Shrek;n10492 said:
@bigfelipe
I don't know what is exactly meant by that term. I've got her peeing on pads inside her crate if thats what you mean. And she's going outside to poop. Shes only pooped in the house once or twice the whole time.
Worse problem we've had that we're working on is nipping, especially to the face. She gets to playing and gets excited and almost can't help herself. She has the sharpest teeth of any puppy I've ever seen.
Been training dogs(pits in particular) my whole adult life. I have turned around a number of foster dogs. Here are few things I've figured out on top of the Alpha statements I made earlier in the thread...
A crate should be sized to the dog. There should be enough room for the dog to walk in standing, turn around, and lay down. That's it. If a dog can defecate in its crate, the crate's too big. It's against an dog's nature to shit where is sleeps. It's where the term comes from. If it does, it creates a mental state that makes it ok for the dog to continue to do so its entire life. A dog will naturally hold it as long as it possibly can given no option. This makes accidents the fault of the owner, not the dog. If the dog has to pee in the crate, it's not being taken out often enough. The rule of thumb is an hour per month of age for the 1st 6 months MAX. If the dog is less than 3 months old, it should be taken out every 2-3 hours. At about 6 months their system is more capable of going 6-8hrs. Every time your dog has an accident you set the house training time back tremendously. It's a lot of work. Of the last 3 dogs I've owned from under 12 weeks, not one has EVER had an accident in the house with the rare exception of being sick and not being able to help it. You should take your dog out far more often than it needs to be, and you should have a bathroom command that you instill in the dog. I use "hurry up". I say that now and my dog knows to go to the bathroom. You should not leave your dog outside its crate when you are gone until it's close to a year and then for short periods in limited areas building up to longer times and free run of the house. They need structure and gentle exposure to new things. Also, leave a radio or TV on in the room when no one is around. It is calming. They are pack animals and solitude can be stressful.
As to the nipping, pinch the nose and the upper jaw or lower jaw and under the chin when she does it and hold for a bit. She may squeal but you're not hurting her so ignore it. The point is she won't like it and will associate the consequence with the action. Again, consistence is key. Do it every time.
If she's a chewer, get good tough toys and get her excited about them through play. Only allow 2-3 toys tops though. Any more and everything is more easily associated as a toy and shoes and furniture and other things become fair game.
The biggest hing with basic command training is short intervals. Puppies tire quickly. They soak up information, but after about 10min of working on something, you're no longer gaining ground. Do short intervals several times a day as opposed to 30 mins on sitting. For leash stuff get a chain lease and let her drag it around and get used to it, so she doesn't get scared. You can attach a leader to the leash to help with come commands from farther distance. Puppies naturally follow their alpha though. So, if you have a good command(I use "with me") and make it fun the dog will stay close and off leash training can be easier and more rewarding in the long run than hardcore on-leash work that often causes dogs to rebel.
Socialize her as soon as you can and often as you can too. Ideally do it with well trained dogs...
That's a lot of info to absorb. Take what you will of it, but anyone who knows the dogs I've raised will tell you they are pretty bulletproof. Hope it helps. That's a fine looking dog you have there...
