Dog Community

New Pit Bull Puppy

Posted : 6/30/2006 4:23:16 PM

I have recently just come into ownership of a gorgeous fawn pitbull puppy last week which i have named Sugar. I had a good idea of how the experience was going to be in terms of owning a pitbull puppy because some of my friends own them. They tell me of how things were going as the attempted to train their dogs. While I fully intend on taking her to obedience classes, I would like to get the ball rolling on her training. The problem comes in whenever i attempt to train her, she does enough to get one treat, and retreats to her crate. While its not really a big problem, i just want to know what i can do to maintain her focus, when indoors and just me and her, her energy level decreases significantly than if i was in the room with her and other people. So if anyone with pit bull experience could give me some pointers i would appreciate it.

D Logan

Posted : 6/30/2006 4:26:55 PM

oh yea, she is 12 weeks old

Chris

Posted : 6/30/2006 4:30:34 PM

If she is retreating to her crate with the treat in her mouth, make the treats very small. Big enough for her to taste, but not to chew more than once. The treat should be eaten in 2 seconds or less. Often, one small liver treat is good for 2 or three rewards. It keeps them motivated too, because they will always want more.

If she is retreating after a single reward (assuming the treats are small), make sure you are training during her active times. Puppies sleep a lot! If you try training after 2 hours of active play, you may have a tired pup on your hands. Also, I'm sure you're keeping it positive, but try to make it fun so it's not "training" to your pup, but more of a game. Rewards can also be belly rubs or a favourite toy that only comes out for training.

How old is Sugar? (I'm assuming 8-12 weeks). Pictures?

Good luck, and welcome to the boards! [

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D Logan

Posted : 6/30/2006 4:42:39 PM

Thank you, and yes pics are on the way, but something else that makes it hard is she never eats anything quickly no matter how small it is, i've never seen a pit bull not eat or take something from someone hand be it a toy or food, i guess i can do nothing but hope she keeps that mentality when shes fully grown, but right now its a henderance to the progress im seeking. i have to put treats on the ground, she smells them and proceeds to eat them, slowly. so by the time she finished and im ready to give her a refreshers, she calmly strolls back to her crate.

Julitza

Posted : 7/2/2006 10:20:09 AM

Congrats on your puppy! I am a big pitty lovereven though I own a Collie pup. I wouldve purchased a pit puppy but I have yet to find 1 reputable breeder where I live.

Does your dog do well with praise? Maybe you can start out training with praise only? My mothers Golden learned the basic commands with praise only and she has got them down.

Also, try training in another room where her crate is not available.

Minty_Pups

Posted : 7/2/2006 1:16:32 PM

Make sure you're using a soft treat, so she doesn't have to take a long time to chew it. When I first started training my pup, I always gave him one or two "freebies" so he's excited about the treat and knows I have more.

If she keeps wanting to go back, how about keeping her on a leash? Or like someone else suggested, train her in another room.