How To Train A Pitbull Puppy?

Pitbull is a type of breed who is reliable, smart and athletic. But inadequate training can be led to aggressiveness, anti-social and fighting with other animals which will make hard for you to handle the pitbull.

Though Pitbulls get a bad rap, they can be very friendly, social and loving if they are appropriately trained and breed. So it is essential to teach them at the right time in the right ways.

Due to their high energy level and strength, this is not a breed for everyone. But if you decide to have one, then you need to train it properly. Below some tips and ways are given that will help you to educate your pitbull puppy correctly.

How To Train Your Pit Bull Puppy With Basic Manners

Pitbulls are athletic, smart but lack of training can make them aggressive and introvert. Like other dogs, pit bulls need to be introduced with some basic commands that can be very useful during various circumstances. Some of the basic commands are:

Sit

This is the first command that you should make your pit bull to obey and the easiest one. For making your pitbull sit you need to take your training treats and offer to the dog over the top of his head while saying ‘SIT.'

You need to practice this for a couple of times so that your pitbull gets used to it and follows your command.

Come

This is one of the most important commands your pit bull should know. You need to start teaching this command from a quiet area of your house such as the balcony.

Tell someone to hold your puppy. Taking a treat with your hand lure the puppy and calling your puppy's name walk backward toward the opposite end of the balcony. When your puppy desires to come to you, tell the person to let him go.

Praise or give a treat to your puppy as soon as he arrives. Make the exercise more challenging for the puppy increasing the distance and doing the training in a distracting area rather than a quiet place.

Stay

This needs more time to teach the young ones as this move requires you to give a lot more attention to the puppies than usual.

Stepping forward at first you have to place yourself in front of the dog, show the dog your open palm and say the word "stay." Practice this several times. Later on, slowly increase the distance as well as the time of staying.

You need to practice this exercise more as this command tends to confuse the puppies at first.

Follow Me

The pit bulls or any other dogs need to have their focus on you, and for this, you need to teach them to watch you.

For this exercise, you need to hold the treat at eye level, and tell "watch me." When your puppy makes eye contact praise him and give him a gift to increase its confidence.

Importance of Early Socialization

If you are planning to have a pitbull or you already have a young one, then you need to keep socialization at the top of your to-do list.

If it is not possible for you, or it will take a lot of time to train your pitbull all by yourself, you will need the help of others. And for this, it is necessary to make your pitbull comfortable with others from a very early age.

You need to bring them in contact with people, with other animals, and dogs so that it doesn’t get aggressive in the later age and become hard to handle.

Training for Socialization

The first 16 weeks of a pit bull puppy's life is the best time for socialization, and that will determine what they learn about the world, the people of it as well as about the other animals.

The primary and the most crucial step of socialization is spending adequate time with the mother as well as the siblings. Mother can teach a lot about discipline and the siblings about dominance.
The second step is the breeder as he is the first one to come in contact with the puppy.
The third one is you, i.e., the owner. If you are going to have a puppy, then you should get familiar with him within the first 7-16 weeks.

At first, you need to make him comfortable in your house so that it can feel you’re family. Before jumping into socializing with other people or animals, at first teach him the basic commands discussed above and always try to praise your puppy.

Tell your friends and family too to praise them for bringing love in their mind rather than aggression.

When your puppy starts to become curious about different things, allow the dog to explore your house as well as others rather than restricting them. Introduce the dog to more people between the first 8-12 weeks so that it can be comfortable among crowds and also can learn that they are not a threat.

Between 10-16 weeks bring him in contact with other animals and dog. It is better to train this type of socialization in small parks or houses rather than in dog parks.

Take your puppies to trips frequently so that he can get used to cars, roads, and elevators. Try to make him experience a diverse environment as this will make him more flexible and adaptable in the future.

Bath and groom your pitbull during the socialization period so that it can get used to it. If the dog doesn't know about bathing, then it will not stay still later and could become a problem as it gets older.

Some Tips for The Owner

While training your pit bull, you need to take care of some stuff like:

You always need to be relaxed and can't lose your control. It might be frustrating that after a long day you come home and find the floor full of pee and poo with displaced and chewed up stuff. But you need to control your anger and don’t act aggressively towards the dog.
You need to start training him from day one, and it will be best if you begin while feeding him. Puppies go crazy whenever they see food. So holding the bowl of food tell him to sit and wait until he calms down can help. That's how he is going to learn and follow the commands.
Take your dog in a walk that will teach him to follow your lead. Also, make him walk on a leash as it is impossible for him to know automatically how to walk on a leash.
Play with your puppy and bring him some toys that will keep him cheer and will make him curious to learn different things.
Last but not least, always praise your puppies after learning new tricks or habits. That will help to build up their confidence and enthusiasm.

Conclusion

Off course it is not easy to train a pit bull, but it is not impossible. You just need to know the correct ways of commanding him and prepare him so he does not get aggressive and anti-social that can make it hard for you to handle him in the future.