How do you house train 4 month old pitbulls?
Sarah from Seattle, WA
By socal
I recently adopted an 8 week old Pitbull puppy. The first night in his crate, he cried, and made so much noise, he won the battle and ended up sleeping in my bed. Although this is not a habit I want him to learn. Once they are allowed to do something, you can't change your mind and not allow them to do it. The second night in the crate, he lasted 5 hours. The crate was next to my bed. He calmed down with a lot of calm talking to him. The third night in the crate, he lasted the whole night.
Give them a lot of patience, do not give in. Although they can get loud, put the crate where they can see you. During the day I am home, by the second day, he was walking in his crate freely, and napping. The door is left open during the day. I did put a handful of dog food or a small treat in the crate, along with a stuffed animal and old blanket. He now loves it. Be sure once the puppy wakes you, no matter what time it is, you take him out, praise him/her when taking them out of the crate and when eliminating. The crate should be used when not at home, as my puppy loves to chew, this includes wires. When you cannot supervise him/her, close the door to the crate. Soon, your puppy will be walking in on it's own. (03/23/2007)
By PROUD PIT OWNER
I had my Pit since she was 6 weeks old and a Pinscher mix I rescued when he was 9 weeks. I've crate trained them both and I brought them home on a Friday so that I would be able to take them out often and lose some sleep over crate training for the weekend. I brought them outside every hour and also did not let them have free range of the house, only the room that I was in and I had used baby gates to keep them in that room.
I fed them, and then took them out after 10-20 minutes, again you'll notice the signs and you'll find out approximately how long it takes before they need to go outside. Anytime they made a mistake in the house and I caught it, I would yell no very firmly, and bring them outside immediately, and once they finish their business outside I would praise them and give them treats (my Pit is very food oriented so she'll do anything for a treat). If they don't have anymore business to do outside, I would still take them outside that way they can associate going potty with outside.
After her she was finally housebroken, I would start to give her treats for going in her crate, I would tell her to "go to your room" and she would sit in her crate, and I would give her treat so she knew it was a good place to go to.
Once in awhile she peed in her crate, but I believe it to be my fault for letting her have water before she went in the crate or what not. It takes time, patience, consistency, and being extremely firm to train a Pit, but it is worth it because they are the sweetest dogs out there. (04/06/2008)
By Jen
TIP #1: Watch for the Potty Sign. Recognizing that puppy needs to potty is the first thing you should do. One of the easiest signs to spot is the sniffing. Excessive sniffing of the ground is one way to tell that your puppy is thinking about going potty on your nice rug or carpet. Pick the pup up and set it outside.
TIP #2: Be Prepared. Be prepared to clean up some accidents and don't freak out about it. One thing that always made me laugh was how people reacted when they're new puppy went in the house. They acted surprised, like it was a shocker the little thing used the bathroom. So be prepared to clean up some mistakes and remember, the little darling is just doing what comes natural it's your job to teach it were it's okay to go.
TIP #3: Take it Outside. When you notice the dog is thinking about going to the bathroom pick it up and take it outside. I would recommend taking it to the same spot every time. This way clean up is easier because you know it will be right there and not all over the yard. If an accident occurs be calm, carpet can be cleaned, simply pick up the dog place it outside in it's potty area and leave it there (you should be with it) for a few minutes.
TIP #4: Never Correct. This is one many of you may not agree with, but here me out. You don't have to yell at the dog, spank it, and for God's sake don't rub it's nose in the stuff. That's just down right rude. Calmly pick the dog up, set it outside, and proceed to clean up the mess. Bring the puppy back in the house and go on with your life.
TIP #5: Be Consistent. I know in this busy world it's hard to be there all the time to get the little darling outside to use the bathroom. Consistency is key here, the more times the dog is let out to use the bathroom when it needs to go the less time it will take to learn that's the right thing to do.
A few more extra tips: take the dog out 10-20 minutes after eating and drinking, before bed time, and right when you wake up in the morning and when you get home from work.
House training isn't that hard if you devote the time it takes to get it done right. Respect the puppy and be consistent. In as little as one week you can have a house trained dog.
Good Luck! (09/16/2008)
By Pitbulllover
One thing that I learned from a resource on training puppie's is if the pads don't work, then use cat litter. Yes cat litter. My 10 week old Staffordshire albino Pit Bull used the kitty litter before he went on the pads. I tried the pads first so I found out that the litter works better, it gives them that feeling of being in dirt. (01/15/2009)
By Don B
I have a 5 month old Pit who's doing great with his potty training. Don't get me wrong he has had an accident or two.
You have to keep on them and remind them at least every 20 minutes. But at night before bed, I take him out for a pee pee then first thing in the morning.
Remember they are just puppies.
Good luck. (02/16/2009)
By Marisa
Add your voice! Click below to comment. ThriftyFun is powered by your wisdom!
