Our Newest addition!

She is a Pit Bull...we haven't decided on a name yet....


After her first bath!

Is this mine?!

take this thing off, it itches!



Any house breaking tips?
Here is my schedule as well as my husbands
so that you guys can help me devise a plan
to house break her!!
I work 5:30pm -2am on Monday, Wednesday,
Thrusday, Friday and saturday for this week next
week I will work 5-1:30am Tuesday, Wednesday,
Thursday, Friday and Saturday which will be my
permenant schedule...My husband works either
3pm-11pm(3days a week or more) 7am-4pm(rarely)
11am-8pm(1 or 2 days a week)...She is about 7wks
old maybe younger...we got her at the pet store...
Thanks in advance for all your help!! I love this site!

Aww... what a sweet face!

As for potty training I have a few key tips. Always go out after she's had food or a play session. Be sure to praise her LOTS for going potty outside. It's best to take them out frequently as they are small and can't go as long w/out going potty. I'd also suggest crating her when your both gone or not able to keep an eye on her. She'll be more likely to hold it if she's in a smaller space. Also, DO NOT use puppy pads unless you want to encourage her to potty in the house!

I also found a site that has some great tips and advice to potty training...
http://www.barkbytes.com/training/house.htm
(the only thing I don't agree with is "papering" a floor. Try to confine to a tile area if you can otherwise they may learn to pee on any paper.)

Oh she's cute!

Being a Pit Bull, you need to make sure that you start training her NOW. She needs to be the best behaved dog ever, so that people can see just how nice Pits can be.

As for housetraining....get a crate. I love crate training. My two are 3 & 4....we still use the crates & enjoy them.

She's adorable! Congrats!

She's adorable! I love pit's thier soo cute.

Congrats! Very cute.

Puppies have to go potty anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes after they eat. Because you will need to train her to do her business so you can go to work, take her out on a leash & back in immediately after she goes. This is not play time, this is do your business time. Other times, take her to theback yard for play when she off leash. Se will quickly learn.

At this age, she will need to be fed three times a day. My vet has us fill the bowl and let them eat freely for 15 minutes.

The rule of thumb is they have to go out every x hours (x being their age in months +1, so a three month old puppy need to go out after 4 hours).
Is there anyone around who could let her out around 8?

Do not start or allow behaviors that won't be cute in few grown dog - trust me on this. I have Old English Sheepdogs and Golden Retrievers.
My son rescued a 10 week old Blue Heeler (Australian Cattle Dog). Since nipping is a normal behavior for a cattle dog, we are working on "no biting." Everytimes she kisses one of us, we say "kisses" in a sweet/cute voice and praise her. Biting results in "no bite" in a mean sounding voice (no yelling) and turn your back on the behavior for several minutes (they have a short attention span). Eventually it will become "Kisses, no bite" in a normal voice - and it will work.
Absolutely, positively, do not ever use your hands in a teasing play. Nothing that would get the puppy worked up and lunging for hands/body parts, even in play. Hands should only be used to pat, groom, feed, etc. In throwing a ball, the focus is the ball.
Tug-of-war is not a good game for a dominent breed either. You are the pack leader and should never be in a position to lose, even if your choice.

As soon as possible, get her into a puppy class. And follow up with further obedience classes. Just like with any breed, a well-behaved dog is a welcome dog.
There are also lots of books on puppy training. Not every method works for every dog, so be prepared to switch if it doesn't work.

I do not have any potty training ideas but I could not resist saying how adorable that second picture is!

What a sweet puppy!

She looks young. How old is she?

Potty training and crate training are the same concept for puppies, use a crate and it will help her with training not to destroy your stuff and not to pee in house. I wouldn't expect much though at this stage, she is still a baby and just can't physically hold it. Don't leave her in a crate too long, she is still so very young. I would use the rule an hour for every month they are. So 1 month, don't crate longer than one hour. Two months, two hours.

Remember to take her out after a play session, after eating, after drinking, RIGHT after she wakes up (carry her to outside) and basically every 15-30 minutes. It will help if you keep a mental notes of how long she appears to be holding it and take her out frequently before those time intervals. Accidents are your fault- not hers. Don't punish her. Clean them up and go on. Keep an eagle eye on her while she is out and about, if not, she will learn she can use the bathroom in the house while you are not watching her. So if you are in a room, keep her in that room with you. Use baby gates if you have to.
When she goes outside, praise her a lot. Maybe even bring a good food reward. After she goes potty outside, play with her. Then make it fun. Reward her. This will help learning. Before she goes say something like hurry up, or go potty, then she will learn to potty when you say that. That makes it go quicker sometimes later in life and will come in handy.
Housebreaking should go quickly if you do these things and should be a distant memory in no time.

i second the crate training. I have a rottweiler, and it was a lifesaver!!! they learn to sleep though the night, and feel secure, and like in a "cave".

what i did with piper, you can adapt as needed:

I got a crate when he was 8 weeks old that he had enough room for 2 of him, so about a crate sized for a 20lb dog. put a blanket in it and a fave toy. let the dog know its a SAFE place, and a place to hide for them if need be.

Put the crate next to where you sleep. play hard with her before bed to tire her out ( whoever is sleeping each night) and take her out to do her business. then put her in the kennel with her blanket and toy ( no squeakies). then cover her crate with a drak blanket and tell her NIGHT NIGHT, and turn out the the light and go to bed.

A puppy can only hold its bladder for so long. a 7 week old can hold its bladder a matter of 1-3 hours, so be prepared to get up during the night. If the dog is scared or cries, put a ticking clock near the kennel with the pup, it mimic's the sound of mom's heartbeat.

BE PERSISTANT. the pup will fight you the first few nights, and you might want to give in. every time they cry and whine, bring them out, put them outside, and tell them POTTY. then after 5 minutes, bring them back in, put them in the kennel, and repeat bedtime process. eventually they do get it, and it becomes a good routine.

You can also use the kennel for the dog when you have to run to the store, or have to go out for a bit,just remember that pups cant hold bladders long, so dont leave her in to long.

for potty training, i found what worked best was to teach him to give a swipe to a bell tied to the doorknob at his level, then take him out to POTTY. i would tell piper " potty" and use his paw to hit the bell, then we would go outside, and i would tell him POTTY. i praised him when he went, either #1 or #2, with treats and pets. in no time he would swipe the bell on his own, and i would take him out, and he knew thats time to go. Also, taking them out right after food in the same fashion works well too, cause they usually have to go RIGHT after food.

as the pup grows, keep upgrading the kennel, eventually you will have gone though 2 kennels, and will use a 3rd as the last and forever kennel ( can always sell off the ones you outgrow). Piper is now 4 years old, no accidents in the house since he was 11 weeks old, and i can kennel him for up to 16 hours at a time. you want to make sure the dog has ample room in the kennel when adult, but when a pup, just enough room to turn around, so the dont have room to pee. a dog will NOT pee in his bed(kennel)so if he only has room to sleep, he will cry and whine rather the pee in his "bed", so thats your signal to bring them out. Also, important to remember is to limit their water intake before bed, to lessen the need to go out.

sorry this was so long!,lol if you have any Q's, feel free to email or pm. I have breed rottweiler and huskys, so i have a bit of knowledge to share

Originally Posted by Liza24

i


as the pup grows, keep upgrading the kennel, eventually you will have gone though 2 kennels, and will use a 3rd as the last and forever kennel ( can always sell off the ones you outgrow). Piper is now 4 years old, no accidents in the house since he was 11 weeks old, and i can kennel him for up to 16 hours at a time.

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Or you can just buy a crate that grows with the dog (has a divider).

Liza, are you serious? Do you really keep your dog in a crate for up to 16 hours at a time they need to release their bladder for their health reasons and need some mental stimulation and interaction for mental health. Please rethink the 16 hours of sitting in a crate, the crate is meant to be a safe place for short periods of time, or in some cases a training tool to use for short amounts of time.
If you can't watch your dog, try doggie daycare or having a pet sitter come in for lunchtime. That is so upsetting to me to hear a dog having to be kept in a crate for 16 hours straight! Maybe I am reading something the wrong way

I would never crate for more than 6 hours. I come home at lunch so they can get out if they are still in the crate training stage, but most graduate that stage at 2 or around there & get to roam the house.

She's adorable!! Congrats.

i said he can be. i only did that once, because i went about a hour out of town, then ended up in a traffic jam. none of my relatives that lived around me can handle Piper, cause hes a strong puller. usually he has free run of the house, but if a m going to be gone longer then 3 hours, i kennel him. the most usually is 8 hours ( when im at work), and thats normal for a dog over 110 lbs, i talked to the vet, and he said it wont hurt him. its a HUGE kennel, he has room to run around, play and snuggle with his blankie, so no harm . the SO usually comes home after hes been kenneled 4 hours for his lunch, so hes never really kenneled longer then 5 hours.

Originally Posted by Liza24

the SO usually comes home after hes been kenneled 4 hours for his lunch, so hes never really kenneled longer then 5 hours.

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I was so worried, but that sounds a lot better. You have any pictures of the big guy? I love the big dogs

Well everyones gave great advice

But anywho She is just soooo adorable, what a cutie pie

First off the puppy is adorable.

Basically you should make everything a habit now that you want in her as an adult. Some things will need to be changed because she is still a puppy but make sure she has tons of limitations and as she gains your trust then allow her to grow into some of those boundaries, but always keep certain boundaries to yourself because you want to be the pack leader.

A crate is a must because it satisfies the dogs natural tendency. Dogs in the wild live in dens and this is usually the dogs safe haven, where it can go and know that nothing is going to happen to it, which is what the crate would do. Also a crate keeps dogs out of trouble while someone isn't home.
Two of my dogs don't like there crates but the other one doesnt like to leave it so it depends on the dog.

I would start training immediately. Shes a puppy and her mind will absorb information like a sponge. She should have short sessions a few times a day at home and training classes as well. I don't know how old she is but she may not be old enough to attend classes yet and I'm not even sure theres a limit on puppies away from their mothers. This plays into the boundaries. She shouldn't be allowed to nip or play too rough and I would be extra carful since she is a breed with a bad reputation.

Many people have also mentioned saying the word potty and my dogs all know it. They all get excited when someone says potty so they know what it means. It should only take a week or so for her to pick that up too. Maybe two weeks but not much longer than that.

Anyway, good luck with the new addition and I hope my advice helps.

she is doing pretty good, we are crate training the past few nights have been a little rough she wakes up about every 3-4 hours the vet guessed her age at 7wks...shes had a rough first week at home though see my other post for pictures on that...its been sad She is doing well though, shes had about 10 accidents in the house so far but for the most part she does very well...Thanks so much for all the wonderful advice!!

Can't really add much because lots of sound advice here. I have an 11 month old Lab and I brought him home when he was 7 weeks.

Great coloring and she is a real cutie pie! I bet you'll be great parents to her. Sadly, Pits get a bad rap because so many who have them, well we all know the story. They did a story on Pits here in Memphis about 2 months ago. They had a picture of a 9 month old female who had been used as bait. They were having to put her down. And to top it off no one cared enough to give her a name. So I named her Peanut. I will always remember her. Maybe that sounds strange, but I just thought what would I have named her if she were mine?

There was a lady on my training class who had a Pit and he was the kindest, gentlest dog. Proper training and socialization and they are just as loyal and lovable a dog and any breed.