How to Train a Pit Bull Puppy Basic Commands
Introduction
You might be surprised how early you can begin training your Pit Bull puppy basic commands. In fact, as early as 10 weeks old, you can start adding some fun, reward-based training sessions to your puppy’s routine.
Of course, very young puppies have short attention spans. You will only have about 10 minutes before she is bored or distracted. So, we have chosen three basic commands that you can work on in short bursts throughout the day. As your puppy gets older, you will be able to train more complex behaviors in longer training sessions.
In addition to learning new behaviors, working with your puppy from a young age will help her to get used to learning and come to look forward to your training sessions – after all – they are such a fun and rewarding experience!
This guide includes three basic commands: 'sit', 'stay', and 'drop it'. We will also offer you some simple principles to make sure your training is successful regardless of what behaviors you want to teach your Pit Bull puppy.
Defining Tasks
It is important to think of training time as a fun game you play with your Pit Bull puppy. Consider it a game that you are going to try to set up so that she wins – as often as possible. That is, it is your job to make sure that you are setting the bar low enough that she can do the behavior and get the reward.
Any final behavior can be broken down into tiny steps, or some behavior in the direction of what you are looking to perfect. For example, you may want your 'sit' to include your dog sitting until released, however, in the beginning, you will take even a second of that butt hitting the ground before rewarding. Over time, you will slowly raise the bar until she will sit for as long as you like before being released.
The secret to great dog training is knowing when to move that bar – what will count as “good enough” for a reward is going to be a moving goal post. It is your job to move it at a pace that your Pit Bull puppy can handle.
In addition, just ignore failure during a training session. If you use corrections during training it is likely to give her a bad taste about training, which will not be in your best interests long term.
Getting Started
A clicker is an inexpensive piece of equipment that does nothing more than make a sharp clicking sound when you squeeze the button. Professional trainers love this simple tool because it is very powerful. It allows you to “mark” a desired behavior the instant it is happening, buying you a few seconds to actually get the reward to the dog.
However, you do not really need a clicker to use this technique. Instead, you can make your own sound or use a unique word while training as your “marker.” The trick is to ALWAYS follow that sound up with a food reward. If you make a mistake and mark the wrong behavior, it still needs to be followed by a reward.
If you are not using a clicker, then just use whatever you have decided for your “marker” when the instructions say to click/reward.
Use small bits of soft treats or other tasty food rewards when training your Pit Bull puppy basic commands. However, since this breed tends to be extremely food motivated, you can also use some of their regular kibble rations for training sessions. Mixing that with some more interesting foods like little bits of cooked chicken is another great idea.
The Drop It! Method
The Stay Method
The Sit Method
Written by Sharon Elber
Published: 03/14/2018, edited: 01/08/2021
More articles by Sharon Elber
Success Stories and Training Questions
Training Questions and Answers
Costa
How can i teach him to stop biting and sit commands
I have bonus food (reward food) but i can’t control him just by talking i always have to sit him down or push his mouth calmly when he bite my fingers and don’t leave it
819 Dog owners recommended
Hello Adam, The puppy biting is completely normal and it will take him time to learn something different so try not to be too discouraged if it takes a little while. Check out the article linked below to help him learn. I suggest using the Bite Inhibition method right now while also teaching the "Leave It" method. It will take him time to learn Leave It but that is ultimately the method you want, so use the Bite Inhibition method until he learns Leave It well enough to use that method. Both can be found in the article below: Puppy Biting article: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-shih-tzu-puppy-to-not-bite For Sit, he is also very young, so any amount of improvement is a big deal for him at this age. Check out the "Food Lure Method" from the article linked below to teach Sit: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-your-puppy-to-sit Luring him into the sit usually helps a pup learn faster - so that he is moving on his own, but if you feel stumped you can also try one of the other two methods from the sit article linked above. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden
Was this experience helpful?
How to get rid of fleas
819 Dog owners recommended
Hello Tayvious, I am not a vet. I highly suggest contacting your vet with this question - especially for a puppy so young. Fleas can be more dangerous if the infestation is severe with a young puppy. There are several products like shampoos, capstar pills, preventative medicines that will also deal with current infestations like advantix, as well as home treatment options if you have a household infestation now too. You will need something or a combination of things that kills fleas in all their life stages - adult, pupae, larvae, and egg on both puppy and in your home. Sometimes the home needs to be treated a couple of times, with a couple of weeks between treatments to ensure fleas have been killed in all their life stages - especially with carpeting. Be sure to vacuum well between home treatments to gather eggs. You need to consult your vet to see what is safe to use on a puppy their age. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden
Add a comment to Layla's experience
Was this experience helpful?
my challenge is the dog wont get along with are other two dogs one of the dog seven in human years th other is three but the wont get along i think is because the are diffirnt breed the other two are black honds and the age is not 8 it is 8 weeks
220 Dog owners recommended
Hi there. It takes time for dogs to get use to eachother when there is a large age difference. Taking them on walks together is a great way for them to bond. Also doing things like playing games, or spending a few minutes working on training commands as a team will really help them adjust to eachother.
Add a comment to we dont have a name yet's experience
Was this experience helpful?
he bites too much during playing with us
220 Dog owners recommended
Hello. Here is information on nipping/biting. Nipping: Puppies may nip for a number of reasons. Nipping can be a means of energy release, getting attention, interacting and exploring their environment or it could be a habit that helps with teething. Whatever the cause, nipping can still be painful for the receiver, and it’s an action that pet parents want to curb. Some ways to stop biting before it becomes a real problem include: Using teething toys. Distracting with and redirecting your dog’s biting to safe and durable chew toys is one way to keep them from focusing their mouthy energies to an approved location and teach them what biting habits are acceptable. Making sure your dog is getting the proper amount of exercise. Exercise is huge. Different dogs have different exercise needs based on their breed and size, so check with your veterinarian to make sure that yours is getting the exercise they need. Dogs—and especially puppies—use their playtime to get out extra energy. With too much pent-up energy, your pup may resort to play biting. Having them expel their energy in positive ways - including both physical and mental exercise - will help mitigate extra nips. Being consistent. Training your dog takes patience, practice and consistency. With the right training techniques and commitment, your dog will learn what is preferred behavior. While sometimes it may be easier to let a little nipping activity go, be sure to remain consistent in your cues and redirection. That way, boundaries are clear to your dog. Using positive reinforcement. To establish preferred behaviors, use positive reinforcement when your dog exhibits the correct behavior. For instance, praise and treat your puppy when they listen to your cue to stop unwanted biting as well as when they choose an appropriate teething toy on their own. Saying “Ouch!” The next time your puppy becomes too exuberant and nips you, say “OUCH!” in a very shocked tone and immediately stop playing with them. Your puppy should learn - just as they did with their littermates - that their form of play has become unwanted. When they stop, ensure that you follow up with positive reinforcement by offering praise, treat and/or resuming play. Letting every interaction with your puppy be a learning opportunity. While there are moments of dedicated training time, every interaction with your dog can be used as a potential teaching moment.
Add a comment to bruno's experience
Was this experience helpful?
My dog knows to sit , but won’t always sit. When we are outside I struggle having him to “sit & stay” when people or other dogs are walking/ passing by . He’s stubborn I would say , so he listens when he wants sometimes . Also he barks way too much . I’m trying to get him to bark only when he senses danger or is uncomfortable.. but he’ll bark at everyone that comes through the door , sometimes he’ll bark at people outside , not all the time. Other than that he’s learning .
819 Dog owners recommended
Hello Shaienne, For the Sit, I recommend very gradually working pup up to distractions and telling pup to Sit, then waiting until they do it (even if it takes 30 minutes at first, calmly reminding pup to "Sit" every five minutes) before allowing them to have anything they want - like a treat, walking forward on a walk, saying hi to a person or dog, going to sniff something, eating dinner, being thrown a toy, being petted, ect... Have pup work for what they want by sitting first. This approach can be used on its own or combined with the Pressure method below. Another approach is to use the Pressure method from the article linked below. Reward pup when they do sit willingly, but keep the treat or kibble hidden in your pocket until after they have sat, and as pup improves require a better sit before they earn the reward - so a slow sit earns praise, and a fast more focused sit earns the treat, to help motivate pup to improve their sit. As they get better at consistently sitting quickly then give the treat less often so pup has to do a few commands before the treat is delivered, to phase the treat out more. https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-german-shepherd-puppy-to-sit If pup is not comfortable being touched or has any aggression issues, including toward other dogs or people, I recommend using a waiting approach instead of the Pressure method from the article. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden
Add a comment to Harlem's experience
Was this experience helpful?
Tyson does not listen to instructions. He sits when told to but that's about it, he refuses to give paw.
819 Dog owners recommended
Hello Jasmine, First, know that what you described is normal for basic obedience, especially at this age - the initial goal is just to teach pup what a word means and motivate them to learn. What comes next is intermediate obedience. For intermediate obedience, you will gradually work up to distractions and pup developing the skills to obey in those situations too - at first the distraction might be someone walking through the room, a squirrel in the yard, a leaf blowing by, ect...Start with less distracting environments, then gradually move onto harder environments and spend intentional time practicing in each of those new environments until pup can focus there too. For example, in your home without others around is easiest, your backyard is a bit harder, your front yard is even harder, your neighborhood is even hard, your home with guests present is even harder, a pet store is even harder, ect...Go out of your way to practice at the current level pup needs to learn at and to create the distractions pup is ready to learn to overcome during training sessions when you can control things - so that pup can also respond when things are more out of your control in every day life, but keep the distraction level what pup is ready for at that point in the training so pup can still succeed with your help - the goal is to guide pup and provide consistent, calm boundaries at this point. Second, you may need to switch some of your training methods now that pup knows the commands and is sometimes choosing to disobey. For example, when teaching Sit I would first recommend using the Treat Luring method from the article linked below. Once pup knows that method well and has worked up to some distractions, I would enforce my command using the Pressure method from that same article when pup chooses to disobey something they know. The pressure method will still reward some but will also give a gentle consequence for disobedience to encourage pup to obey even when they don't find it as fun. Be patient with pup and know that a puppy is still developing their attention span and ability to learn - keep things more positive and very gradually transition to intermediate methods for commands over the next 4 months. https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-german-shepherd-puppy-to-sit Some other methods to help enforce commands when pup is ready: Reel In method for Come: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-whippet-to-recall Turns method for Heel: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-poodle-to-heel The Leash Pressure method for down: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-german-shepherd-to-lay-down If pup doesn't know these commands really well already, start by using the treat luring methods with each command before using the slightly firmer methods to proof that command once pup has learned the command and just needs to be reminded. Right now you can also keep a drag leash without a handle (for safety reasons to get caught less around the house) on pup while you are home. That way when you give a command like Come and pup ignores you, you can calmly walk over to them and lead them back to where you were - gently teaching them that they need to listen in every day life too. For the shake paw, I suggest a different approach. With pup sitting in front of you, tap the back of pup's front paw until they light it slightly off the ground, while happily saying "Paw or Shake". As soon as they move it at all, praise enthusiastically and reward with a treat. Repeat this until pup starts to lift the paw all the way off the ground - then reward. When pup is lifting the paw up, require pup to lift it higher before rewarding with a treat. Continue to praise for attempts though. When pup will lift the paw a couple of inches off the ground when you tap and say shake, start to tell pup to Shake, then wait seven seconds, then tap to remind pup if they don't lift on their own. Do this until pup starts to lift the paw consistently without needing the tap a few seconds later. When pup can lift when you say paw, place your hand under their paw when they lift it, praise and reward right when their paw touches your hand - even though you caused it to. Repeat. Next, place your hand slightly below where pup's lifted paw is, wait until pup lowers their paw a bit - accidentally touching your hand on their own (by accident on their part at first), as soon as pup touches your hand on their own because your hand was under the paw, praise and reward. Repeat until pup starts to intentionally touch your hand because they are associating it with the treat being given. When pup starts to understand that touching your hand is what earns them the treat, wait until pup puts their paw all the way into your hand, rather than just touching it slightly, before you reward. Practice this often for lots of short training sessions frequently, rather than fewer long ones to help pup focus and not get as distracted during training. Expect this to take several days or weeks to teach, not just one or two sessions. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden
Add a comment to Tyson's experience
Was this experience helpful?
You May Also Like
Add a comment to Costa's experience