just realized i posted in wrong place, so posting again:

Hi everyone! I’m new here. Been reading for about a month, trying to read/learn and now have finally decided to post and get started! MY name is Daniela, I’m 27 and have a husband, 2 kids ( 4/6) and a beautiful red nose pitbull… ( BELLA)
I had a doberman growing up, she died when I was about 16, ( my mom was walking her, or actually she was walking my mom) and ran in front of a car. She died, and my mother almost got hit by the car also but got lucky..
To be honest, I know nothing about training a dog(except what I have read on here this past month), I have never really liked dogs… UNTIL my husband found a chow chow puppy in december. .I fell on love with him right away. After about 2 weeks, lots of research and many discussions with my husband we decided that a Chow Chow was not a good idea for our family.. we gave him away and I immediately purchased Bella the same day. She was 8 weeks. She will be 5 months on March 8th

She is a great dog. Very friendly, and has learned to behave around my kids ( no jumping or nipping)
She adores my husband and behaves with him also… they play a bit rough some time where she plays tug with him and barks and growls but as soon as he says, stop ( game over) she stops and starts licking him. She follows him all around the house when he is home ( always on leash)

I am another story.. she jumps and bites me all day long. I do short training sessions with her everyday.. she know come, sit, down and go to your place( to go in her crate) but only when I have food in my hands.. She is not being aggressive when she jumps or nips me.. just playing.. but it is rather annoying…

Here are my questions..
1. I assume she thinks my husband is the pack leader ( even though I am the one that feeds, walks, train and play..
Is this ok that HE is the pack leader? Or do I have to make myself the pack leader? Since I am with her all the time ( I KNOW THAT I HAVE TO STOP THE NIPPING AND JUMPING ON ME)

2. She was crate trained as soon as we got her ( in a VERY small crate) but since she hasn’t had an accident at all in a month and stands by door or barks from crate wen she wants to be let out we purchased an extra large crate with a divider… is it recomendable that she has such a large space? Or should we still add the divider for any other reason?

3. I am placing and order for the 8 weeks to 8 months video/ and basic obedience training.. can you recommend ( for her age) the other things that I should get, for example collar.. Prong collar, anything at all that would be usefull in training her would be great. I would like to purchase things that will last ( she is growing VERY fast)

4. Last thing.. we have a house, large back yard and we have doggy proofed it ( don’t want our pitbull roaming the neighborhood), should I still have her tied up when shes out back, or can she roam free?

thanks for all your help and i look foward to any advice you can give me! Bella has brought me such joy I want to give her the best..

thanks for reading/ sorry so long/ wanted to give the whole story!

Dani

Delete duplicate

Edited by Connie Sutherland (03/01/2011 09:51 AM)
Edit reason: delete duplicate

I think you are right with the pack leader.
A dog choses his leader the way the 'leader' behaves. It looks like that your dog made his choice. I don't know if you can convience the dog to change his mind. But in my case it worked fine with me beeing the leader. My wife had no problem to handle the dog when I was at work. But if I was at home the dog did mind me more than her. If we took a walk with him and we tried to walk seperate ways the dog always followed me. That's just the way it was.
Right now I'm in the same positon like you with crate training. My dog also stood at the door and this was sign for me that he knows where to go potty. I took out the divider and I did not have an accident yet. It's been about 3 weeks now. My puppy is 14 weeks old.
I would wait ordering a prong. You may not need one. You can start with a flat collar and if you need one down the road you always can get one. You can buy toys and tugs for example.
About your backyard. You need to try this out. I've had mine digging, barking, eating flowers etc. Sometimes they just lay on the porch and want to come in again. I think it's better if you can be there out with him.
JMO

Good morning Dani and welcome to the forum.

Normally, I recommend folks do all the research and have all those discussions PRIOR to purchasing a pup and having to give it away... I mention this only for any other new folks who might be reading and learning. So much easier on all involved to not have to give a puppy away.

All humans in your family need to be the pack leaders; it is not husband #1, wife #2, children #3 - it is HUMANS #1 and dogs below that. If there are multiple dogs in a family; all dogs are below humans but equal in rank to each other so that there is no issues between the dogs. So - YES you have to the pack leader, but so does your husband and children and YES this can be changed. You don't let the dog decide who is the leader - you set up the pack structure.

If the dog is on a leash all the time in the house, she shouldn't be able to jump on you. Step on the leash and she won't be able to jump. I'm going to recommend you do some reading on Marker training; it sounds like you are using positive reinforcement/treats and by concentrating on that and PREVENTING her from jumping, you'll be able to get control. (Everything we're talking about here in regard to changes you can make will all work toward helping stop this behavior).

The dog should NOT be chained outside, even behind a fence; this leaves her VERY vulnerable if other dogs manage to get in the yard. Neither should she be just hanging outside all by herself. This is a great way for you to begin establishing yourself as her leader. Take her out in the morning for some structured exercise/play/training and then put her back in her crate with a kong or appropriate chew toy, or teather her to you while in the house. You should still incorporate short training sessions throughout the day, but structuring her exercise and playing with you will really be helpful. If you are in charge of her exercise/play and are in control of her in the house, she will start looking at you as the boss and not a playmate. (She is going to need exercise a few times a day at this age.)

Use the larger crate at this point. "Hasn't had an accident in a month" - do you mean in her crate or in the house? It should not be the dog barking in her crate to let you know she needs to go out - you should have a schedule (approximately) on which she goes outside... first thing in the AM, after play, after eating, after napping, etc... You will "learn" her normal schedule, but in the mean time it is ideal to set her up for success by not providing any opportunity for her to fail. Any potty accidents are "trainer errors" not dog errors...

I also suggest "Establishing Pack Structure for the Family Dog" and the Marker Training DVDs.

Prong collars have their place and she might be getting old enough for one, but I hesitate recommending one at this time... I think you can accomplish so much with structuring some exercise with this gal; playing with balls out back and fast, "working" walks with her to tire her out. IF she is lunging, pulling, etc... the prong can be a big help, but I just don't want you relying on that instead of doing the work to establish yourself as her leader - does that make sense?

Can't wait to see a picture of Bella - she sounds like a wonderful, perfectly normal five month old pup. Again, welcome to the forum.

All humans in your family need to be the pack leaders; it is not husband #1, wife #2, children #3 - it is HUMANS #1 and dogs below that. If there are multiple dogs in a family; all dogs are below humans but equal in rank to each other so that there is no issues between the dogs. So - YES you have to the pack leader, but so does your husband and children and YES this can be changed. You don't let the dog decide who is the leader - you set up the pack structure.

Barbara, I'm not sure if kids (4/6)can be pack leaders. You cannot expect that a dog respects children as leader. I know what you mean. But it could be misunderstood.

Welcome to the forum Dani, best of luck with your girl! I agree with Barbara you shouldn't really chain your dog up outside accidents can happen, if you would like her to spend some time outside alone build a proper secure dog run which she can't get out of that way she stays safe as well as the rest of your backyard!

 Quote: Roland Kaschuba

Barbara, I'm not sure if kids (4/6)can be pack leaders. You cannot expect that a dog respects children as leader. I know what you mean. But it could be misunderstood.

I disagree Roland.

It is up to the parents to oversee/train this, but yes, dogs can learn from day one that even an infant is higher than are they in the food chain.

Does this mean that the children are walking / training the dog -no. Does this mean the six year old (with mom or dad RIGHT there) can have the dog sit calmly for her food dish before she sets the food bowl down (in the crate) and releases the dog - yep.

The opposite of this is having a 60 pound pit bull (or ANY dog) who thinks they are the pack leader of a 4 and 6 year old.

Which situation makes more sense?

Any person of any age with the right attitude and behaviors can be a pack leader. Children MUST BE SUPERVISED at ALL times - but they can be pack leaders. JMHO.

Barbara
I know that was what you tried to say.
Now it's clearer to understand your point with children.

 Quote: roland kaschuba

Barbara, I'm not sure if kids (4/6)can be pack leaders. You cannot expect that a dog respects children as leader. I know what you mean. But it could be misunderstood.

My brother needs to get video of his 3 year old daughter saying "NO!" to their big male bulldog. She has astonishing leadership and timing skills. It would change your mind, for sure.

Tracy

Its been suggested to me a few times that the female dog/female owner relationship can be a little harder to settle. I personally have seen this to me true. My dog is a mushball with men, and very cool towards most women.

It doesn't mean that it has to be an obstacle to overcome. It just means you will work a little harder.

Pack structure and NILF are good ways to do it. Its all very subtle to us, but these things are huge to a dog.

And of course, making sure that you aren't unintentionaly reinforcing bad behaivior goes a long way. A lot of women tend to coo to dogs, like we do to babies. Make sure that you never give any sort of intention when she jumps on you or is even remotely excited in your presence. You will learn to read her over time, and you will learn what her threshhold is for excitability.

Its so simple, but its harder to pull off than you think!