Training old dogs

Can't you teach an old dog new tricks, or does training older dogs actually yield positive results? Ethologists from the Messerli Institute at the Vienna Veterinary University explored this. They studied age-related changes in dogs. For the experiment, they selected 95 border collies, aged between five months and thirteen years. How was the experiment conducted? And why did the scientists choose border collies? Border collies are easy to train. "They have remarkably developed shepherd's "And in recent years, this intelligent breed has become a family favorite," says Frederica Range, director of the study.

Experiment of Austrian ethologists

Older dogs have inflexible thinking. The animals were divided into five age groups and underwent various tests. First, each subject had to touch up to four pictures on a screen with their nose. Some of them had been shown to the four-legged beauty previously. A correct answer was rewarded with a treat. If the answer was negative, the dog had to relearn the placement of the pictures. Older dogs took longer to memorize the correct picture.

"Late Lassies, like people, have a hard time learning new things and changing established habits. Their thinking is inflexible," says Lisa Vallis, the study's co-director.

Another task involved logic. The dogs were shown two pictures. The first was already familiar to the humans' friends, but the second was not. One of the pictures was considered "correct," and they had to choose the "incorrect" one. The incorrect illustration was a familiar one. The older dogs performed better on this task, as scientists believe they are more persistent than younger dogs.

The experiment showed that a dog's excellent ability to memorize new commands is independent of its age. Based on the study's results, the scientists believe it would be appropriate to develop a special test to detect memory problems in dogs. This would help initiate timely treatment. The animal psychologists' findings will also be useful for dog trainers when training Mukhtars.

Translation by O. V. Ryndina

Read also:

We recommend