Although pitbulls are consummate family dogs and quite gentle, it’s very important to begin obedience training early.
Your puppy needs to know its boundaries, and it needs to know that you’re in charge.
Follow these pitbull puppy training tips to help you make sure your new pooch learns its place in your family pack.
Pitbull Puppy Training Tips – Obedience is Paramount
Obedience training is important for any breed, but it’s especially important for pitbull puppies. It’s not because they’re dangerous. It’s because they are PERCEIVED to be dangerous. For a lot of horrendous reasons that I won’t go into here, pitbulls have gotten a bad rap, so the last thing you want is your fully grown pit racing towards a kid to say, “hi!”
Leash Training
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The first thing you need to do is leash train your puppy. Leash training is the first step on your obedience training journey. Leash training is the first and foremost lesson in my pitbull puppy training tips on obedience, because it’s the foundation for everything else. Leash training establishes your role as the alpha in your relationship.
Leash training is really quite easy. It’s just a matter of putting a leash on your puppy and having treats on hand. Put the leash on and begin walking. The second your puppy starts to follow, give it a treat. When you stop, give your puppy a treat as soon is stops. Get the idea into its head that it only travels when you travel. There are advanced forms of leash training like heel, but for now, just get the basics down, and you’ve got a good base.
Sit
Sit is another big one on my pitbull puppy training tips list. Sit is more than just a cute show command. When your dog knows sit and consistently follows it, it’s a great way to nip any sort of unwanted activity in the bud immediately.
To teach your dog to sit, begin by giving it the command. Of course, your puppy won’t understand it initially. Just keep saying it until it gets used to the sound. Then when you say sit, gently push your puppy’s bottom to the floor. As soon as that little puppy butt hits the floor, give your little pit a treat. After that, it’s just a matter of repeating the process until your puppy can recognize the command and respond on its own.
Stay
The last command that makes my pitbull puppy training tips list for obedience essentials is stay. Most people don’t realize this, but when you teach a dog to sit, it’s only correlating the act of touching its bottom to the floor with the sit command. If you want your puppy to stay where it is, you have to teach it how.
To teach stay, have your dog sit. Immediately give the stay command. If your dog doesn’t move – even if it’s only for a second – give it a treat. Do this until your puppy has made the connection between its hind end staying put and getting a treat. After that, begin giving the command and moving away from your pet. Back up a foot. If your puppy doesn’t move, give it a treat. Start the whole process over after that, moving progressively further away until your puppy reliably sits and stays on command. After that, you can begin advanced stay training of teaching it to stay, say, when its favorite toy is in the room.
When it comes to obedience training, consistency is key. Your training, demeanor, and reward system must stay the same at all times. Part of training is allowing your puppy to anticipate what it gets if it does a good job. If you follow these pitbull puppy training tips for obedience, you’ll have a strong foundation to build on.
Do you have experience in pitbull puppy training? What would you add to these recommendations?
