosen a more perfect dog than my late-bloomer - Tibbe!

He is still a youngster and yes, very trainable. Even much older doggies can be trained, although some need a lot of time and patience. Heck, I'm still training my 3 girls and they are 5 and 6.

Good luck with your boy, Lucky, you have a lot of fun ahead of you. Enjoy.