When using marker training you build a stay into behaviors because the dog is not allowed to get up and come get their reward until released. So with one cue, sit for example, you are in fact teaching a sit/stay to your dog.

Another obedience time waster is the heel cue. Heeling is not a practical pet dog obedience behavior because heeling is a strict position (not walking on the left). Trainers who have made the “heel” part of their training programs usually just teach loose leash walking on the left side. It is far from what a real heel is. Which is, a strict static position the dog never changes.

Example, the dog holds a position where their right shoulder blade is next to your left knee. If you move backwards that position doesn’t change the dog walks backwards. If you take a big step with your right leg but do not move your left leg the dog stays by the left leg without moving.

In reality there is very little need for a pet dog to learn this. The heel is also quite stressful on a dog when it is taught correctly. They want to sniff and explore their world yet you are restricting their ability to do so because you want your dog to follow you. Or you want to show them who is the “pack leader” or whatever other reason that you use to restrict your dogs natural movement.

I’ll say it again so people don’t email with hate mail about how I’m crazy. The only time you would ever need a real heel is in high traffic areas where you need your dog close to you for a brief time. If you are walking down an empty street in suburbia why not let your dog have more freedom to sniff, pee, poo, and explore? Your dog is not going to see this limited freedom as a chance to over throw your household. That I guarantee you.

In short the best obedience behaviors are the ones you can actually use daily. Many classes are regimented to teach you a specific set of behaviors THEY feel is best for you and your dog. If you don’t need to teach a 30 minute down stay (way excessive in my view) then don’t worry about teaching it and don’t allow a trainer to mislead you into thinking that you really need to teach your dog the behavior.

Of course if you want to spend time teaching your dog more complicated behaviors by all means go for it. I’m not saying you should take what I wrote here today and ditch the obedience training. What you teach your dog is entirely up to you. However for those that want to cut right to the chase the simple behaviors like sit, down, leash manners, and coming when called will give you a lifetime of material to work on.

Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day!

Best Regards,
Jason Mann
http://www.PitBullTrainingHandbook.com

First and foremost doing your research before you get a Pit Bull Terrier. If I had a penny for every email I received that asked, “Jason, I just bought a Pit Bull Terrier. What do I do now?” I could buy my own Movie studio.

Training. This is by far the single most responsible thing Pit Bull owners can do. I am not talking about taking Jr. to puppy class and that’s that. I’m talking about 10-12 years of daily training.

Behavior problems, not disease is the leading cause of death in dogs under the age of 3 years old. (American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior)

Veterinarian care. Why people do not take their dogs to the vet is beyond me. If money is an issue then you do not need a dog. Sorry but that’s responsible Pit Bull owner 101 stuff. Which leads me too …

Financial stability. If you rent, if you don’t have money for dog food, if you can’t afford vet care, if you are struggling to feed yourself then for the love God do not get a Pit Bull Terrier.

The average dog cost $800-$2000 per year in vet care and food costs alone. Add training, collars, leashes, treats, and toys and you can estimate another $500-$1000 on top of the average cost.

Spay/Neuter. If you are not competing in working dogs sports or showing your dog in conformation spaying/neutering your Pit Bull should be a priority. When you do that is not as important is getting it done.

Proper housing. Whether you allow your dog inside or not is your choice. However if you keep your Pit Bull outside provide them with adequate shelter. Do not chain them to a barrel with a three foot chain and expect them to be comfortable.

Common Sense Approach to Health. Are you looking for a 5 lb weighted collar for your dog because you think it will make them stronger? If yes, then you’re not using common sense. Putting weights on a dog only serves to break them down. I’m not saying that weight training is cruel or that you shouldn’t exercise your dog. What I’m saying is use common sense when it comes to your dogs health.

Advocacy. Years ago I wrote an article about Pit Bull ownership and in that article I stated, “It is every Pit Bull owners duty to help preserve the breed through responsible ownership and advocacy.”

I still believe this. If you own a Pit Bull Terrier it is your responsibility to present a good image of the breed. It is your responsibility to your dog that you provide for them and not just basic care but the best of the best.

It is your responsibility to educate yourself on the origin of the breed, the history of the breed, the many uses of the breed, and when confronted with an idiot who wants to hate on you about your dog it is your responsibility to set the record straight.

Maybe my view on a responsible owner differs from Jane Q Pit Bull owner. Maybe what makes a responsible owner is more than what I’ve mentioned here. Or maybe people will see this post as a load of bull poo. In any case, respecting your dog is the most responsible thing you can do. How you do that, well, that’s entirely up to you.

Until Next Time,
Jason Mann
Author – The Pit Bull Training Handbook
PitBullLovers.com – Gear, free articles, and free video training available.

“I love my Pit Bull. It’s how you care for them that makes the difference.”

“My Pitt-Bull is the greatest dog on earth. It’s how you treat them that makes them mean or not.”

“Irresponsible owners are the reason why Pit Bulls get a bad rap. I love my Pit Bull so much.”

I receive emails like these all the time. People comment like this on the PBL facebook page too.

When I read comments like this I have to wonder why so many people feel the need to say the same thing.

Fact: It is NOT only how you raise them that matters. A lot of things go into making a good dog. Good handling is a piece of the overall puzzle. Breeding, how old they were when removed from the litter, what happened to the pups between 3 and 8 weeks old, how the parents and grand parents behaved. These are all VERY important factors in determining the overall personality of a Pit Bull Terrier.

I can do everything right in regards to raising the dog. I can socialize the dog, train the dog, and give the dog a great diet. However if the dog is from a bad breeding, carries genetic defects, has a temperament flaw due to bad handling as a young puppy my efforts will not change the fact that in the end the dog is flawed and will probably be a handful.

More to the point Pit Bull owners by and large are ignorant as to what makes or breaks a dogs overall personality. The same person that says, “It’s how you raise them that matters” when asked, “what is the critical socialization period for puppies” will look at you with a blank stare or they toss out their best guess.

So when owners spew the drivel “it’s how you treat them” out to people it really doesn’t make any sense that someone who doesn’t know what they are talking about open their mouth to speak.

What they are doing is justifying their dogs presence to the outside world.

I have some advice for Pit Bull owners who constantly say “it’s how you raise them” or anything similar to people.

Don’t worry about it. Those ignorant souls who have made up their minds that Pit Bulls are demon dogs do not deserve an explanation or an answer.

I, scratch that, we, do not owe anyone an explanation of why we keep American Pit Bull Terriers as our breed of choice. We do not need to constantly regurgitate misconceptions about “how you raise’em” that in the end are false. It takes a lot of things to be in place to get a good dog and that is not my opinion that is a biological fact.

Another funny thing I find absolutely pointless is when Pit Bull owners start telling other Pit bull owners the same lines. Hello! They are also Pit Bull owners and I’m sure they’ve used the same line at some point in their life.

Preaching the choir is counter productive.

Well, I know it’s not that educational but I had to get it off my chest.

Until Next Time,
Jason M.
Author The Pit Bull Training Handbook
PitBullLovers.com – A Refuge for Pit Bull Owners

First, being a Pit Bull owner means you have to put up with comments like:

“Why in the world would anyone want to have one of those dogs?”

“Anyone who has a pitbull is a loser. They are putting the public in danger and they don’t even care!”

“Yeah, if I see that Pit Bull on my street again I’m going to shoot the F*$&$*$ thing!”

Being a Pit Bull owner also means you have to worry about laws being passed in the area you live in possibly forcing you to move or worse, give your dog over to the pound to be put down.

Being a Pit Bull owner means you have to put up with websites that are devoted to the breeds extinction created by whack jobs that have a bone to pick with the breed.

Being a Pit Bull owner means you have to put up with hate and racism.

Being a Pit Bull owner means you have to make sure your dogs are better behaved than the mutt two doors down that bites the mail carrier every time she drops the mail in.

Being a Pit Bull owner means you can’t live on a military base because they are banned on ALL bases. You can die for your country, just don’t have “that dog” on our base! Truly sad.

Being a Pit Bull owner means when traveling through Denver, CO you have to muzzle your dog in your car and pray the cops don’t stop you and take your dog because while passing through their state you are subject to their dog laws.

Being a Pit Bull owner means paying higher rent, insurance rates, and having to jump through numerous hoops just to live.

Being a Pit Bull owner means you are looked upon by the “big wigs” of society as a criminal, thug, gangster, drug dealer, redneck, or wanna be tough guy.

Being a Pit Bull owner means despite all the crap that morons and ignorant law makers push on you you still choose to have the greatest breed of dog ever created.

Until Next Time,
Jason Mann
Author – The Pit Bull Training Handbook
PitBullLovers.com – Learn what it means to be a Pit Bull owner!

Rob tells Sally, “Knee him in the chest. It’s the best way to stop him from doing that.”

Sally says, “Okay I’ll try it.”

Sally tries it and breaks Tank’s ribs in the process.

When it comes to training every one becomes an expert. Uncle Bob, Cousin Rob, Mom, Dad, Husbands and wives, they all offer training advice and suggestions.

There is only one problem with their suggestions.

Not a single one of them is a certified trained professional dog trainer/behaviorist/behavior consultant.

Think about it this way, would you take legal advice from someone who has not graduated from law school and passed the bar exam?

Would you take medical advice from someone who has not went though medical school and earned a PhD in medicine?

Obviously the answer to both these questions is NO.

Why is it that people take advice about dog training from people who have never had any training in the field then? Dog training is a complicated field. Despite what you see on those 60 minute highly edited dog training shows dog training is a professional field with highly trained professionals available to you.

I am bothered both as a Pit Bull owner and as a training professional by the lack of logic people show in regards to their dogs training. Of course not all people are like this but it is not uncommon and I’m sure at some point someone you know has offered you advice on a behavior/training issue you were facing with your dog who was not trained in the field of canine learning and behavior.

My hope is one day this trend will stop. That one day, like law and medicine professionals will be held to high standards and rigorous testing in order to receive our professional status.

The winds of change are blowing right now. Certifications by third party organizations are helping legitimize the training industry. Pioneers in canine behavior and training are helping usher in a new age of professional dog trainers who really do know what they are doing and use humane reward-based training methods to help owners like you and me find solutions.

Books, electronic books, video training, DVD’s, these products are awesome if they are created by actual professional dog trainers who have earned their certifications (or their “street cred” as I call it) but hiring a certified professional trainer to work with you and your Pit Bull personally is the best option. Hands down.

In my last article I said, “be careful who you listen too.” That advice remains. If they don’t have the education to back up their advice don’t listen to them.

Best Regards,
Jason Mann
Author – The Pit Bull Training Handbook
PitBullLovers.com – Helping Pit Bull Owners and Their Dogs Since 2004