With hard work is uit ever too late to teach a dog commands .I know its best as a puppy but can you still teach them at 4 years old

Yes - :)  My youngest is nearly four and I'm always teaching her new things :)

Daisy

It's certainly possible and given that older dogs are often less daft, not as difficult as you might think. For sure, I had few problems training a six year old cocker spaniel whose only known command up to then was "spend a penny"!  Which would have been a good start if only he hadn't been "untrained" so when I first got him, he promptly spent them all on the kitchen lino!

My dog is 9 years old and I taught her a new trick a few weeks ago :) I taught her to "take a bow". She's still as trainable as she was when she was young, if a little less enthusiastic (but that's probably a good thing in her case!)

I took in a 10 year old rescue and she knew nothing, after a few weeks she passed the GC Bronze test (well it was only the GC then, only the one level.) :)

Thanks for the replies,are there any good books for teaching older dogs or do you train them in the same way as you would puppies

Personally, I'd treat the dog exactly like a new puppy, that way you won't expect too much of the dog "because it's older " ;) ;) and it'll be less stressful for both of you :)

I've found the easiest way to train (for you and the dog) is with a clicker, there's plenty online about it and you can find books, clickers and leaflets at
Crosskeys Books

I trained a 2 year old afghan cross (basic commands, sit (very fast - one day) stay, down, come (2 years!!) heel, leave it, it took me over 2 years and was really hard work, it wouldn't have been nearly as diffucult or such a long time if I'd known about clicker training ;)

Well, I started teaching my brother's 8 year old dog to jump into heel position the other day - 10 minutes and she's almost got it, so nope, never too late :) and this is a dog who's never been taught more than "sit" and "down", and who hasn't had any proper training since she was at least 6, maybe longer!

Anyone know the oldest ever dog to pass the bronze GC? My friend's just taken on a 16 year old mongrel after her owner died, and after her teeth have been sorted out she reckons it would be worth trying it, as she's naturally obedient apparently! :-)

Well the stay might be very easy. It would be for me if I were that age. :-D

LOL Lori, give me a comfy sofa and a book and I'll do a 2 hour stay no problem! :-D

Oh no, I'd need chocolate too :-p

Don't see why not.  My 12 year old still enjoys doing new tricks so I don't see why a 16 year old can't :d