Old Dogs, New Tricks

We’ve all heard that worn-out adage, ‘You can’t teach an old dog new tricks’. Nonsense! Of course an old dog can learn new tricks and older people also can and do continue to learn new tricks, additional skills, and enjoy fresh experiences. It isn’t a question of having the ability to learn something out of the ordinary, rather it is the desire to try something different or to pursue an interest that makes us want to attempt a new venture.

Dogs are not stupid. Puppies learn tricks, commands and obey rules because they are still young, inexperienced, foolish, and have the desire to please. However, as dogs age most of them become experienced and a lot craftier to boot. They develop selective deafness, as they can hear the crinkle of cellophane as a person unwraps a slice of cheese from 300 yards away, but they cannot hear the word “NO” from five paces as they deftly steal a steak from a plate. They learn how far they can push the envelope before retribution arrives, and they learn ways to circumvent rules and regulations. In short, they learn how to read their person as they grow older, and act accordingly. They can still learn; they just learn smarter through experience and choose which new skills they want to hone and which ones they want to ignore.

This illustrates my point. Old dogs can learn new tricks, and older people also continue to learn, but with qualifications. People, like dogs, aren’t stupid, and as we age and gain experience, we learn how to circumvent, ignore, or bend rules, regulations, or ideas that don’t appeal to us.

I find as I age that I really don’t want to try certain activities or tasks in some cases, depending on the circumstances and my mood. I get cranky a lot faster, and if I have to learn something that seems pointless to me but that someone else expects me to learn simply so I can make life easier for him or her, forget about it. I have enough to do already, and I have far too many potentially interesting things to learn or investigate that I think I would find extremely interesting than to waste my time learning something that does not appeal to me. If I can learn something new that helps me personally or that allows me to enjoy a new experience or skill, then I can learn quickly and with minimal instructions. However, if someone expects me to learn a new skill simply so that it benefits them, not me, well quite frankly, stuff it where the sun don’t shine. I’m too old to bend over backwards for no good reason that I can see.

When an old dog won’t learn new tricks, it isn’t because she can’t learn. It’s because she finds that particular trick idiotic and not worth her time. When an older woman won’t learn new tricks, it’s not because she can’t learn. It’s because she finds that trick idiotic and not worth her time.

As we age, we realize with great clarity a few facts of life, and one of them is that time is precious and winding down faster than we care to admit. The idea that we can’t learn new tricks comes in very handy when we don’t give a fig about that particular new bit of knowledge. But when we DO decide we want to learn something new, however, we do it with great gusto and we can blow the socks off the youngsters.

That thought makes me smile.