How can I become the pack leader of 2 pit bulls?

Question

I have 2 boy pits, and I just found out that one of them is the pack leader because of his aggressiveness towards his brother. They're 6.5 months old now, and I know it will be harder for me to establish rules. One of my pits sent my other dog to the hospital only 2 days ago because they got in a fight. I have been so ignorant about how to train a strong breed like apbt's are, and having two of the same sex is even worse!....I just need to know how I can become the pack leader, and let the dog know that I'm the one that rules

Answer 1

Ok, here's the deal: You are lucky enough to like the best (the only!) breed of dog out there, but you didn't know what you were getting into...pits have their very own special set of rules. Rule #1: NEVER leave a pit with another animal unsupervised....you've learned this one the hard way. You have to be able to physically control your pittie too....it does no good to have a dog on a lead if you can't hold him/her, lol. Being a 1st time pit owner (I'm assuming), you need to find a new home for one of them. I know it's like asking you to give up one of your children, but I don't think you're ready to handle them both right now. It takes such an strong personality to dominate two male pits (I really hope they're neutered!!!!!!!!!) that most owners that CAN, do it without realizing it. The biggest no-no I see here is that you have two pitties, and you keep them together....this rarely ever works out, and you cannot leave them alone together. "Never trust a pit-bull not to fight"....NEVER. My Tater (1 1/2 yr old female, seal coat, apple of my eye, lol) has never shown any real aggression towards other dogs I've socialized her with, but she does show VERY dominant behaviors. She was spayed before her 1st heat, but when any other animal is around, she becomes very dominant and excited. I love Tater, but I keep a break-stick by the door that goes into the back yard, because no matter how many times she doesn't fight, and no matter how many times I tell her "Tater OFF" and she heels-up to me and calms down, I will NEVER trust her not to fight another animal. Littermates will fight too, don't think they won't. Pits can even go for 2 years or more being fine with other animals, and one day you come home to a dead dog, b/c they fought. I think you'd have a more benefitial experience if you trimmed your pack down to you and one pup...it would help you really get a good handle on the pittie you kept. Nobody says you can't have visits!!!

Answer 2

Yes! Leerburg.com! I'll tell you from personal experience, the owner of Leeburg REALLY knows what he's talking about, and he isn't no BS dog trainer. I adopted a Malinois a few months ago(similar to German Shepherds), and it was completely out of control. It would not listen, and it did not give a damn. My family even asked me to take him back, because he was way too much to handle. A week after bringing him home, I quickly got fed up of this behavior, and I started reading info on Leerburg.com. I bought some of his training DVDs, and within a week, he was already showing tremendous progress. My family were amazed at the changes, and they didn't even know I had purchased training DVDs. I'm his Pack Leader now, apart from another pair of dogs that I have. I got to the point where he now listens with a simple ,"No". He walks nicely on the leash now, and he doesn't go beserk at the sight of another cat/dog. He waits for me to go through doors/gates first. No dog fights within the dog pack that I own. Dogs don't fight in the presence of a Pack Leader. He's become so obedient. People have seen me working with him out on the lawn, and I've even had a few ask if I can help them train their dog. The key is to be consistent, along with some good dog training information.

Answer 3

Read Cesar Millan's book, Cesar's Way. It really explains how to be a pack leader and how to understand your dogs behaviors in a very easy and simple to understand way. And it's a good read overall, not boring!

I have a male pit, and honostly, they are the sweetest dogs you will meet. They are not born aggressive nor are they born fighters.

Get them neutered, then master the "walk" . Remeber that dogs are pack animals, and in a natural dog pack, the pack leader leads the way, the others follow. Make sure you are walking your dogs at least an hour a day, and that when you are on walks, they are walking next to you, or behind you.

Answer 4

This will be a toughy, but not impossible. They're still at an age where bad habits can be corrected. First off, start off with the simple stuff. Get them neutered. They're at the perfect age to have the surgery. Recovering from surgery is also easiest at this age. They're main reason's for fighting is testosterone. Who is gonna be the "Alpha"?. Be sure that you and ONLY you (or your partner), feed the dogs and give treats. Make them work for their treats. Practice your sit, shake paw, lay down, commands often throughout the day. This will help you to establish that the "Alpha" of the house is you. They still need to decide who will be alpha of each other. Having them neutered, and simple things like making sure that they have their own food and water dishes, their own toys, etc. will make this issue between them less violent. Do their commands together (as in dog side by side) but do the command and give treat, one dog at a time, making the other wait. That will show them that as "alpha" of the house, you think of them as equal, a team. That will prevent other behavioral issues stemming from jealousy. Also look up a good doggie school to learn more, to socialize them with other dogs, learn how to behave with other dogs, and self control. Hope I helped a little. Good luck :)

Answer 5

The question by itself sounds a bit like it should be in the jokes section! lol. Now seriously, I think you must establish leadership now, because they seem a bit aggressive too! You need to find a professional trainer, who will watch their behaviour. What I can tell you is:
1. neuter them now.
2. Don't let theem walk in front of you or get out the doors before you. The must always be on your side or slightly behind.
3. Make sure to get them used to accepting that you pet areas they don't like because of dominance issues, like on top of their buttocks and their paws.
4. There's more, but I don't know, so ask the trainer, but make sure whatever you do don't use any violence or choking them, that will make them worse. A choking collar may be used by the trainer, but only in order to momentarily pull it sideways, not pulling them enough to choke! If you see the trainer hanging them from the collar and so on he is bad news.
5. And don't let them mark their territory when you walk them. .After they've peed a couple of times, their bladder is OK, so they just pee for marking. Don't let them, say NO and let them pee where you choose to stop.It's the pack leader who marks! (I am not suggesting you should pee around, but that would be ideal in doggy terms, hehe).

Answer 6

You should visit the Leerburg website. Lots of advice on the site and forum and you can also contact the owner of the kennel for more help. He raises, trains, and works top working line German Shepherd dogs. He is VERY blunt but he knows his stuff when it comes to dominant dogs. Be sure to tell him EVERYTHING that is going on for the best advice. You are right that it will be hard work. You need to decide now if you really can control this dog. If you cannot, you need to think about rehoming him with someone who can, preferably someone with no other dogs. Strong, dominant dogs with meek owners are a recipe for disaster. I really am not trying to be mean to you but this is something you really need to think about. Dominant dogs are not for everyone and that may be something you will have to accept about yourself. Good luck and I sincerely hope things work out.

Oh, if they aren't neutered, I'd highly recommend it. At least the more dominant one as having less hormones can make him easier to control. It will not stop him from being dominant or correct his bad behavior but it may make him less confrontational.

Answer 7

You need to be the Alpha Dog.

You might have to do this each time you see the two dogs.
Take the agressive dog and stare him down. Hold him so he is looking at you. You HAVE to stare him down. He has to be the one to break the eye contact.

Give just one word commands. That is about how much a dog hears.
Get yourself a spray bottle and put water in it. When the dogs don't obey you, they get squirted in the face. They will learn fast. You can also use loud noises. If a dog hears a loud noise that scares him each time he goes behind the couch.....he will stop going behind the couch.

You might have to seperate them when you are away if they are fighthning. If you can......get a big pan and hit it with a wodden spoon and they will hate the noise and think twice before fighting again.
Be consistant in your rules or they will take advantage of you

Answer 8

Here is an excellent FREE e-book> http://leerburg.com/groundwork.htm
THE GROUND WORK”
TO ESTABLISHING PACK STRUCTURE
With ADULT DOGS
The First Steps to Becoming a Pack Leader !
Becoming a pack leader involves adopting the attitude of a pack leader. It does not involve aggression towards a dog, it doesn’t involve rolling him on his back, hard leash corrections or even raising your voice to the dog. It involves adopting a leader's attitude. This is something that new dog owners must learn how to do.

Every dog knows a leader when he is in the presence of one. They can sense a leader. They don’t need leash corrections to consider their owner a pack leader. In fact inappropriate corrections often result in a dog looking at the offender with contempt rather than respect.

There is an old saying; “Dogs know what you know and they know what you don’t know” This article is going to explain how I show my dog “what I know.” It is also going to explain how I establish responsibility and limits to the relationship I build with my dogs.

FREE 45 page E-Book of this article By Ed Frawley.

Answer 9

I recommend that you buy and read Cesar Milan's book. He specializes in this and you could learn a lot on how to become the pack leader before you get hurt.

Answer 10

First things first, get them both neautered, this will help with dog on dog aggression. Secondly, there will always be one dog that is more dominant than the other, this is the dog you must show affection to, while pretty much ignoring the other one. It sounds cruel, but in a natural pack, there is a heirarchy, and dogs understand that. Trying to give them the same amount of affection will only cause more problems, because your dominant boy will punish the other one for trying, at least in his eyes, to cut in front of the queue. Your male doesn't view himself as the pack leader, just dominant over your other boy.

Pit bulls are naturally human friendly and animal aggressive, so I don't think you will have as much problems maintaining dominance as you might think. Dogs should never go through doors in front of you, as you are the 'pack leader', they must wait, dogs should never eat before you - also why you shouldn't give them treats while you are eating. As these are dominant type dogs, don't play aggressive games with them, like tug of war, rather stick to walks, fetch, and particularly obedience training. Nothing bonds dogs to owners like training. Also, don't give in to a dog that comes and begs for affection constantly, only give affection on your terms. This should eventually be you calling the dog, saying sit, and then praising. Just remember to always greet the dominant male first, so that his ego remains in tact!

Good luck, and remember, the key to a happy dog is to treat it like a dog, not a person.