New member with new puppy!

hi everyone! i am so glad i found this site! i am 23 and my fiance is 25 and our son is 2 years in two weeks! we just got a new baby last weekend! she is a 6 week old brindle girl! she is so cute and so smart!!! my mom isnt thrilled but that was expected! we are working on crate training and her awful nipping! she bruised me yesterday and my "no" is getting very repetitive! but i know these things take time! i am here in ga looking for puppy playdates for miss pepper! glad to be here!!!

 

Hey and welcome! Got any pics? A lot of good people on here, and you will soon find out who they are.

 

Congrats on your new addition, glad to have you here. You ought to come and check out the GA shows. Good times, and good folks.

 

thanks guys! no pics yet developed but i wish my camara wasnt full right now since christopher and pepper are "sharing" lunch! he keep giving her forkfuls of lunch and she keeps licking him in appreciation! so cute!!
where are the ga shows? i am really new here and trying to feel my way around. thanks for the warm welcome!

 

good for you,, new owners are great.. new puppies cute and cuddly. keep and eye on the nipping ,, with small child in the same space can be a disaster waiting to happen the face of your baby very close to the puppy that doesnt know anybetter.. good luck and lots of love to come from both!! in the future..

 

oh yes, we have all felt the wrath of pepper's puppy power!! *say that 10 times fast!* but she is already showing signs of improvement with the nipping...but topher did get a good one on his bare thigh yesterday and it took me all afternoon to coax him into touching her again! but things are better today! as long as she doesnt whine in her crate...then my son falls apart and wails in sadness for her release! (oh i am *such* a meanie!!!!)

btw~ i am sooooooo much in awe over how beautiful everyones babies are!!! i know cropped ears and sometimes tails i think are ok, but i love the floppy ears and long tail and am soooo happy to see so many unbuchered sweeties here!!...and no, if the ears are cropped i am not calling anyone a butcher...but here in ga i see plenty of the type!!! it makes me sad!

 

Im no dog trainer, but you arent supposed to keep repeating commands if they dont listen. TRUST ME the dog hears you the first or second time. By repeating yourself like that early in life it is gonna lead to bad manners etc.. Bitter apple,water guns,yelping, and being very stern with BRIEF eye contact. DO NOT STARE at your dog no matter how cute it is. When the dog sees you looking at him he is assuming the alpha role. In a pack all the dogs literally look at the alpha dog for guidance. Just trying to help out.

 

i appreciate your help. i bought the american kennel club book at petsmart for 15 dollars and it seems to have a lot of useful and helpful information in it. i read that with puppies....especially under 8 weeks old and before 15 weeks old when proper "training" can begin, that a firm "no" or as many "no's" as it may take is the only way to help a puppy understand that the behavior is unacceptable. i am looking into clicker but i am affraid of using it during her 8-10 week old "fear stage" and dont want to cause her any stress unnecessarily. it seems to be working, becuase she has gotten to the point that sometimes after one or two she lays down and rolls over a little. but she is super sweet and i am trying hard to raise her "correctly" for her breed.

 

Jeeperino is right about the repetiveness of commands IF this situation is something like as follows... The pup keeps nipping and you say "No!" 12 times in a row. After the first "no", if the dog does not cooperate, it needs a correction. Now, your pup is 6 weeks of age, so I would not suggest training with a prong collar at this age. I suggest you use a stern "eghh" noise or, something that is different than a no, since "no" typically becomes a command such as "no bite" or "no bark" or "no jump", etc.

Anyways, with the puppy, you need to keep toys handy to stuff in her mouth . When she bites at you, say "no bite" and gently but firmly close her mouth with your hand. If she doesn't try nipping once you have let go, praise like the dickens! If she tries to nip again, say "eghh!" and "no bite" and close her mouth again. At first you have to repeat in cases like this... but always use a correction if the dog does not follow.

Six weeks old is young, but it's never too young to start with the training! And my suggestions are not rules that must be followed, but I will tell you that it worked for me pretty well. Good luck with the puppy and congrats on the new family member!

 

thanks SD so far that is pretty much what goes on here, but i am afraid of using any kind of physical discipline right now, but like i said, i am working on it. i have nylabones, squeeky hot dogs and lits of other goodies for her already...she should be named princess with all her junk!! i will keep you guys posted on her progress! thanks again!

 

Hello and welcome to the forum

I found puppy classes to be great for socialization. Then we eased into obedience classes after that. Even though I taught my dog the basics, I felt the obedience classes were helpful.

Do you have a picture of your puppy?

 

Hello, new member with puppy!

Hope you enjoy your stay here! and glad you found us! Just remember with the pups, patience and consistency are key!
EVERY thing through their eyes is new and exciting. Try to keep the 'training' sessions to just a few minutes, and ALWAYS praise for a job well done. Dogs want nothing more than to please their masters. It gets stressful at times, but be kind, and the rewards will be WELL worth it.
Nice to have you here!

 

just a quick little note, docked tails are not normal for APBT's... cropping is normal, unneccessary, but normal and can be expected... a docked tail never is... that procedure is for rotties, pinschers, boxers, etc

 

Welcome to the site! Congratulations on your new baby! That's great that you got her while your son is still young, this way they can grow up together. I did that with my first 2 APBT, Mercedes and my son have a very strong bond. And my parents werent thrilled when I brought Mercedes home either, but trust me your mom will grow to love Pepper

 

From my knowledge, I dont think its an option to crop/dock a pit's tail because they need it for balance/coordination

 

Hi there, nice to meet ya. Hope you like it here, I sure do.

 

hey and welcome. i was just gonna spout off a couple of things. i would get yourself an empty 2 liter bottle and throw some change in it. after the dog does something a few times after you start the "no's", shake the bottle, or toss it at the floor. then tell the dog to come to you. it worked with my dogs anyway. it scared them outta the determined lil state they were in,,which is"tear up anything they can get their mouthes on". then thy run to you. then you give the dog something you DO want her chewing on. like a rope or a kong. a kong is the best thing i've found that will hold up to their punishment. i wouldn't feed her your food, unless you want to keep doing it for the next 12-15 years! cause she's takin it ALL in right nw. you gotta get your socializing done in the snext few months, with everything foreign to them,,,,so they're not afraid or skittish/aggressive. and docking the tail is useless. i'm thinking it messes up their balance. oh, and if you're buying books,,try getting "pitbulls for dummies". it's got alot of info you'll need. they learn and act different from normal dogs. maybe somethin in here will help. either way, good luck with her.

 

forhot..pick a good quality food and get her on it,, and stick with it. you can do a sear or whatever. but i prefer canidae. you just have the one choice for puppy up through adult. that's usually the fvorite. diamond and nutro natural choice next. or somthin like that. but it's better than feeding them that junk from the grocery store or whatever. it may cost a lil more, but they don't need as much to keep up their energy. less gas, less mess, less stink,,and all that. the other stuff is full of fillers and by-products that you don't wanna mess your dog up with.

 

thanks everyone! i knew about the docking for rotties and such as i bred, showed, and trained rotties for 13 years....winning ribbons as a handeler at 8!!

i have seen some docking around here in ga at times, i always thought it was another tool for winning fights and always was disgusted by it!!

i appreciate the book reference, and will be checking into that today! thanks again for the warm welcome everyone!!!