Adopting 7 month pup, Newbie help!

[Klynn19]

Heyy! So I'm 24 yrs old. I live in Charlotte with my boyfriend. I'm about to adopt a 7 month rescue pit bull/weimaraner. My boyfriend was primarily looking for a weimaraner or mix and this pup happens to be pit bull mix. So naturally at first i was kind of skeptical and have a couple concerns. First I would like to say that we are fully dedicated to training and socializing him as much as possible. We have been doing a lot of research and in regard to the owners that actually have experience with this breed is everything were looking for in a dog. There's so many contradictions and hot and cold reviews which I'm sure everybody's aware. My boyfriend grew up with big dogs (weimaraners and vizslas-very high energy dogs) and my brother and close friend has a pit bull. I have a lot of experience with animals (cats and small dogs) but this will be mu first "ownership" with a big dog, let alone a pit bull. Not that I havent been around big dogs growing up via friends and family members dogs. My concern and the kicker is I have 2 cats. If you have any cats with your dogs what is your experience? Also being that the pup is 7 months old will it be harder to train and break bad habits? I am told he is crate/ house trained and obedient but you never know what you can be handed with rescues. My two cats were rescues so i know it requires more work than buying a puppy from early on. Also what are some signs that the dog is aggressive and what's the best way to correct it without making the problem worse. Any feedback would greatly be appreciated. I'm trying to gain more confidence in this breed from people that actually have the experience and not uneducated people that read bad stories and being my first pit bull experience, I'm eager to learn how to take the right approach.

[Curly_07]

Welcome! You are sooo in the right place to learn! Thank you for considering adopting this pup, and for adopting kitties! There are tons of training helpfuls in the Training section to help you out. Please consider the "2 weeks, give em a break!" thread, as well as the "introducing a new dog" thread. Did the rescue say they've tested him with cats? I would make sure they have, if you haven't already. Just like bringing in any new pet, it will take a couple of weeks to get in a routine and for them to get familiar with each other. Please be patient, and keep the intros short and positive until they are ok together. Also, never ever leave the dog and cats unattended together...this goes for any breed of dog. Better safe than sorry.

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[Klynn19]

Thank you so much for replying! Yes they said he's crate training, house trained, obedient, does well with other dogs (especially alpha females) and does well with cats. I'm just trying not to take they're word too much just in case. And the fact that the last adopter returned him after 2 days because she claiming he was too dominant for her :/.

[Curly_07]

Please do not listen to any of the dominant/alpha crap. Just throw it out of your mind...please It's a bunch of garbage. Hold tight and I'll get you some solid info on that myth and how dogs really operate. More than likely, the dog was just being a dog and the adopter didn't care to look into proper training...or they attempted the "alpha" style training and the dog didn't take it to well. I wouldn't blame him.

Here at PBF, we believe in positive training/reinforcements. Hold on while I grab some links for ya

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[Curly_07]

This is probably my favorite on the Alpha theory:

http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues ... 416-1.html


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[Curly_07]

Oh! Almost forgot, also check out the NILF (Nothing in life is free, also referred to as NILIF) thread in Training! He will need to be taught boundaries and such, and this is the way to do it. 7 months is going into what we like to call the "teenager" stage. It's just like with human teenagers...they act like they've forgot everything they've ever been taught, and they will test their boundaries. Go back to basics with him...basic obedience and NILIF.

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[Klynn19]

Yes Definitely been looking into the NILIF. The rescue foundation recommended it as well. He's definitely going to need some work being bounced back and forth. My main concern is aggression issues and his reaction to cats. I did see a lot of articles about the dominant approach to training. Some of those tactics certainly didn't seem logical. Also how do you feel about clicker training?

[Curly_07]

I LOVE clicker training! It can help with basics, as well as impulse control. I personally suck with the clicker (I'm not a very coordinated person ) so I do marker training with mine. It's the same concept, just using a cue word rather than a clicker.

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[Klynn19]

Sounds good! Thank you for all your help!

[Curly_07]

No problem! I'm sure there are tons of other members that can give you input too, but its pretty late at night and most members do not frequent the Intro section Lucky for you I'm bored and can't sleep

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[spammie]