very naughty one year old pitt bull. is there any hope?

Question

my roommate has a 1 year old female pitt bull and she is BAD. doesn't listen, doesn't come when you call her, doesn't stop when you say NO, is not social and goes to the bathroom in the house. the only positive thing i can say about her is that shes not mean. however shes a large dog and very strong.

my roommate works a lot, and the dog has been living with my roommates parents. shes been living with us for a week now and i hate to say it but i've lost patience. she is very bad and you have to watch her like a baby, so as a result she spends a lot of time in her crate. i dont want to crate her, but after a while i dont know how to handle her. shes too strong for and misbehaved for me to walk.

she has never been to obedience school, and they claim that they are taking her soon. i know that will help, but is this problem correctable?
is it typial of the breed or could this all have been nipped at the bud as a puppy if they had paid more attention to her/worked with her

Answer 1

It is not typical of the breed, but is typical of having a neglectful owner. If her owner never put any time into training her, then of course she's not going to be obedient! Why would she? She's a dog, and if she hasn't been trained, she has no idea what "No", "COME!", or anything else means! If your roommate did not socialize her when she was a pup, that's why she isn't social now! If your roommate didn't put in the time to potty train her, that's why she thinks it is okay to go inside.

If they follow through and take her to obedience classes, yes, there is hope! This poor dog just needs some direction and leadership in her life. She needs someone to take the time to teach her what is acceptable and what is not! It could have been prevented if her owner had worked with her from the beginning! Also, I understand that she is too much for you to walk, but she really does need exercise. Boredom and pent up energy can cause LOADS of behavioral problems. Excessive barking, digging, chewing, and ripping things up are all problems that can probably be prevented with simple training and exercise. You need to remember that not only is she a dog, she is a pit bull, and they tend to have high energy levels! This dog needs to use up her energy! If she hasn't been walked ever, and doesn't have regular access to a yard to play in, that may very well be why she has so many problems! Try finding a way to exercise her! Consult a trainer so that you and your roommate can learn how to control her! Take her swimming somewhere! Play fetch! Learn how to control her on a walk! If you and your roommate work with her to teach her manners, and give her plenty of exercise, she could very well become a well-behaved, model citizen! It just takes time and lots of work!

There is definitely a chance for her! I wish you the best of luck!

Answer 2

Dogs are like children; they need to be trained and corrected in order for them to feel comfortable and happy. And if you don't do these things, they will run wild and do whatever they want. A Pitbull is a strong, active dog who needs a strong, commanding hand to guide her. Breeds such as the Doberman, the Rottweiler and the Pitbull need a firm hand and a commanding voice. And training needs to begin as soon as the dog comes into the home. This is true for any dog but it seems especially true for the more active and/or stubborn breeds. These problems are correctable. Any dog can be trained. It's a question of how long it will take. However, some things like socialization DO have a time-limit. If dogs are not properly socialized with people and other animals by a certain age, sometimes they never can be. This is one of the big problems faced by animal rescue leagues and shelters. Some animals, if not properly socialized with people, will never be able to be pets. If this dog is not socialized, then she may not be safe. And a Pitbull is a strong, stubborn dog. I would suggest they get her to a training school or some other such arrangement as soon as possible. Dogs who are not taught their place can become aggressive. I've known some very, very sweet Pitbulls but an aggressive Pitbull is just not something you want around you or anybody else. With a bite pressure of about 180 lbs. per square inch, that is not something to mess around with.

Answer 3

Well, honestly. at a year old, it will not be even close to easy. I want to ask why someone who works a lot would get a puppy, much less a pit pup, but I do understand. Pits are awesome awesome pets, but they are too strong to be left to their own devices in the training dept. Regardless, your roomie is in this now, so the key word here is STRUCTURE:
1-Start a routine. When she plays, take her out to pee. after she eats, wakes up, EVERYTHING she does. When she DOES go outside, PRAISE the heck out of her. No treat, just praise and lot of love.
2- When you or roomie come home, ignore her. Do not give her attention until YOU are ready. This teaches her you are the leader of the pack. That is key. You need to establish yourself as the leaders, and quick.
3-Walking: invest in a prong collar. they look scary indeed, but used properly (i.e, not to drag the dog around) they work well in the control department. She decides if she gets "pronged". It distruibutes the pressure on all sides, and is quite effective while not being inhumane.
The big thing is basically all spare time really needs to be spent working with her. The crate is probably the best thing I have heard in your story. They actually like it when it's not used simply for discipline purposes.
As far as her coming when called, when you are playing with her, or cuddling or whatever, use her name a LOT. make her associate positivity with you using her name. Play outside with her and do it as well. The exercise will help her blow off that extra steam.
The issue you have ahead is as she gets older, she will likely become less & less friendly toward other dogs and animals. If you can train her, this won't be as bad of an issue. If not, you run the risk of her being a serious liability.
I know this is convoluted, but there is so much to raising a puppy right.

Answer 4

This is typical of a dog who has had NO authority figure and has had no reason to behave. It has nothing to do with the breed other than now you have to work with a large, strong stubborn dog who has lived this way for a year and things that she's got the better answer and that she's right. Obedience school will help, but you and your roommate need to get on a system and do it pronto. Even if she doesn't go to classes, she needs structure, she needs rules and she needs time to get her energy out. If you say she can't be easily walked by you guys right now, she needs to go to a fenced area (ideally w/out other dogs if she doesn't listen well, not for their safety, but so that she's more likely to listen to you when you need her to and not be distracted by the other dogs) and play catch or chase, or soemthing to burn her energy. Yes it will be work, and yes it's like having a baby. If your roommate isn't willing to put in the work, either you need to take over ownership of the dog (you seem to have more concern about her than her real owner does right now), or you need to find her a home that's going to work with her. If she's never been mistreated, her likelihood of becoming truly aggressive is minimal, however if she thinks that she's the dominant/alpha in the family she's going to assert that dominance, and that will likely result in injury to those around her the longer it's left un-checked. And you are absolutely right, this could have all been taken care of had she been properly socialized and trained from day one.

Answer 5

There is always hope for a dog. But you are right that it will take time and training. Obedience classes are for people to learn how to train their dog (not for the dogs to learn how to be obedient). If the dog has a good temperament they're lucky. But yes, the dog could have been trained from a young pup to understand how to behave the way people want her to. It will take time for the dog to learn new behaviors and will be tougher for the dog cause it's had more time to practice the wrong behaviors. They will need to be patient with the dog. They screwed up, not the dog.

www.fearfuldogs.com

Answer 6

Yes there is hope, if you have the pup drag a leash and start stopping the behavior. You will have more control to grab it quickly. Then say No! everytime you catch her doing something. And don't forget to praise, Good Dog! then the dog responds, to praise, and discipline. It can be done, but everyone needs to pitch in, pitbull lovers hate when people do this with their pitbull, the dog needs someone to tell it how to act. all pitbulls suffer from neglegent owners. All dogs need a leader. Tell them, there is hope! Good Luck!

Answer 7

Oh please don't write this dog off. Terriers are historically stubborn, need a firm hand initially to train them to be good pets and all dogs, regardless of breed, need to be house trained. If it sounds like work, it is, and if the owners can't be bothered with house training and obedience training you'll end up with a dog like your room mates, totally out of control. Most unfortunate, especially since you're left to deal with the dog, who by the way isn't bad. Encourage these people to get her into obedience training and get her house trained. Good luck.

Answer 8

Yes there is hope. I have had a lot of pets over the years. Therefor, I have had a lot of experience with pets. Spray the dog with a water bottle when naughty. Give a treat when good. It is old fashioned and it works. Eventually, the dog will catch on. Give the dog a chance. He/She might be overwelmed with the moving from place to place.

Answer 9

My one year old pit is still a big baby sometimes, he is even trying to get on my lap right now even though he is too big. I have to show him the water bottle sometimes. He gets excited when visitors come over and I have to take out the spray bottle again to remind him to calm down and not jump on people. But he is generally well behaved. For example, he has been sitting on command since he was 10 weeks old. It is very easy, you simply don't put down a water or food bowl until the dog sits down. Then you say "sit". With repetition the dog will sit on command. My pit loves to go through the paces -- to practice his "tricks" such as sit, shake hands, and lie down, for tidbits but he will do these things on command as well.

It is not too late, in fact sometimes you have better results training a dog that is at least 7 or 8 months old because at that age their attention span is longer. A year-old dog is not too old to train.

All terriers are somewhat independent by nature (and also not very tolerant of other animals they don't perceive as belonging there). They were bred to be that way, to work independently for tasks such as killing vermin on farms. (Pit bulls are descendants of bulldogs that helped farmers with bulls.) They might not obey as perfectly as some breeds, but with a little effort they can be well behaved. Actually, terriers are all about PLAY. They have a lot of energy, they love and need interaction, and everything is a game.

Never play games that your pit can win, such as tug or "wrestling". If you have a yard, you can work the dog with a flirt pole.
http://www.cosmos-staffords.co.uk/Training/Flirt_Pole/flirt_pole.html
This will tire her out a bit, so she will be calmer when you take her for a walk. Use a training harness (about $10 at Walmart) or a Gentle Leader leash that goes on her head. She must have exercise, and be socialized as well and you can't do that in the house all day. But make sure she knows who is the boss. Demand that she sit down before you open the door to take her out. You may want to try walking in the early morning, or in the evening, when it's fairly dark so she won't see so many things that distract her.

Your friend shouldn't wait to start training. If she can't take the dog to obedience school, refer her to a good training book or website and start now. There are important concepts to remember when training a dog: Dogs already know how to sit down, lie down, come here and most everything else. You don't "teach" the dog -- you CONDITION it to behave or not behave certain ways at your command.

Here is one site with training and behavior tips
http://www.canismajor.com/dog/alltopic.html#Ttrain

Answer 10

ANY dog can be trained - She needs obedience training, the sooner the better!

It will teach your roommate how to work with the dog and give commands and teach the dog how to understand them.

ANY dog can learn if you work with it. Older dogs tend to learn faster because they have a longer attention span than a puppy.