I can be consistent,I have plently of time Since I'll be the person who owns her I would feel better if I was doing it myself I can walk him everyday, teach him etc I've done very well with my pasted dogs But I've been reading sites about pitbulls (trying to get fully educated about Pits =) ) and it suggests getting it into dog training classes
So what I'm asking is if it was 100% necessary to get the pitbull into dog training classes?
Dog Training Tips - When Should Dog Training Start?
Recommended Answer:In my very humble opinion, I think all dogs should have obedience training/agility/something that will socialize them with both people and other dogs. I put my Shiba in two puppy obedience classes and she's very well behaved, but after that I didn't socialize her too much with other dogs, and now, although she is a serious people lover, she is not a fellow dog lover at all...she'll get used to one if they're around for a few hours, but she's not automatically friendly. And I think that was a result of me just not realizing how important it is.
It's not that I don't think you can't do a fine job yourself, but I do believe the pup should definitely be socialized as much as possible around people and other dogs, and training (to me) just seems like the most efficient way to do that.
Good luck if you decide to get one! Terriers are stubborn, but GREAT lovebugs!
Who Let The Dogs Out? Pointers For In Home Dog Training
- As long as you know the basic thinking of a bully breed dog you can do the training yourself. They think a different way than most breeds so talk to some pit owners,and breeders to get all the knowledge you can. The key to any training is consistency so as long as you are letting the dog know what is expected of him right from the start you will do fine training on your own. They are very smart dogs and learn pretty quick but don't let them fool you because they will do great for a long time then look at you and go what are ya gonna do if I do this? Consistency! Good luck and have fun with your dog:>)
- I personally feel that EVERY dog should be taken to training classes. Period. Not just for the training aspect, but for the socialization. And, with a breed like a pitbull that already has a shady opinion, I think it's even more important to get "well trained" pits out and in mainstream public. By taking a training class, you are not only teaching your dog valuable skills, but you have the support of the training center and their students should something happen and your dog (heaven forbid) bite someone. Having the history of training (and doing well) will go a long way in you (and your dog's) favor.
- Yes. Obedience classes aren't really for the dog. They teach YOU how to train your dog. Plus, if you have questions, most trainers can answer your questions on almost all breeds. Best thing to do is get some books on pitbull ownership to give you a better understanding and idea of what to expect from a pit.
They are not the dog for novice dog owners. Consistancy and continued training is necessary for a pit.
- It is important that your dog get the training, and if you're able to do it yourself, that's great.
However, IMO, the best reason to go to training class is not necessarily the training....it's the controlled and professionally monitored socialization your dog can really benefit from.
Also, to be honest, unless you've done a lot of training with past dogs (or have some professional experience) a training class will really benefit you and your dog because you can get some really great tips. Not to mention, training class is full of great distractions to "proof" your dog after you done some training yourself.
Add: The training classes I'm recommending are more like classes that a club offers, not "PetCo" classes.
My dog is 10 and we still go to class at the kennel club I'm a member of because it's fun and we try different things (like rally and agility) that I don't have the equipment for at home. Also, in this setting there are a number of other experienced people who can give me a hand working with my dog if needed. (example: If I'm having problems with my dog not holding a good stay when another dog runs past him, they will have their dog run past mine on a recall and I can get some good corrections/rewards in with my dog - it's a group effort)
- I have a pit myself and I've trained him VERY well myself but classes actaully get him socialed which is very important for this breed to avoid being aggressive. My 2 y/o Brindle Pit is in classes at Petsmart right now and after we graduate from there I will have to continue getting him out of the house and to outdoor events where people are around so he gets the socialization that he needs. This prevents him from getting back into the rut of being a momma's boy and feeling like he has to protect me from EVERYTHING.
- I have a 3 year old Pit Bull and I trained him myself. When he was 2, I took him to obediance training but only to get the certificate showing that he went incase something happens with BSL in my area. I think that if you have the time and patience (they are VERY stubborn dogs!) to work with her then do it yourself. We just added a female puppy to our family and we're training her ourselves too. It's all in how YOU raise them.
- No- remember this- the dog will do what you teach it. Meaning , just because it is a pit does not make it automatically a vicious dog........I have 2 at home( well actually 12- 1 just had puppies) I also have 3 small children and they are so protective over them..... Dogs only attack when you train them to do that!
- No, its not necessary to seek an official trainer. We own two APBT's both were trained by me. You just have to take the time to work towards a certain goal with them once you meet it move onto something else...but keep working on the learned stuff as well. We used theclickertraining.com method and its amazing! You can buy a clicker at the petstores..To help with socialization we take our dogs everywhere with us they are allowed..parks, friends homes, family members, stores like homedepot.petstores, basically anywhere we can find....our male is 2 and unneutered (we show) and acts perfectly fine around other unaltered males and animals of all types. They have also always had strangers pet them and talk to them so they have no problem with strangers either....a stranger could take the leash from me and my dogs would act as nothing changed. APBT's are great dogs and aim to please their owners, you should do fine with training him yourself as long as you take the time to. You may want to check meetup.com and do a search in your area for a local APBT club I started one in my area and know there are several all around the states.
- No you can train them yourself. Sounds like you have done research on them to understand owning and training of dogs then you will be fine. My sister has a pit and Jupiter is the nicest dog I have been around and he never went to a trainer. Its all depends on if you know how to train dogs. Good Luck
- The main thing to do is to socalize the animal to other people and animals at a young age.
I trained my 2 pits and they are great pets.
- Any dog should go to classes. You'll still be training your dog yourself, but the socializing the dog gets is the part that's essential - both with dogs and other people.
- IMO, ALL dogs should go through training classes. With training by the owner for the rest of their lives.
- i'd like to comment on this and how some of the people r saying the dog shouldn't just go to learn to obey but also for socialization purposes. Dogs are required to have more shots if they go to so-called "dog parks" (my vet asked me if my dog went to dog parks or obedience schools and he said reason he asked is cos more shots r required) Also remember that when dogs go into packs they become more aggressive. They will bring this aggression home as well. Perhaps it's because of Freudian Displacement (your dog was bit by a few dogs while there so is taking it out on you by biting you as soon as he gets home-in otherwords-displacing his anger) or perhaps it's just because dogs have been taught to become more aggressive when they are in packs-period. But I would like to add that for 21 months I had a cute floppy earred 90 pound angel who would only give me play bites and licks and love and then one day I took her to a friend's house to visit-we visited for 12 hrs. and that was one week ago and my friend had an aggressive dog who was only 45 lbs-half the weight of my dog. Anyhow, for a whole week now; my dog has been biting me. She has had all her shots so I'm not worried about that one dog biting her or her biting me. But these are not play bites. These are very aggressive bites and they scare me and I can't help but wonder if she'll ever stop all because she was exposed to one aggressive dog for a mere 12 hours. Anyhow, something to think about. In the meantime; my dog bites are mending. But I can't help being afraid. How could I be afraid of the dog that I have loved for 21 months? So, think twice about exposing her to other dogs cos THIS could happen to you too.
- Even though YOU might be willing and able to train your pit bull on your own without help, I think the reason you see recommendations to take your dog to classes is because the average person probably would NOT train their dog on their own. So really they are speaking to the average person and saying "train your dog" AND they recommend classes to increase the chances that a person would train their dog. Not everyone knows HOW to train, some "think" they know how but their version of training is constant punishment rather than actually teaching their dog commands and then practicing and practicing lots before they ever correct/punish their dog.
If you think you can fully train a dog -- especially a very tenacious dog like the pit bull...go for it!
But keep in mind that in a class it is still YOU that will be training your dog--NOT someone else. You simply go to class to get instruction and demonstration on HOW to train your dog...then you do all the training on your own. The next week you go back to class to learn more for training a new thing and you again go home and work on it all week on your own. The good thing about a class is that you (hopefully) have an expert to help you out and show you how to do things in a way that is effective AND can support you if you have trouble in certain areas. It also keeps you practicing and holds you accountable so that you don't slack off during the week. Finally remember that you've only experienced a handful of dogs...trainers that teach classes see HUNDREDS of dogs each year and thus will have far more tips and tricks and ideas to help you do your best with your particular dog.
Someone else also brought up the point of "socialization." If you get your pit as a puppy...regardless of how you want to train it as an adult...I would HIGHLY recommend your pit go to puppy classes. Puppy classes are really intended to help socialize your dog to other dogs in a safe way. Undersocialization and the behavior issues that come out of that leads to MORE deaths of dogs (put to sleep) than sickness! Do puppy classes at least and then decide what you want to do afterwards.
But even after the puppy stage, continue to take your dog out to places, for continued socialization at all stages of his life. DO remember to train in public, in parks, on the sidewalks, at pet stores...wherever you plan to take your dog.... Once you've got training down at home...take him/her to as many places that allow dogs as possible so he will be obedient everywhere (around many distractions) not just in your house.
Whatever you decide to do...classes or no classes...educate yourself on good, effective training methods before you start. Think about all the methods you read about and use what makes the most sense to you and seems like something you can do.
Happy Training!
- All Dogs should go classes, its not jsut the training apsect that is important and this is especially true for pitbulls and other bully breeds. You need to socailize , socilize, socialize and keep doing it for the rest of their life. You don't have to do classes all their life but you have to get them out and around other animals and people. Its is very good for them. I don't however advocate dog parks as a pit bull even it is friendly if it attacked will defend itself and there are far too many pwners out there who have now clue on how to read their dogs (not saying you) And can't tell the difference between play and the lead up to a fight. And if it happens and say the agressor is a lab (for example or worse something the most people consider fuzzy and that woudl never hurt a flea) you are going to be the one blamed because you had the pitbull. According to the media and unfortunently alot of people it coudl never be the lab or the cute fuzzy thing that started the fight. Its just something you run up against, I love my Amstaffs but i am well aware how the world tends to view them an di have no desire to out my dogs in a position that could make someone take them away from me ever.
- No it's not necessary....I don't even recommend it. Dog training is 100% common sense, if you can't train your own dog you're either lazy or don't care too much about the animal. One of the best trained little dogs I've ever seen is my neighbor's English Pointer x Border Collie, the dog is brilliant as so is it's 11 year old trainer.
Now I said I don't recommend it because #1 a class is too much distraction for a puppy, what genius decided to teach a puppy behaviors with 6 or 7 other puppies...just not an intelligent idea. #2 The time you spend training your dog is what builds your bond with that dog. Now if you take it to classes it'd rather build bonds with the other pups and meddle in other people's business. Socializing has no place in dog training unless you have a fearful pup in which case it needs to be socialized with people who give it treats to rehabilitate the dog. Most people around here seem to think Socializing makes up for dog training. It does not. A socialized dog who's been around dogs from puppyhood can still become dog aggressive. Being socialized has crap all to do with a dog being aggressive or not. If a dog becomes aggressive you TRAIN it out of the dog using deterrent training methods. For example: Your puppy Pitbull grows up and becomes dog aggressive, you put a prong collar on him when you go for walks, when he sees another dog he starts barking and lunging. You give a stern leash correction and a "NO" and he stops. He has a few "relapses" of aggressive behavior, but you stay consistent, soon he learns showing aggression towards dogs is unacceptable and he stops. Like I said: Dog training is common sense.
Phase 1: I begin training of my pup inside the house, and later out in the yard, using positive reinforcement. Once the behaviors such as sit, down, stay, heel, and come are completely learned, you move on to the corrections phase Phase 2: Corrections Phase: Now your dog knows these behaviors and you're sure of it. So what do you do when he refuses to obey because you don't have treats or he plain doesn't feel like complying? You fit him with a training collar (choke or prong) and correct him for not obeying/challenging you. There must be consequences to his negative behavior or he'll never be a fully trained dog who always obeys when a command is given. Phase 3: Distractions Phase: Puppy classes (like those at Petco/Petsmart) train using Positive Reinforcement only which is only 1/3rd of total training, PLUS they subject young puppies to distraction WAY too early. Only after Phase 1 and Phase 2 should you subject your puppy/dog to distractions. Now you have a dog who always obeys in the house and yard, now you need to go to the park where there are other dogs, cats, squirrels, new people, sights and smells. And the second he decides they're more interesting than obeying your commands? You correct him for it. He must learn to obey in any setting to be a fully trained dog. After this phase is complete you have a dog if whom was off leash and saw a cat, a juicy steak, a female dog in heat, and his favorite toy across a busy street would STOP before entering the street and come DIRECTLY back to you when you called him. The 3 phases are the only way to accomplish a fully trained dog that I've ever come across anyway. Another method might exist, but I haven't seen it. I train police service dogs and Schutzhund dogs every day. Nobody's dog is more obedient than a Schutzhund dog, unless they train Schutzhund dogs themselves! The issue of giving advice on training, especially when it comes to working breeds and/or the issue of fear biting and/or dominant aggression are best left to people with years of experience handling such dogs to answer. But everybody's got an opinion on how to raise and train your dog/puppy. Most people who give you advice don't have fully trained dogs themselves though. Don't believe me? Throw a tennis ball, or a treat, and see if the person giving you advice on dog's own dog stops running for the ball/treat after they call the dog back to them...that should be pretty funny....Anyway, feel free to e-mail me with any questions on diet, or training for puppies/dogs.
