I surf dog forums frequently for article ideas that I think will help the readers of the Pitbull Puppy Training Tips series. Recently, I saw a question about how an owner should approach an issue of an unruly, un-neutered Pitbull puppy at a dog park. So today, I will give you some Pitbull puppy training tips on how to handle and unruly, un-neutered Pitbull puppy.
Pitbull Puppy Training Tips for the Unruly, Un-Neutered Pup
I had to make this edition of Pitbull puppy training tips about this subject when I came upon it, because it touches on a couple of things that I think are so important from both a health and a training perspective. I want to make sure everyone understands why these points are so important to their dog’s health and training.
Get Them Snipped
Unless you’re going to be breeding your male pup, it’s in its best interest to have it neutered for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, it’s better for their health. It can also sometimes help with trainability.
Cancer
A neutered dog is less likely to develop prostate cancer. And by less likely, I mean it’s very rare for a male dog to develop this type of cancer if he has been neutered.
Another reason that having your dog neutered is important to the Pitbull Puppy Training Tips series is because in addition to the enormous reduction in the likelihood of your dog developing prostate cancer, it’s also far less likely to develop cancerous anal tumors. This type of cancer is extremely painful and difficult to treat.
Trainability
Far down on the list of why you should have your Pitbull puppy neutered is for ease of training. It doesn’t always work out this way, but because a neutered dog has less testosterone, he can sometimes be easier to train and less prone to acting out. This is only SOMETIMES. Don’t count on it.
All three of these reasons are important to my Pitbull puppy training tips, but the reduction in the risk of both prostate cancer and cancer of the anus is the primary reason to have your dog neutered. Both of these cancers are beasts. They are difficult to treat and almost always deadly. On a final note, wait for at least a year to have your Pitbull puppy neutered. Neutering before a dog is fully grown can affect their growth.
Training and Vigilance
These are two key factors of Pitbull puppy training tips for handling an unruly Pitbull puppy. Puppies are naturally crazy, of course. They are kids, and whether human, dog, gazelle, or whatever, kids will be kids. You just have to make sure you’re in a position to get your Pitbull puppy back in line when it gets ramped up.
Related: Pitbull Puppy Training Tips: Learning to Listen
Training
One of the big factors in all aspects of my Pitbull puppy training tips is training. Training teaches your puppy that it should follow your lead. You want to be the person your dog looks to for direction. When your dog gets overly excited and starts acting like a goon, you need to be in an alfa position, so that when you call your dog out for its behavior, it listens to you.
This is especially true for a Pitbull puppy. Even a totally, completely happy and friendly Pitbull is a powerful animal. They are thick with muscle, and they don’t have to attack a person or animal to hurt them. We had a Shih Tzu come in with a broken leg due to a Pitbull. It happened at a dog park. The Pitbull didn’t attack. It was just excited to see a little friend, and it bowled the Shih Tzu over trying to play with it. Well, in its excitement, the Pitbull broke the Shih Tzu’s leg.
An animal as powerful as a Pitbull and with a reputation for being a dangerous beast – however erroneous – HAS to be trained and trained well. You must be in control of your Pitbull puppy at all times. That is Pitbull Puppy Training Tips 101. Always be in control.
Vigilance
Vigilance goes hand in hand with training. Whenever you’re out with your Pitbull puppy or when you have guests over, you have to have eye on the situation at all times. It’s your responsibility to be aware of your Pit and what it’s doing at all times, so you can nip anything in the bud as soon as it starts.
That’s actually easier than it sounds if you’ve put the time into training. You don’t have to stop your Pitbull puppy from playing or having fun, you just need to be able to intercede if it either begins to play to rough or a fight looks to be brewing. It’s all a matter of situational awareness. Most of the time, it’s a better safe than sorry situation, anyway.
Taming the Unruly Pitbull Puppy
It’s all a matter of training, and to a lesser extent, taking them into the vet for a little snip, as we called it where I worked. Snipping keeps your dog healthy, and sometimes, less difficult to handle. Training makes sure you have full control of your dog at all times. If you follow the information laid out in my previous Pitbull Puppy Training Tips articles, and you have your male Pitbull neutered, you should be sitting pretty.
Does this answer your question about taming your unruly, un-neutered pitbull puppy? If you have any more questions, ask in the comments.
