House Training

Question: Any suggestions on house training a 6 month old pitbull?

(Posted by: tasha shea on 2010-02-18 07:25:52)

I am adopting a 6 mnth old pit bull and would like to know the best way to go about potty training and command training my puppy. if all you are gong to do is put down the type of dog i choose to adopt then dont bother emailing please. i dont believe everything im told about pit bulls, i owned a beautiful purebred american pit bull when i brought my daughter home from the hospital. when my little girl was assleep, my pit would lick her or nudge her to make sure she was breahing, YES my PIT actually checked on my daughter. so yes i love pits and will adopt one/

Posted by: Richard on 2010-02-18, 07:30:51

Get hold of "The Dog Listener " by Jan Fennell, this will deal with all aspects of potty training and lay an excellent foundation for obedience training without resorting to gadgets or force.

Posted by: Rev-'em-up-Ray-Gun on 2010-02-18, 07:32:47

Crate training is the easiest and best way to do that. Put the pup in his crate at night and other times of the day, and always immediately let him outside when you let him out of the crate. He will learn quickly that outside is the potty place.

Posted by: Sandra on 2010-02-18, 07:36:41

Ok, I'm not going to lie, It takes alot of time and effort to train a dog, and the first thing you need to understand is that dog's need someone to be their pack leader, they are all born with a natural pack mentality, it is in their blood. The first thing that has happened to your dog, is she was taken away from her mother much to young, she should have staying with her until she was no less then 8 weeks old. They learn social skills and the first stages of potty training from their mother, so that little setback thanks to your breeder is going to cost you, however all is not lost. Every time you talk to her, you must be calm and assertive, (don't ever yell or scream) The dog needs to see and respect you as a pack leader so that she doesn't feel that she has to fill that role. Dog's who think they have to be the pack leader are stressed out, anxious, and usually wound up. (And spanking the dog will honestly only add to the anxiety and neuroses) This next part will be hard, but you must do it for the dog's sake, don't let the dog on any of the furniture, the furniture is the pack leaders domain, in the wild the alpha wolf would never share his area with a submissive and we must do the same thing. Before you feed the dog, make sure she is calm and submissive, this means that she is not jumping up or running around in circles or hyper in any way, she must be sitting quietly with her full attention on you. You must do this for everything else is well, don't pet the dog or show her any attention until she is calm and submissive, don't let her in or out of the house until she is calm and submissive, don't let her in or out of the car until she is calm or submissive and so on and so forth. If the dog runs at you or tries to jump all over you, ignore her until she's calm and submissive The dog needs to earn all of these things as she would the wild. (I know this sounds mean, but I promise you it is not mean, the dog will respect you and be much happier, if she knows that you are the pack leader and you are in charge) Dog's need boundaries, when they are successful it gives them a sense of accomplishment and it also gives them something to focus on. In the wild dog's work for food, and are very structured , they need that with humans as well. Remember dogs need to be stimulated mentally as well and earning things in this manner will do just that. When the dog bites you and chews on, loudly and calmly say no or shh ( and don't use her name, her name should only be associated with good behavior, for example, NO......Good Girl Sasha, good girl, the same goes for house breaking and all other behaviors) and block the dog's behavior with your hand (NOTE: don't hit her just push her back with your hand) Ignore her after that until she calms down. Next for house training the dog, now some people will disagree with me and that is perfectly fine, but I suggest crate training. If you get a nice big crate and fill it with blankets and cover the top of it with a blanket and make it cozy the dog will feel safe and secure and comfy in there. (the only reason dog's don't feel comfy in there is because the people who put the dog in there don't feel comfortable which upsets the dog, if you are calm and relaxed, the dog will be calm and relaxed as well, dogs trust their pack leaders and if you tell her she is safe in her crate, she will trust in you completely) NOTE: PAPAW is wrong, NEVER use the crate as punishment that is the worst thing you could every do. And DO NOT try and scare her with a newspaper. During the day when you are home---if you can watch the dog, she doesn't need to be in the crate, but the moment you can't watch the dog, put her right in the crate. During the day when you are not at home--Let her stay in her crate, she will feel very safe and it will take away alot of her anxiety. During the evening when you are sleeping--Make sure she sleeps in her crate. The idea here is not to give the dog any opportunity at all to go to the washroom in the house. At night if the dog needs to go out, bring her out and when she uses the washroom praise her like crazy which includes giving her treats (stay calm but give lots of praise...no hyperness) then put her straight back in the crate. You will likely have to let her out every two hours or so because she is still a puppy. (You should devise a schedule for feeding and taking her outside and be consistent about it) During the day when you can't watch her, same drill, leave her in the crate, bring her out every two hours or when she asks you, praise her when she uses the washroom, put her back in the crate. When you can watch her, there is no need for her to be in the crate. If she uses the washroom in the house, calmly but firmly and assertively say no or shh to disrupt the behavior and bring her straight outside, when she does her business there, praise her. (You must stay outside until she goes, no matter how long it takes, so that you ca

Posted by: Dogmatic Training Rocks!! on 2010-02-18, 07:38:20

First read up on Pitbulls, understand their needs and requirements and personality. Pits are people pleasers so they only want to please you and therefore training is easy, but make sure you socialize well but be mindful, pitbulls will NEVER back down from a fight if provoked, my Weim will immediately cower and walk away, my friends Pits, even though very well obedience trained and also do service work (he's in a wheelchair) if provoked by another dog at the park they will retaliate. And by provoked I mean the other dog starts the fight, they won't start a fight but they won't back down from one either, that's a pitty for you. I would research housebreaking methods online there are tons of links and help on this, and use positive reinforcement training always. Postiive reinforcment training works

Posted by: Karen on 2010-02-18, 07:41:50

Simple don't adopt it! Pitbulls are banned in the UK because they are a dangerous breed. They may seem loving and friendly and act like they wouldn't hurt a fly. They do turn nasty even in the most perfect and loving homes! The amount of children that have been savaged and killed by these dogs it amazes me that people still want to adopt them!

Posted by: Cherry on 2010-02-18, 07:51:16

First of all I want to commend you on adopting a pit bull puppy and wish you good luck. I hope you have fun with your puppy! :) As far as potty training goes I highly recommend crate training (link in the sources). Crate training is a great tool when you are potty training a puppy. While you are potty training your puppy you want to make a plan of when to let him/ her outside. It should be frequently at first, you want to prevent as few of accidents as possible. If your puppy does have an accident (which is probably will) you want to be very calm and rush the puppy outside. You never want to yell at the puppy for doing this as it doesn't understand why you are yelling. Also when you are outside with your puppy and it pees or poops you always want to praise it, play with it, and just make sure you get the message across that peeing and pooping outside is great! Command training should start in a training class at your local pet store (although some shelters offer classes). Look into some local traning classes but make sure they teach a safe and positive way of training. Some trainers still refer to the old "harsh " style of training.

Posted by: Julie - Eats trolls on toast! on 2010-02-18, 07:54:11

Crate train. Dogs do not like to soil the area they sleep in so by locking a puppy IN the area they sleep in for a certain period of time, they learn to hold it as opposed to do their business here, there and everywhere. Obviously you do not leave the puppy in there all day and you increase the time the pup is in there for. At night, for the first few months, you WILL have to let the pup out at night. As for general obedience, obedience classes are the way to go. Your vet should be able to put you in touch with someone.

Posted by: nosaj on 2010-02-18, 08:31:32

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