Teaching old and young dogs new tricks

“All dogs are teachable at any age,” says Laurie Montague, chief instructor of the Orange and District Kennel Club Obedience School.

“You hear people saying that old dogs can’t learn new trick— it’s is a myth, it’s not true. You can teach a dog at any age.”

Every Sunday, Laurie and his fellow obedience school instructors offer very affordable obedience instruction for local dog owners at the Waratahs Sports Club.

The focus of the obedience school is on basic obedience, said Laurie, who is keen to see more dog owners take advantage of what they offer to better train their animals.

“We recently changed the dog school to just basic obedience, we used to have competitions et cetera but that's all fallen off,” he said.

“So now we teach basic obedience with the focus on having fun. It is more designed to help the community get better socialised dogs and teach them basic obedience, so they don't have their dogs causing problems in the community.”

Laurie himself joined the club 30 years ago after making a tree change to Orange and getting a young Border Collie.

“Effectively I was a city boy and made the country change, we all had our hearts set on getting a working dog, not realising how much work a working dog would be! So this is what brought me to the dog school 30 years ago,” he said.

Laurie actually went on to compete with that Border Collie, and another dog he adopted, and had success with both at competitions in Sydney.

Now, he is passionate about passing on his knowledge to others.

“If you have a dog and you feel that it needs to be educated a little bit, bring it along to obedience. It is social and it is very inexpensive,” he said.

“In your first couple of weeks you will be taught basic obedience: how to walk with your dog, so it doesn't pull you around; and how to get your dog to sit, stay and come when called.

“Basic obedience gives you control of the dog so you can have confidence that it will do what it is told.

“And it is just a great way to socialise dogs,” added instructor Amanda Lockwood. “It makes a real difference to your dog to come here and just walk around, just getting to know that other dogs are not a threat.”

Classes are held at the Waratah Sport Club from 9am to 10am every Sunday, except during school holidays and inclement weather. To attend, you need to have proof of vaccination and proof of the dog being microchipped.

The cost of each lesson is five dollars, although for insurance purposes you must also be a financial member of the Waratah Sports Club.

“It is just five dollars to take part and ten dollars to join Waratahs,” said Laurie. “We don't really have restriction on age, but minors need to have a responsible adult with them.

“We ask people to get here 15 minutes early, so they can pay their fees and get their dog settled. If you haven't been before and you are not experienced, it is a sensible thing to do not to get too close to the other dogs and your dog must stay on the lead at all times.”

For those wanting to attend, look out for the Orange and District Kennel Club sign on the green shed at the entrance to the Waratah Sports Club.