new to the breed, need some help please =)

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Gamma

Waitin' at the- Rainbow Bridge

Barked: Tue Jul 24, '12 4:08pm PST


	alright, so me and my bf recently acquired a pit from the side of the road, (dumb, i know.) he was about 3 months old when got him, skinny as hell, infested with all sorts of parasites and COVERED in all manners of dirt, mud, and just yuck. well he was brought home to receive a slightly rude greeting from our other dog and our room mates dogs. (4 in total - Sooner, mini Dachshund, Houdini, GIANT lab, and ours Harmony, Lab/whippet/GSD/German Shorthaired pointer) about 6 months old and now him and the other dogs get along fine, and with people amazingly when introduced (he doesnt like strangers) but his issues are now as follows: 1) hit and miss on potty training, sometimes whines to be let out sometimes just pees where he stands 2) slightly territorial when the house is passed by people, kids, ect. and when across the street neighbors come home/leave 3) submissive peeing when in trouble for even the smallest thing. (like not wanting him on bed at that moment) 4) kinda daft at tricks, he sits, lays, and waits at doorways to be let out/in and wait until OK for eating but thats IT 5) the immediate neighborhood loves him but anywhere outside of the cul-de-sac and its immediate evil eyes from all sorts of people (not all but most). 6) with the other dogs i have trained they all required kind of a strong hand and slight punishment for bad things (like eating bras,shoes,and pants) but one "no" to him and he acts like ive beat him and starts to cower and pee. ive been gentle and ive been rough. ive ignored it too. nothing works. my question is..... whats the best way to raise this pup to be a member of this pack and a excellent breed ambassador? and how to correct these problems ive had without crushing his spirit? Edited by author Tue Jul 24, '12 4:11pm PST

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Keira

Mommy's Girl

Barked: Fri Jul 27, '12 1:22am PST


	alright, so me and my bf recently acquired a pit from the side of the road, (dumb, i know.) he was about 3 months old when got him, skinny as hell, infested with all sorts of parasites and COVERED in all manners of dirt, mud, and just yuck. well he was brought home to receive a slightly rude greeting from our other dog and our room mates dogs. (4 in total - Sooner, mini Dachshund, Houdini, GIANT lab, and ours Harmony, Lab/whippet/GSD/German Shorthaired pointer) about 6 months old and now him and the other dogs get along fine, and with people amazingly when introduced (he doesnt like strangers) but his issues are now as follows: 1) hit and miss on potty training, sometimes whines to be let out sometimes just pees where he stands 2 words: Crate training. 2) slightly territorial when the house is passed by people, kids, ect. and when across the street neighbors come home/leave This will need to be curbed ASAP. If he bites ANYONE, for ANY reason, it reflects badly on the breed. Socialization is going to be your lifesaver. Start by getting friends to come over-- or take him to petsmart or something. Let people give him treats, make everything a positive experience for him!! 3) submissive peeing when in trouble for even the smallest thing. (like not wanting him on bed at that moment) He'll grow out of it. My girl was the same way. Lure with treats and lots of baby talk! 4) kinda daft at tricks, he sits, lays, and waits at doorways to be let out/in and wait until OK for eating but thats IT Some dogs take more repetition to learn tricks. Persistence is key-- that, and delicious noms! 5) the immediate neighborhood loves him but anywhere outside of the cul-de-sac and its immediate evil eyes from all sorts of people (not all but most). Grow a thick skin. This breed isn't going to gain you many fans in the neighborhood, but you may end up changing some minds. Just train him well and he'll have a good reputation that will speak for itself. 6) with the other dogs i have trained they all required kind of a strong hand and slight punishment for bad things (like eating bras,shoes,and pants) but one "no" to him and he acts like ive beat him and starts to cower and pee. ive been gentle and ive been rough. ive ignored it too. nothing works. Never be rough! Keep things he isn't supposed to chew/eat up and away from him for now. Reward good behavior, ignore bad behavior. my question is..... whats the best way to raise this pup to be a member of this pack and a excellent breed ambassador? and how to correct these problems ive had without crushing his spirit? Raise it the same as you would any other dog-- but you need to remember to remain in control. If your boy is a purebred (which I doubt, seeing as you found him, and even still-- likely to have been produced by a BYB at best) the things you need to watch for is mental instability-- Human aggression is not natural in this breed, and most APBT people I know say it should not be tolerated for any reason because it is too much of a liability. Also, do not be surprised if he develops dog aggression as he matures. DA is normal in the breed. Be prepared to live a crate and rotate lifestyle if it develops. I'm sure I'm being rather vague but I'm sleepy lol... will come back tomorrow and see if I missed anything... Edited by author Tue Jul 24, '12 4:11pm PST

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Opheila

It ain't over- till the fat- kitty sings

Barked: Wed Aug 1, '12 7:58pm PST


	First congrats on giving your wonderful guy a home. With that said, the first lesson of bully ownership is accepting you don't have the average doggie. I don't have advice about potty training. All our dogs came to us already happily housebroken, we were just lucky. You sound like you're off to a good start though. The fear thing might very well get better with time. As he bonds more and more to you and the other dogs he might become more confident. Sophie still "pancakes" on the ground if she's suprised by a noise, but after 4 years she's braver than she was. It used to be a car door slamming and she'd panic. It does usually get better with familiarity. Oh and don't worry about people being disapproving. The best you can do is not take it personally and know it's peoples perception of the breed. Keep a sense of humor. I was picking up my daughter and Sophie put her nose in the door. The counseler jumped back away from her and I just said sweetly " It's okaaay, she's very friendly and she already ate!" jus' slipped out...

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Syddalee

Some things are- just meant to- be.

Barked: Fri Aug 3, '12 11:39am PST


	Congrats on the new addition. Sounds like you have two different training issues: One having a pit and two having a stray dog. I agree with a lot of the first response. for 1: Agree,Crate training will be a great tool and also give your new pup a space for himself. This should help with submissive peeing too. Dogs don't pee where they lay. Or at least don't like to. Only punish the dog if caught in the act and if its not a submissive pee but just a hey i'm peeing here kind of thing. Also anytime caught peeing (submissive or not) take the dog outside and give the bathroom command. Using the same door and same spot sometimes helps drive the point home that this is the action to do before peeing. Also a schedule will help the dog become familiar with the routine. For 2: I would teach the command "leave it" or something to that affect. I live an apartment and my lucy would lunge at the window anytime anything happened outside. Anytime she would bark or anything at the window towards someone walking by I would say "leave it" (I use this outside too when walking pass things she pulls towards) and if she came she back to me or stopped then she got a treat and if not then she got sprayed with water from a bottle. She stopped pretty quick and that worked for me. For 3: I feel ya on this one again with my Lucy. Absolutely never punish the dog for this. For me sometime I can tell Lucy is about to do it when she looks uneasy and I start using baby tones with her and don't approach her. I wait till she comes to me to try to avoid the release. Crate Training will help with this. Lucy now goes into her crate anytime she is unsure of a situation. Also if in the act (and I'm close to her) I will grab her collar and tug her to walk out peeing to stop the action and normally lead her outside and give her the bathroom command and then put back inside with no farther punishment. The more confidence the dog builds the less this is an issue with leads to 4... for 4: Persistence is key. Also so toys like puzzles can help build a dogs confidence. Bully breeds can be stubborn. They know what you want they just don't feel like doing it. The award has to be worth it for some. One of my dogs cares nothing about treats and just wants attention and love, the other will always prefer treats. Know what award works best for the dog and that will help with training more tricks. For 5: Agree that a thick skin is needed with this breed. Hopefully you will be able to change a couple minds but be prepared for rude comments, parents pulling their kids away and the eye rolling. Kill them with kindness or ignore all together is normally the best routes here. For 6: A strong hand does not tend to work well with this breed. I was raised with labs and always was taught to spank and rub noses in things and those kinds of negative punishment but with bully breeds and especially a submissive pee-er this will have you taking steps backwards. In my experience with pits, they tend to mirror their owners behavior and any aggressive behavior from you (punishment or not) will come out as aggression in the dog. Anything left on the floor when left alone is fair gain in a pits mind. If you have a corner you keeps shoes in you can spray some bitter apple spray in that spot or when in the room with the dog you can try using "no" anytime the dog walks towards that corner so it learns that's not for them. If a "no" triggers a submissive pee then use the crate as punishment but not for long periods of time. Also like I mentioned before spraying water in the dogs direction can be a great no contact punishment and has stopped a lot of my dogs unwanted behavior. I agree socialization is great for pits to be a great breed ambassador. Car rides, petsmart really anything you can do and bring the dog along to build up confidence will help with a lot of these things. If you don't trust your new pup in social situations only attempt this with friends at first. Good luck with your new pup. With 4 dogs hopefully Gamma will learn his spot in the pack. The leader dog can also be a great help to you with training your new pup.

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Gamma

Waitin' at the- Rainbow Bridge

Barked: Wed Aug 15, '12 3:44pm PST


	well we have just learned he was a escape puppy from a fighting breeder so hes a "pure" pit fighter. not thats its anything to brag or be happy about. the man tried to get "his dog" back when he saw us at a doggy get together at a local park. lucky for us the crowd didnt seem to happy with him. on the positive side the submissive peeing has almost completely stopped (seems like it was a puppy/stray thing) but he seems to enjoy chewing on wood. we cut him branches from a crate myrtle in the back yard for him to chew. pretty sure the bush will be dead before the end of the year. lol as for tricks, he wants to learn hes just not very patient and gets over-excited. hes been learning his basic commands and manners (like not jumping up) but he gets sooooo excited when someone comes home. he also like to come when calling another dog. like our room-mates like our lb/whippet Harmony but hate Gamma and when they call harmony and both come over and gamma gets yelled at. anyways, thanks. im sure my little monster will like me being a little more in-the-know.