Old dog learning new tricks?

[Bucka]

Heya Just recently welcomed a 7 year old (gorgeous ) female german shepherd into our pack. This is our first Shepherd, and I'm starting from scratch in learning everything there is to know about them She's extremely well behaved, responds to german commands (sit,lay,come, etc.) great temper and great vibe in general. So my question is, how much is she still able to learn? After reading through some posts, I've learned it's awfully important for them to have jobs, no matter how small. And believe me, I would not mind in the least to have someone fetch me a soda from the fridge :P

So, is she still able to learn small things around the house to keep her stimulated at that age? And if so, any suggestions on where I can go or things to read to help teach her, would be MUCH appreciated. Thanks for your time !

[blehmannwa]

Old dogs learn new things very well, even in a new environment. I like the book "101 Dog Tricks" It is step by step and has great illustrations. My 10 year old pit picks up the tricks faster than my nine month old pup.

[KZoppa]

Originally Posted by blehmannwa

Old dogs learn new things very well, even in a new environment. I like the book "101 Dog Tricks" It is step by step and has great illustrations. My 10 year old pit picks up the tricks faster than my nine month old pup.

that book is awesome! i love it! Totally look into it.

as for old dogs learning new tricks, the question isnt whether they can or not, its whether they want to. Our male Riley is 6.5 years old. He has made it perfectly clear he has no interest in learning new tricks. As far as he's concerned he's learned enough and would rather just lay around chewing on bones and playing the occassional game of fetch. I'm sure your new addition would be content being a loved family member but it may also be exciting to her to learn something new. Perhaps like fetching the a newpaper or a soda from the fridge or something. Maybe even helping you take your clean clothes out of the dryer and putting them in a basket? Thats the next trick i'm wanting to teach Shasta after she masters the pick up command.

[Bucka]

Awesome, thanks for the recommendation, I'll pick it up. 10 bucks on amazon

And that definitely makes sense, which is completely OK with me. I just don't want her to be sitting around if there's something that I can be doing to help her out. However if she wants to hang out and be my buddy, that works just as well. Thanks for the comments, I'll keep checking back in.

And if this post is in the wrong section, I do apologize and feel free to move it