i need help?

Question

i have 2 pit bulls and i need help trying to train them. im 6 and 1/2 mos pregnant and need my dogs to stop jumping all over people and on furniture so when the baby gets her i wont have to be worried about him getting hurt.please help

Answer 1

punish them when they jump on people,, say no very loudly,, and give them treats when they listen,,, it could be a new trick to them,,,,,,,good luck,, if it doesn't help, hire a trainer to train them

Answer 2

Can I ask a rather obvious question?

Why didn't you train them to behave before you were six and a half months pregnant?

I can tell you how to stop dogs jumping up on people - don't let them. When a dog jumps up on you, raise your knee sharply to meet the dog half-way. Really, really hard. Unless you are King Kong you won't damage your dog. You need to shock it and hopefully knock the wind out of it. I have been doing this one for years and I have never seen it take more than three kneeings for the dogs to stop such a dangerous habit. If they jump up on kids? You're sued. Everyone the dogs encounter has to do this - as hard as possible. Doing it gently just makes it a game, and they'll never stop.

The rest of it, well, no-one can teach you to handle dogs in two paragraphs. Either get them to a good obedience school now, or get rid of them.

Are they more important to you than your child? NO? Then re-home them or have them put to sleep. Between the safety of a child, and the life of a dog, that's a no-brainer.

I don't say this because they are pits, I say this because you clearly don't know what you are doing. Get rid of them. They are only dogs.

Good luck with your child.

Answer 3

I would suggest you get into an obedience class ASAP. Also, buy a real looking baby doll and start training them to stay away from it. Put it in all the places that you might have your baby when it comes. Teach them to stay off of blankets on the floor, even empty blankets. This will help them get used to not having as much attention too. It might be helpful to "practice" inturupting play with the dogs to care for the babydoll, since this will be a big change for them as well.

When training the dogs, try to use praise as a reward instead of treats because you will not always have treats on hand when you need them. It's ok to use treats sometimes, just don't use them all the time.

Obedience classes are well worth the price. You don't have much time to train them so trial and error with methods you might read about is out of the question. You want to be working directly with a professional.

Answer 4

Sorry to say but I would be more concerned with the possibility of these dogs mauling and killing my child. Who cares about the furniture.

Your dogs may know and accept you but they may see a baby as a stranger invading their territory.

All dogs are territorial and pits and rots are more aggressive that most. And many times with 2 or more they become easily agitated by actions of the other.

You hear many pros and cons about the temperament ot pit bulls. I would not want to gamble on opinions one way or the other, when it comes to the safety of a child.

My advice and I think most people will agree is to put your dogs up for adoption before you have this baby.

Congatulations and good luck.

Answer 5

My daughter has 2 pit bulls and the problem is that dogs run in packs and tend to influence each other. You need to start right now as far as jumping on people as that is what their dogs would do. When they jump up take hold of their front legs and push them backwards and say OFF! I have also heard that if you step on their back paws & say OFF they will get down. You have to be the Alpha Dog of this pack otherwise they will not listen to you and only each other. What you say GOES and they have to know you mean it....it is like teaching children good behavior, you have to be consistent and the boss.

Answer 6

Training dogs is usually not a particularly difficult task, but pit bulls are the exception. They are very stubborn, and tend to do what they please, even after extensive training.

I'm not sure that having two untrained pit bulls in a house with a new baby is a very good idea.

I would strongly recommend that you consider finding new homes for these dogs, and consider a gentler breed.

Answer 7

Get rid of the damn dogs. Bringing a baby into that house with potential killers, really stupid. Should I call Child Protective Services now or wait to when you are home from the hospital?

Answer 8

Honey you need to get rid of those dogs at once. They are a
threat to your unborn. Get a nice beagle or a lovable mutt.
Some type that won't attack your baby when it is born. There was one couple who had to bury their baby because their
friends 1year old pitbull stoled the baby in the middle of the
night and ran down the hall with the baby in it's mouth shaking that poor baby like a ragdoll.

Answer 9

Check the yellow pages for an obedience school. I'm not sure how else you'll get the dogs trained quickly enough.

Good luck!

Answer 10

If you weren't preggers, I would suggest taking your dogs to a class. But in this case I would recommend sending them to a doggie boot camp, or having a trainer come to your house and train them with you. This can be pricey, but is well worth it. Check out www.unclematty.com for some sources.

Answer 11

You need to teach them some basic commands, and each time one of them reacts positively, give a treat, and pat their head... Simple ones to begin with are *No, *Stay, *Sit, *Bad, *Good. I hate to mention it, but having a back-up squirt bottle, is also recommended, for those times you need them, to stop now.
With Love and Patience you will be successful.