Dog Training Career: Doing It and Loving It
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I don't have the time to give you as detailed an answer as you need. I suggest that you go out & buy some dog training books & DVDs. Also, watch "It's me Or The Dog" on Animal Planet and "The Dog Whisperer" on National Geographic Channel (be careful on following some of Cesar's techniques, tho!) You might also see if your local Petsmart or Petco will allow you to enroll a Pit Bull in any of their training classes.
Some Less Obvious Benefits of Dog Training - Help For Owners of Older Dogs
- We have now special institutions who train dogs as long as you are there support their needs like foods. Maybe you could entrust your dog to them!
- Dogs are very much like children, they respond well to positive praise, rather than shouting and frustration. This is why positive dog training has proved to be so successful.
When you are training your new dog, or even if you are training an older dog, you need to make sure that every single time that the dog does what you require him or her to do, you need to praise him. Also ensure that anyone else who has a part in your positive dog training uses the same methods as you do. There is no reason why the whole family cannot help in training your dog.
Each dog will have their own favorite type of praise, some prefer lots of pats and fuss, others prefer some doggy treats, and others like to have a game with their favorite toy. Most dogs like a mixture of all three!
So if you are trying to train your dog to sit, then you will say his name (this part is very important, as it lets your dog know that you are talking to him), and say the command 'sit' loudly and clearly. While you say the word push down on his back end to force him to sit, and when he does make sure that you praise him up. Dogs love the attention we give them, and if they think they are pleasing us, they will want to do it all the more.
Repeat a couple of times, and you will soon find that your dog begins to associate the word 'sit' with sitting down, and in no time at all he will be sitting all on his own at your command.
Some people worry that giving their dogs too many treats is not good for them, but you only need to give treats while they are learning the command, once they have fully mastered it, the treats can drop off.
Make sure that you keep the training session fairly short, as even fully grown dogs will not really take anything in after a while. Puppies need to have plenty of rest and sleep. Once the training is over then spend some time playing with your dog, he will really enjoy this and begin to look forward to your playtime once his training is over.If you have a protection dog that is not house trained, then the first thing that you need to do is to make sure that there are no medical conditions that could be causing the problem. Some of the more common medical reasons that could stop your dog from being properly housetrained are diabetes, intestinal parasites, uti's (urinary tract infections), or hormonal incontinence. Pop your dog to your veterinarian for a check over, and if anything medical is found, once it has been treated you will be ready to start housebreaking an protection dog.First stage is to make sure that you clean and treat your home so that no odors remain – some odors only dogs can smell, especially from previous accidents, so this needs to be thorough. If any of the smells are still there then your dog will want to go in the same place.Then you need to work out the area you do want your dog to use. Once an hour in the daytime take your dog to this spot to do his business. Sometimes housebreaking an protection dog can be really easy as they could have been trained previously and just got into bad habits. If your dog has never been housetrained in the past it will take a lot longer to accomplish, and need quite a bit of effort and time from you.Once your dog begins to perform in the area you have picked, make sure that you give him plenty of praise and rewards. The rewards can vary from treats, to walks, to extra playtime and the type of reward you give will depend largely on what your dog likes best.
Don't make the mistake of punishing him if he makes a mistake, as this will put the whole thing back, and it could cause harm to your dog's personality.
Housebreaking an protection dog can be done, it just takes patience, time and supervision
hope this helps!good luck :) - Nothing wrong with starting with a pitty. They can be great dogs.
Now very few people are successful training on their own the first time. You need a training class. See if there is a 4-H (call your county extention agent) A lot of people think 4-H is just for really rural areas, but that's not the case. Many 4-H clubs have dog training, and its FREE!
If you can't find a 4-H, look on the AKC site (www.akc.org) and find training clubs. The clubs are way less expensive that private trainers and you learn how to train your dog. Look for group classes. - Pit Bulls are not for the casual dog owner, but I am glad to see you help out a do who no one else will. Just stick with the basics. Make sure you Grand Parents get a good quality food, not the stuff from the grocery store. Do things like make the dog sit and lay down before you let her have food. The dog needs exercise every day if possible, so learn how to walk a dog properly. It appears the dog gets enough affection from the Grand Parents, but try to find people to pet the dog if you feel it is safe. You really should contact a dog trainer for assistance as pit bulls can present many problems when training. Check out websites like Cesar and Victoria for more information as well as pit bull forums. Maybe contact a pit bull rescue for some assistance. They may be happy to send a volunteer to your house to show you some basics. This will keep the dog out of a shelter. Good Luck!!!
- Yes, Pitbulls have a bad wrap...but I know many people who have the nicest dogs in the world and they are pitbulls! So as long as she is not animal or people aggressive I think it should be fairly(you will hit a few bumps in the road) easy! If I were you I would start working with her I somewhere fairly small(if possible a fenced in area...if you dont have somewhere that is fenced in get a longer leash) For the first coupld of weeks just start with basic commands such as come, heal, sit, down, leave it(food, something on the ground, ect) and front(the dog is suppose to break from whatever it is doing, come to you and sit right in front of you) are some basic ones my dog knows. This will take time and patience AND some really good treats which will keep your dogs interest(switch it up...cut up some turkey, hotdog, ect and change from time to time so the dog will keep coming back...but you dont always have to give a treat....praise will work just as well sometimes) AND you dont want the dog to ALWAYS associate treats just because once you take them away and not give them as often it could result negatively. Once you feel Stella is listening to you well enough to have her trust invite some friends along with you...to socialize Stella. You go and get Stella and put her on leash and have your friends in the yard with a treat...let the dog go up to your friends, have them pet her a little and then give her the treat...then to just let her do her thing.
As for taking her on walks I would suggest getting a collar like this one(I am about a 120lbs and I have a Rottweiler mix whose around 70lbs...if I dont use this she will pull me over)
http://www.petedge.com/product/Training-…
I know many people dont like these collars but you have a very strong dog on your hands and you are quite young...so I would assume that she would be able to pull you very easily. How this collar works first of ONLY put this collar on when outside...and make sure it comes off when you get in the house(It can easily get caught on things) Just remember this is not as harch of a collar as you think it is...it is merly used for corrections...such as if your dog is pulling first give a warning such as "Stella, Heal" if she does not give a quick tug, then release...your dog will quickly learn that she needs to focus on you while on a walk as well!
Also another suggestion...see if there are any dog training classes that are in your area in which you would be able to attend with your dog or atleast go an watch to see how they teach and what they recommend doing/trying!
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