My pit/boxer hard to please & losing my mind

You have to remember your dog is a mix of two headstrong breeds. When the older dog was alive the younger dog knew it’s position, even though it might not have been obvious to you. Now it’s trying to discover it’s place and push it’s way up the pack. You need to be strict, if the dog comes to you for attention ignore it. YOU call THE DOG over to give it attention, if it doesn’t come straight away, it loses it’s chance until next time. Make the dog stand behind you and wait going through doorways up and downstairs etc. (Last week I taught a completely untrained dog this – among other things – in 2 days. You just have to persevere. It’s obviously not a stupid dog, 10 mins is a long time for a dog to concentrate on with one thing. As for the lead business start with the collar high on the neck, give it a command ‘steady’, ‘slowly’ whatever then don’t let it walk with more than it’s head and neck in front of your legs. If it tries to pull, repeat the command, small flick of the lead then walk on. Don’t hold the lead really short and tight or you’ll get into a pulling battle. If the dog attacks the lead make him sit, say his name, tap your chest to make him look at you and give a small but tasty treat (I use liver or heart cut small, cooked in a low oven so they harden and dry out enough to carry them round). If he’s really lost it with the lead, turn back the other direction, say a sharp ‘NO’, the instant he stops tap your chest, give treat. The idea of the chest tap is to make them concentrate on you, they soon learn look at you at a chest tap and get a nice reward. Tell him he’s good but don’t overdo it or you’ll just over excite him again. only walk and train him when you’re not in a hurry or already stressed out, you’ll just end up losing your temper and giving up. Take him out of the room, remove ALL those toys, they are now YOURS and YOU decide if you want to share them with him. If you call him to play with you with a toy and he gets possessive, take him to another room and remove the toy. If you stick to showing him he has a more fun life when he behaves he’ll get the idea pretty quickly. I’ve kept and trained bull breeds and mastiff (mollosser) breeds for 30 years, so I do know what I’m talking about. Best of luck – and don’t give up.

Have you tried using a metal chain leash? using a metal leash, you dog may not bite it. When I handle leash reactive dogs, I offer an alternative like a ball or chewie. I also will use two leashes and when the dog bites the leash, I drop it and I still have the second one in my hand. This process will take a while, but eventually he will understand that you don’t want play.

The first thing you need to do is learn how to communicate with your do. Be able to acknowledge what your dog is trying to do: here are two really good videos on how to pick up on your dog’s physical cues.

Canine Body Language in the Shelter : Listen to Dr. Sara Bennett, graduate of the Purdue Shelter Veterinary Behavior Residency Program,

Stanley Coren – Animal Communication: How to Speak Dog

These videos teach you how to read a dog’s communication ques. I think that if you are in tune with what your dog is trying to say to you, It may relieve his source of stress. Understanding dog, you will able to me more proactive with his behavior issues. A reminder that the most effective teaching tool of your dog will be distraction. And allow the distraction as a means to a positive instead of a negative experience . And be consistent with it. It may take some time but it will facilitate your bond with him.