[LandStander]

Hello everyone, last week we came across Zoe. She along with her 2 brothers were dropped off in my friend's grandma's neighborhood. We decided to keep her. The vet said she was probably around 10 weeks old.

I've been trying to train her to sit and to learn her name. I was wanting to know some good things we can do to play. I've never been responsible for a dog before, I was always either around my parent's dogs or other people's dogs so of course I would always just play tug of war with them. I've read a lot and I do not want to play tug of war with Zoe. Sometimes I'll run around inside or outside and have her chase me. I don't think this should result in any 'alpha dog' tendancies for her, am I correct that this is a good way to play?

I've been trying to play fetch with her a bit, most of the time she gets more distracted by my hand when I release the toy. She is very playful and very very persistant and stubborn. She does bite a lot when we play and I would love to just roll around with her and rough house but I don't want her to take on that alpha dog state and be aggressive later. I've tried what a friend of mine did with his dogs and that is just tapping her jaw a bit when she bites, he said she will get annoyed at that and stop. It worked for him but Zoe just thinks Im playing and will hop around wanting to play more.I've been reading these forums today and I think I will try a loud yelp sound when she bites and just walk away and ignore her. I will try this approach for a few days.

I give her a toy and she will play with it and chew on it but I just feel like I should be having some interaction with her since I'm at work all day and she is stuck playing by herself in her crate. I bought a little fence thing that I hooked to the crate so she can run around a bit. I was going to try taking her for a walk tomorrow morning. She has ran around with her leash and she bites it sometimes but I'll see how she takes to the walking. What are some other good playtime activities? Sry, I know this was a long one.

[Michele]

I've tried what a friend of mine did with his dogs and that is just tapping her jaw a bit when she bites, he said she will get annoyed at that and stop.

Also, if you are playing with her and she bites, stop playing immediately and give a stern "no". Then, give the toy back. Stop the bad behavior, and give a toy to re-inforce the good behavior.

Also, take her on a run or a long walk. This is a great way to bond and socialize the dog. Since this is your first pit bull, there's plenty of great information here to educate your self.

[PNWPBR]

First off, I for one do not believe that playing Tug with a dog makes them aggressive.

That being said, my first rule for tug is that YOU always win. YOU set the rules to the game, YOU introduce the toy, YOU decide when tug time is over and YOU put it away. Never allow her to tug it out of your hands, keep yourself in charge and tug can be a wonderful outlet for this breed. They LOVE it!

Try the "yelp" as sound adversion does work with a lot of dogs. If she accidentally or even on purpose comes in contact with your hand/skin make a big deal out of it. I always act like im astonished that they did it, act like im in pain and walk away from the dog/activity that we were doing.

If you find her chewing on something she shouldnt, trade her for something appropriate.

Remember a lot of training a dog is like working with children. Never just say No! to them... instead say No you cannot do (insert action here) BUT you can do (insert action here)


Hopefully this helps and kudos to you for asking questions!

[monkeys23]

Originally Posted by PNWPBR First off, I for one do not believe that playing Tug with a dog makes them aggressive. That being said, my first rule for tug is that YOU always win. YOU set the rules to the game, YOU introduce the toy, YOU decide when tug time is over and YOU put it away. Never allow her to tug it out of your hands, keep yourself in charge and tug can be a wonderful outlet for this breed. They LOVE it! Try the "yelp" as sound adversion does work with a lot of dogs. If she accidentally or even on purpose comes in contact with your hand/skin make a big deal out of it. I always act like im astonished that they did it, act like im in pain and walk away from the dog/activity that we were doing. If you find her chewing on something she shouldnt, trade her for something appropriate. Remember a lot of training a dog is like working with children. Never just say No! to them... instead say No you cannot do (insert action here) BUT you can do (insert action here) Hopefully this helps and kudos to you for asking questions!

I second that playing Tug can be really fun times. You can start teaching "Drop It" as a command in both Tug and Fetch, that way she knows she has to give it to you.

The "yelp" noise has worked really well for me with mouthy dogs. Lily apologizes by licking my chin every time.

Do some reading on NILIF if you're concerned about making sure you're the one in charge. Its a wonderful training method.
You could also start her on obedience commands and stuff, which would work her mind and help get her ready for obedience training and CGC (if you want to do that).

Are you doing a lot of socializing as well?
Try to take her places with you where she will meet people to get those good people skills and if you have the time/$ maybe do a puppy class so she can get some dog socialization.

[annji]

We play very rough with our dog. She enjoys it, plus it taught her how hard to bite during play. Our dog is very much orally fixated, meaning she puts everythign in her mouth. As she grew up and we socialized her more and more with the neighbors kids I could see how careful she was playing with them and if anyone says ouch or yelps she immediatly stops and gives kisses.

Another good point is for you to always win. Sometimes we do that by forcing her to be still during rough play. And sometimes we just say no and walk away.

We get our dog to release her toy by putting our finger in her ear. Not so far as to hurt her, just enough so it's not comfortable. You have to be really careful. Our dog is real stubborn too and she thought tapping her jaw was just another way to play.

Good luck wiht your pup. You'll find lots of good help here.