On and off over the last few months I've been looking after a friend's dog. A week here, a few days there - that sort of thing.

It's been an interesting experience and I've certainly learned from it. The dog in question has a lovely nature and there's something really endearing about him. He was adopted from a rescue shelter as a young adult having been found roaming the streets in pretty poor shape. When my friends adopted him they found he came with a certain amount of baggage.

He has a bit of a hang up about other dogs and he's not keen on strange men. So coming into a household with two dogs he didn't know and being looked after by a bloke he'd seen around a bit but had no more contact with than that was always going to be a challenge!

Both my dogs are extremely friendly with other dogs so I knew there was unlikely to be a problem in that department. But what I'd overlooked was the fact their mere presence was intimidating to the newcomer at first. Zorro stands at just over 26 inches at the shoulder while Molly's 27 inches. Our guest is just over 5 inches at the shoulder - a rather stark contrast!

But although he might be small in stature, like many little dogs he has a mighty big personality. And he began stamping that personality the moment he walked through the door. My two enthusiastically went straight over to him giving him a big tail-waggy welcome. But the poor little chap was just completely overwhelmed by these two towering giants who, with scant regard for his personal space, were sniffing him all over.

He did what any other wary dog would do in the circumstances and went on the defensive. His hackles went up, he stood stiff legged and barked loudly for all he was worth. But the barking didn't stop when my two retreated. He just kept on and on barking at everything, anything and nothing in particular.

Boy did that come as shock to the Chastney household! We're so used to dogs that might as well be mute for all the noise they make that this sudden racket gave us a taste of what it must be like to share your house with a noisy dog. And let me tell you right now it would drive me nuts!

After having dropped him off, the moment his owner had gone I took all three of them out for a long walk. I've always found that taking them out for a walk together is a great way of introducing strange dogs to one another. For the first few minutes I kept the newcomer on the lead but let my two off. Once I could see there were no problems at that stage I let the little chap off as well.

He quickly realized that in order to not get left behind he was going to have to do an awful lot of running. Because my dogs have such long legs by comparison, even if they just go at a brisk walk he has to run to keep up! And I certainly had no intention of dawdling along just to keep him company. Quite the opposite in fact - one of my intentions on this first walk was to completely tire him out so that once we got home all he'd want to do would be to go to sleep. I knew that unless he was exhausted we'd be in for hours of his manic barking.

My ploy pretty much worked. Once we were back home he still got a bit uppity if Zorro got too close, and he'd be on his feet yelling like mad at the slightest little disturbance. But gradually over the course of a day or two he settled down and by about day 3 or 4 he was completely relaxed and all the mania had disappeared.

I think this was due to a number of things. First off he was getting 2 long walks every day, on both of which he was doing an awful lot of running. I'm pretty sure he was completely unused to that. When he's at home he seems only to be taken for short sedate walks on the lead. That's not my style at all! So the first thing is he didn't have lots of spare energy. Making sure a dog gets plenty of exercise is a terrific way of keeping it calm and biddable. Part and parcel of this also is that life follows a predictable routine. I get the impression that when he's at home walks could come pretty much at any time. But in my house come hell or high water there's a long walk every single morning and evening. Dogs like routine.

The second thing is that he learned from the example of my two. In between walks they tend to either get on their bed or just find a quiet corner to themselves. Either way they curl up quietly. I think this behavior of theirs was exerting a calming influence on him. My two both ignore all the noise and bustle of the outside world and soon he began doing so too.

The third thing is that he was being treated like a dog. When he's at home he gets lots of fuss and attention from the whole family. Nothing wrong with that at all. But the trouble is they have young kids who seem to be inconsistent with him. When I've been at their house I've seen them picking him up and cuddling him like a doll, then having wild frantic rolling on the ground sessions which get him all hyped up and manic.

My kids know I don't tolerate any of that stuff. I have a strict rule about treating a dog like a dog. And I never let them have the sort of wild games that get the dogs all manic. You might say that makes me a real spoilsport. Maybe I am. But I sleep easy, knowing my children aren't going to have half their face bitten off one day when a game gets out of hand. The trouble with both young children and young dogs is they don't know where to draw the line. If you have kids of your own you'll know exactly what I mean. It's why kids' games so often end in tears.

I've always adopted the view that around the house I want the dogs to be quiet and calm. If they want to tear around like banshees that's absolutely fine but they have to wait till they're out on a walk and off the lead before they can do any of that stuff.

I think the final reason why our guest so quickly and easily slotted into our routine is that I treated him exactly the same as I treat my two. That meant he had to learn and follow a certain structure. For instance I don't let mine just barge through the door whenever it's open. If we're going on, or returning from, a walk I have a little routine I always follow. I go through the door first then I call the most senior dog through (which is Molly) then they get called one by one in order of seniority.

The most dogs I've ever had at once is 3 so it's no big deal doing this for that number. If I had more maybe I'd do things differently. But I don't like the mad free-for-all scramble for the door which you get if you leave them to their own devices. When we get into the fields on our walks they get their leads taken off in the same order of seniority. But they can't just charge off. They have to wait till I tell them they can go. And you've guessed it, I do it in order of seniority. So our guest was always having to wait until last of all before he was allowed to do any of this stuff.

And I do the same at mealtimes. All the dogs have to wait patiently while I get their food ready. I can't abide dogs begging for food or hassling me at mealtimes. Our newcomer was obviously used to a bit of "free expression" at mealtimes; the first time I got his food ready he was barking excitedly, scrabbling at my legs and tripping me up as I moved round the kitchen. That's a complete no-no for me so he very quickly learned that if he didn't sit quietly with the others he'd go hungry.

Within about 4 days of him first coming to stay it was as if he'd been here all his life. The change in his behavior was that fast and that dramatic. When he arrived he was completely manic, rushing around excitedly and barking like there was no tomorrow. An open door or an unclipped lead had been the signal to take off for the wide blue yonder. But just a few short days later all that had changed. He'd become calm and responsive and patiently waited his turn.

I can't claim to be some sort of miracle worker. To be fair he's a very bright dog and a very fast learner so he picked it all up quickly. But even if he was a slow learner I'd still have treated him just the same and I know I'd have ended up with the same result. It would just have taken a bit longer.

The saying goes that you can't teach an old dog new tricks. What a load of tosh! Even an adult dog that's set in its ways can learn to change. Treat it the right way, give it some structure and be consistent. If you persevere you'll be amazed at what you can achieve!

This article is the copyright of Andrew Chastney, author of Dog Training Blueprint to Success. To read more of his articles and Section One of his book go to dogtrainingblueprint.com.

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