# Young at Heart!!!!



## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

He did it!!! At the delightful young age of ten years, ten months to the date, our Toby took a repeat course of Basic Manners and passed with flying colors! We are proud of our sugar faced graduate! Toby took a basic obedience course shortly after we adopted him in 2004 and he passed, but over the years as his vision issues escalated, he became dog reactive and group activities were too stressful for him. He also has zero impulse control- he is our third dog and the other two were much better at it so it was a shock to own a dog with such lack of it! Yogi of course is the best yet at it thanks to starting training with him the day we flew him home from our breeders. I noticed that Toby really enjoyed practicing obedience at home while I was training Yogi and I thought it would be nice to be able to take a class with him again. I also noticed out on walks he was becoming much friendlier (though not perfect) with other dogs, thanks to Yogi's calming influence. I discussed Toby's reactivity, impulse control, and tendency to "talk" all the time with Yogi's trainer and she thought she could work with us on these issues in a class, so we signed up for basic again. I am so glad we did. Toby clearly had a great time, even though he did not appreciate being around so many puppies. I think he thought we were going to take them home!! By the end he was able to greet them without being a grumpy crotchity old guy. He also enjoyed refreshing his skill set. This old guy even learned some new tricks, just for fun! We worked on his impulse control and while it is much better, we have homework to do! His talking, well, I'm afraid that's just his nature! He was so excited last night he used his excited I'm happy bark with everyone! I'm so glad we did this! Who knows what the future will bring, we shall see after the holidays. I do think it would be fun for our trainer to offer a class titled Teaching Old Dogs New Tricks, or perhaps Young at Heart- with games and exercises for our senior dogs. They say you need to keep them mentally stimulated and training is an excellent way to do this! 

Here is our proud graduate!! We, of course, are VERY proud of him! Go Toby!!


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## ssacres (Sep 29, 2012)

He looks so proud and very handsome. Good job Toby!!!


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## dborgers (Dec 7, 2011)

Way to go, Toby!!! Congratulations! And you're looking super handsome in that scarf too


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## KKaren (Oct 29, 2014)

He looks so happy and proud!! Congratulation Toby and to you.


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## Wendy427 (Apr 4, 2009)

Congratulations, Toby! You look mahvelous!


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## Susan: w/ Summit we climb (Jun 12, 2014)

Congratulations to you and to Toby! Perhaps Toby's example will inspire the rest of us to let our elder dogs show us what late training can do for them!


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## Jennifer1 (Mar 31, 2012)

Go Toby!
He looks so scholarly and proud!


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## pb2b (Nov 8, 2013)

Absolutely adorable! And you keep talking Toby!


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## Taylorsmum (Sep 30, 2014)

Lovely to hear about Toby, congratulations to you both


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Congratulations to you and Toby!
I love Toby, he's such a very special boy.


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## Kally76 (Jun 14, 2010)

Congratulations! I love the picture. You can just look at him and tell he is very proud of himself.


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## cgriffin (Nov 30, 2011)

Congratulations, sweet Toby  He looks so proud of himself - very scholarly


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## Goldens R Great (Aug 19, 2010)

I loved your post about Toby! Congratulations are definitely in order! I enjoyed reading how Yogi has been such a nice influence on him too. 

Toby... :You_Rock_


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## Jessie'sGirl (Aug 30, 2010)

Congratulations Toby!


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## swishywagga (Nov 13, 2012)

Well done Toby, that's exactly what makes our Seniors so very special!


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## GoldenCamper (Dec 21, 2009)

I'm am not surprised with Toby's accomplishment, you are one of the best dog moms ever! 

As long as I have known you the diversity encountered with your Goldens they always end up shining. Whether medical or behavioral issues you have made it work for the best.

Your dogs are fortunate with you as a guardian.


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