How to Train a Pit Bull Puppy to Listen

Train your Pit Bull basic obedience commands early on. Once he’s a part of your family, you can start with small training sessions. Start with 'sit' and move to 'down' before working on 'stay' and 'release'. These short training sessions will show him you are the leader and will tell him what to do, with high expectations. Plan to offer lots of rewards to earn his respect as well.

Hold a treat high above your Pit’s head. When you have his attention, move it back towards the back of his head and wait patiently. As he follows the treat with his nose because he wants to earn it, he will likely sit down. When he sits say the command "sit" and give him the treat. Practice this for a few weeks before moving on to the next command.

Put your Pit Bull puppy in a 'sit' position because he is well rehearsed at this, and give him a treat for listening and obeying. Once he's in a sitting position, take a second treat and hold it to his nose, then bring it slowly down towards the floor. Once the treat is near the floor, pull it away from his body towards yours. This should lead him to stretch out and lie down on his tummy. When he's down, say the command "down" and give him the treat. Practice often.

Your pup should be between 12 and 14 weeks old when you try to teach him the 'stay' command. He should understand 'sit' and 'down' and be doing those two commands easily. When he's in one of those positions use the command 'stay.' Take a step away from him holding your hand up palm facing towards your dog and wait a moment. Give him a treat if he stays put and practice by taking more steps away over several sessions.

Your Pit Bull will need to know when he's able to come back to your side. The release command will tell him when it's time to move from ‘stay.’ Once he is in the 'stay' position, show him a treat and use the word "release". The treats should be enough to motivate him to move. When he does, give the treat. Keep practicing this command so he understands when to stay put and when he can move freely.

Be sure you are rewarding your Pit Bull puppy with lots of tasty treats while he’s training. These will give him positive reinforcements and remind him as long as he is listening, he can earn rewards.

Once your puppy has these basic obedience commands well understood and is doing them consistently by command, begin to teach him other, more advanced commands such as 'watch me' and 'wait.'

When you bring a puppy home, especially one with such a strong personality, the first thing you will do is give him a name.

To get to your puppy to recognize his name and when you are speaking to him, he’ll need to know his name. Say his name and give him a treat. Do this several times while sitting with him.

Once he’s heard his name a few times and has earned a treat just for listening to you say it, try to get him to recognize his name when he’s not paying attention to you. Start talking to him when he’s not looking at you. Say his name and watch his reaction. If he looks at you and gives you his attention, give him a treat. If not, try again later after more practice.

Once your Pit Bull puppy knows his name, start other training. Always use his name before teaching him anything to ensure you have his attention and he’s listening.

Always give your little guy rewards anytime he responds in a positive way to hearing his name. Use his name when you talk to him, when you need his attention, during training, and while on a leash. Be sure to have lots of treats on hand to reward him for listening.

As soon as your bring your Pit Bull puppy home, you can start playing with him and training him small tasks and commands. Start with his name. Reward him any time he listens and gives you his attention.

Spend a few weeks teaching your little guy his name. This should be something you use often. Say his name in a calm manner when you need him to pay attention.

Once he knows his name, you can begin to train basic obedience commands starting with the easy command ‘sit.’ Use his name often and reward him through the training.

It will take some time for your little guy to be totally house trained, but take advantage of this training opportunity to remind him of your expectations and reward him when he makes good choices.

An extremely important task in getting your Pitty to listen to you is getting him social with other people and animals, especially dogs. A social dog is a well-behaved dog. One who is not social might be cautious and not listen as well as you’d like.

Remember, the tougher the task, the better the treat. Be sure to reward your puppy with treats for his good behaviors and when he listens to you. He’s more likely to keep listening if he knows he’s getting rewards.