Pitbull Puppy That Bites

I have just recently adopted a Pitbull puppy from our local rescue facility. I was not informed that it was a Pitbull but a boxer mix. She is very playful and I would say could be a good dog. It is hard to explain her behavior. When we get home from work she licks and plays. Then we may sit down and pet her and she starts to bite. She's being playful but it goes on all day and all night.

When we try to sleep she jumps at us and tries to bite our face. I know she's being playful, but no punishment is helping. She is about three months old. I'm starting to take her on long walks to see if it will help with her energy. I am very patient with her and have trained her to sit. I know if someone else adopted her she would be on the streets or back at A.W.O.L. Please help.

Thank you,
David C. from Independence, KS

Answers:

Pitbull Puppy That Bites

I just got my first Pit, a female and she is by far the best puppy I have ever had. A few issues, but overall she is so smart, I expect to overcome the naughtiness. I had great luck with house training, but I took her out every half hour and praised her endlessly when she went. At 3.5 months she now goes to the door, it only took a few weeks. She crate trained awesomely, but I started with a large cat carrier that she only went in at night and I put it on my bed.

Within a week she transitioned to the living room in the crate at night. She goes all night without needing to go out. The biting and getting "narly" when I try to correct is the only real issue. She really growls and barks when I say "no".

Tapping on nose only made it worse, so I quickly stopped that. I started putting my thumb in the bottom of her mouth and saying no. That works better. I also start play time when she is laying down and calm, when she goes to nibble, I say "no" firmly and redirect with something she can chew while I continue to pat and snuggle her. My best luck with her is when she is calm (tired from hard play, ready to nap, trying to nap) it is easier to talk to her when she is calm. If they get rowdy, they need to go out and run and play hard, wear them out. I never attempt to "love" her when she is wound up, that is play time. I also always pat her, praise her, and kiss her when she is resting quietly too. This seems to give her the attention she craves and when she is ready to get rowdy and play hard she directs her play at the toys and running, instead of biting me.

I have the luxury of being home all day with her, we are also very rural and she has no distractions from neighbors, etc. A calm environment has been great for her. I do care for a 4 year old and have a cat which she is much gentler with. The cat has already established his pecking order as top "dog" and I also let her know the cat is the leader. I hope she will protect the cat when they are out together. She follows the cat everywhere. She adores kids and when my 9 year old nephew comes to stay she follows him everywhere and listens quite well to him also. I have a question on how much to feed her though, the vet says 2 cups per day, but she will eat all day if I let her.

She always seems hungry, no worms or health issues. Is her activity level so high I should feed her more? I feed her Wellness puppy mix, which is very pricey, but worth the quality. I will not feed her stuff full of chemicals like the other dog foods have. When I switched her to this dog food, I noticed a much happier puppy. Everyone should research the dog food brands and feed your dog a top quality food to keep them healthy.

I plan on taking her to training as she is so intelligent, I want to work that as it a constructive outlet.
I want the "best" dog around and prove a Pit can be a great family and kid friendly dog. (06/08/2009)

By Laurie Goodwin