Yet the answer cannot be this simple; if everyone were managing to train their pooches, then surely the professional world of dog training would not exist? Well, professional and paid dog training does indeed have its place in the world and can be an extremely valuable asset in the battle to train your dog. However, it is probably best for both you and your canine companion to try the at-home method of training first.

Dog training with a professional can be expensive, and with most things, if you can try and manage it yourself without the aid of a trained professional, it is better for your wallet. However, there is no guarantee of success when trying to train your dog yourself; if you encounter stumbling blocks, or find that you and your dog simply aren’t advancing in the way you feel you should be, it’s probably time to seek some outside guidance. There is no admitting of defeat in this or associated failure; just like you’d call a plumber or electrician for a complicated at-home job, you’re simply calling on a person with a better knowledge and experience of dog training.

If you find that you and your pet have reached a seemingly unbreakable point in your aims to train them, then do seek professional guidance. While it is still worth trying yourself, if only for the financial benefits, it is best to turn to someone with more experience should the situation call for it.

The simple answer is that the phrase is incorrect; it is absolutely possible to teach an older dog new tricks. Just like human beings, a dog’s capacity for learning is not finite. Can you imagine how difficult life would be for humans if, upon reaching the age of 50, we could suddenly learn nothing more? With technology constantly changing and rules and beurocracy requiring constant mental updating as to how they work, it is simply essential for any mammal to be able to continue to learn and develop throughout their lives. In the wild, where the ancestors of the dog belong, a failure to learn and adapt would result in potentially fatal situations if presented with the threat of a new predator.

However, some credence should be given to the saying. Again, using the human comparison, while it is possible for the older generation of a species to learn new things, it may take a little longer. While a teenager is able to understand the latest computer applications seemingly at a moment’s notice, an older person will need a little longer to comprehend the same application.

It is therefore imperative that, should you decide to train your older dog, to be patient. This is especially important if, in the dog’s youth, you trained them yourselves and found they picked things up easily. You must make allowance for age and slightly reduced understanding capabilities, but this does not mean the job itself is impossible.

Crate training in itself is relatively simple. A dog owner will purchase a good-sized metal crate – often described by the denominators as a cafe – which the dog is trained to use. The idea is that the dog can be shut up in the cage, quite happily, to allow for a freedom of living for the owners. Ideally, it means an end to chewed furniture when you’re out of house and a peaceful night’s sleep without the dog causing mayhem while your back is turned.

Crate training is said to be particularly useful when trying to housetrain a puppy to use the outside for their toilet needs. There is no real knowledge of why this is so effective, but the main assumptions are that when a specific dog-only area is created, the dog is more likely to understand the need to keep it free of mess.

Despite a somewhat unsavoury reputation in some areas, crate training can be very effective. Not only does it preserve furniture, but it is also a convenient way of keeping a dog safe in a harmful environment – if, for example, you are redecorating in winter, you will want to keep your dog from the paint but won’t want to shut them outside. Advocates of crate training also say that many dogs come to love their crates and the idea of having their own personal space, with many dogs voluntarily using them after a few weeks.

The main issue becomes when owners use the crate as a punishment; for example, if a dog has done something naughty, they are trapped in the crate for a period of time. Suddenly, the crate that was meant to make a dog happier and prevent mishap, is nothing more than a glorified prison cell. This is where the usage problems arise and the calls of cruelty appear. In actuality, if you use a crate for the purpose it was intended for and never as a punishment, it can be a valuable asset to any home.

A “clicker” is essentially what it says it is; a small, plastic hand held device which when depressed produces a high and noticeable clicking sound. There are a huge variety of clickers on the market, from every possible purveyor of dog training aids, but there is no need to spend a vast amount of money procuring one. As long as your chosen device can produce the distinctive click noise immediately when depressed, you’ve got all you need.

The clicker is not, in itself, a way of training a dog. It is simply a reinforcement, but one that has proved to be overwhelmingly useful, to the point that most dog owners regard anyone trying to train without one as somewhat odd. Clickers are not big money spinners for the manufacturers of dog training aids, so one can trust the efficacy of clickers all the more in that they have no received huge promotional hype. They sell and are talked about for one reason alone; they work.

A clicker is used, as mentioned before, as a reinforcement. The purpose of a clicker is to ‘mark’ or identify a good behaviour. Dog behaviour specialists have recognised that dogs repeat behaviours that they find pleasurable. The clicker uses this already formed thought process and expands it; when a dog does something good, such as sits on command, then by using the clicker the behaviour is identified instantly as good. The click is then followed by a treat of some sort; this can be food, such as chicken, or even just praise and fussing of the dog.

Soon, the dog learns to identify the sound of the click with good things – namely, the treat or praise they receive moments after hearing it. Therefore, the dog begins to engage in behaviour that it feels will gain a “click” and therefore the treat. By clicking good behaviour and not clicking bad, you are teaching your dog habits for life and encouraging them to return to good behaviour so they can garner that click and its associated praise. Over time, the clicker can be phased out without effect on the dog’s behaviour – the clicker is a way of ingraining habits that will last them a lifetime.

The first thing that must be remembered when it comes to a dog barking is that, sometimes, barking is unavoidable. The only way to truly mute a dog would be to remove their vocal chords; something no one would ever do, and something that could also be detrimental in that barking is occasionally useful (such as when alerting to an intruder). If your dog barks, before your embark on a training regime, you must allow for some element of barking in a dog’s life. It’s what they do! So be realistic, and only when barking becomes truly excessive should you seek help. Never look to eradicate a dog barking entirely, merely to make it manageable. Realism is an absolute key to halting excessive barking.

When trying to halt excessive barking, you will need to curb your natural instincts just like you’re hoping your pooch will learn to do. When your dog barks, what is the first thing most people do? That’s right: they yell at their dog, often saying “shut up!” or similar.

However, this is quite simply the worst thing to do. By reacting in such a manner, you are giving the dog the attention they want and zoning in on this bad behaviour. Just think – how many dogs have you actually seen stop barking when they’re yelled at to do so? Not many, and it’s because by yelling, you are simply reinforcing the dog’s point of drawing attention to a situation.

There are many different training ends, some of which are extremely expensive, that are designed to curb excessive barking. Yet the most effective is also the most simple, and the cheapest: ignore the barking. This is an utter ignorance of the act of barking – don’t move, don’t look, don’t respond. Quickly, the dog will learn that their barking – for whatever reason – isn’t getting the attention it deserves and they will desist. This solution takes a lot of patience and it may be best to warn your neighbours and seek their approval before embarking on this course, but it is arguably the most effective.