Old dogs can’t learn new tricks. I beg to differ.

Lord Byron in all his glory

This is Byron. Lord Byron. I adopted him when he was 3 and a half, an adult in dog years. 

He had been badly mistreated and was absolutely terrified the first time I met him and brought him home. He had clear signs of trauma from being beaten. He would urinate daily at home at the slightest thing that scared him; if I picked up his lead, a broom, a mop - indicating that these objects had been used to hit him in the past. Even moving towards him would make him cower, tail between his legs, trembling with fear. It was heart-breaking. 

Little by little, I gained his trust and he gained confidence. It was a slow process, with many setbacks, which led me to have thoughts of “this isn’t working”, “maybe he would be better off with a different owner”, “maybe he needs different surroundings”. We persevered and, while at the time, things didn’t seem to be improving much, it gradually got better. 

Almost 4 years on, he’s like a different dog. With a lot of love, patience (and gallons of floor cleaner) he’s more confident, incredibly affectionate, and excitedly leaps on me every morning and covers me in slobber. Delightful! He still gets scared of loud noises or sudden movements, but he’s come such a long way and continues to improve with time. We’ve formed an amazing connection - some people may think I’m over-exaggerating but it feels like we’re best friends. 

So, what’s my point? Older dogs can learn to overcome problems. They CAN learn.

Without wanting to call any future potential students old dogs, I have heard older adults saying “learning a new language is impossible for me” or “if you don’t learn a language from a young age, it’s really hard to become fluent” but I’ve seen many adult students go from beginners to competent communicators of English. 

I moved to Spain aged 21 with a very basic understanding of Spanish. I couldn’t understand a thing when I arrived and hardly opened my mouth for the first year. Now when I meet new people in Spanish, they’re often surprised when I tell them I’m not Spanish. But let’s be honest, my guiri looks are a bit of a give away!

So, it IS possible. Old dogs can learn new tricks. Fancy learning a new trick? 

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