Aggie prefers to stick to the grass

Q. I just adopted a six-year-old English setter named Aggie. She’s a sweetheart of a girl, but she’s had almost zero training. She doen’t know her name, is jumpy at some sounds (though not sudden loud ones, strangely), has a fear of feet, and does not like being on pavement. My strategy is to treat her like she’s a puppy, since she needs to learn anything a puppy would learn. My question is: Is there anything different I should be doing for a neglected, possibly abused older dog? And if you have any advice for helping me best help her (books, methods, etc.) I’d greatly appreciate it. —Jonah

A. Jonah, I like your strategy. Even though your dog has already decided what she does and doesn’t like—feet, pavement, and probably a few other things you’ll discover later—the basics of puppy training like focus and patience is a good place to start. Setters tend to be intelligent, independent, and often a bit skittish. When I hunt grouse with my buddy Dave and his elderly setter, Zeke, the old boy will usually hang with us for a few miles and then go back to the car to wait. Zeke also became gunshy late in life. Why? I have no idea, but that brings up your dog’s history. It’s often tempting to interpret adopted dogs’ idiosyncrasies as signs of previous abuse. Maybe they are, maybe not, but the fact is all dogs have their quirks and most can get over them with consistent work. You just need to decide whether they bother you enough to try and train them out. Here’s where I’d start with Aggie:

1. Figure out what she likes and will be willing to work for. Does she respond with lots of tail-wagging to affection? Does she love her food or treats or a specific chew toy? Figure out what gets her going and reserve those things as training rewards.
2. Above all else, build in a solid recall. I can’t tell you how comforting it is to know I can blow a whistle and have young Cooper instantly drop what he’s doing and come running from anywhere within earshot.
3. Teach that dog her name. Use the beginning of our leave it drill and instead of adding the cue “leave it” for ignoring food on the floor, add her name for looking away from the treat in your outstretched hand and making eye contact with you.
4. If you want to make the pavement less scary (assuming it is scary and not just really hot or that Aggie has soft feet), try some classical conditioning: Toss a few of Aggie’s favorite treats onto the pavement so she has to put at least one paw on the road to eat the treat. Then move the treats a little farther away. You’re building a simple association between good treats, like liver, and the pavement.

For books, check out the ones we’ve mentioned here. Also, Karen Pryor’s Don’t Shoot the Dog is still a classic must-read for all operant trainers. Let us know how it goes.

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