Dogs as Pets: Raising American Pitbull Terriers

They are both gone now, they were born in 1983, and they became part of the family at five weeks old. On the left is "Blood" (as in family) he was the male, and the runt of the liter. He was all black with a white diamond on his lower chest, initially he was a very shy pup; all it took was a lot of love and he opened up and became a playful happy boy.

On the right is "Star" his sister, a brindle female. She was outgoing from day one, eager to please and always wanting attention.

Training two pit bulls at once was a lot of work, but so rewarding. And the bond between me and the dogs, the dogs and the kids, was one that could never be broken. Here they are running around a track at the National Guards in NW New Jersey, surrounded by wide open fields where they enjoyed plenty of exercise and playtime.

The key to my success, I was consistent with their training. For example, training them to sit and stay required patience. However, once they understood the command and respected my authority I could tell them to sit and stay then walk away and they remained where they were until I gave the command to come. At first I used a long leash to control them if they did decide to run off and play. I never yelled at them if they didn't listen, simply led them back to where I wanted them to sit, gave the command again and slowly walked away; eventually you have to turn your back on them to make sure they obey even when you are not looking.

It amazed me the day that I finally could call one or the other or both of them with a single word. American pit bull terriers are eager to please, but like any puppy that has a short attention span it's up to you to be a consistent leader in order for them to understand what it is you would like them to do or not do.

The intelligence, and eagerness of Pit Bulls to please is amazing. When we got these two dogs my youngest was just a year and a half and my oldest was five. So, there was a need to teach the kids how to love and respect the puppies too. The relationship between my kids and the dogs was so loving because the kids were active in the training; they learned how to treat the dogs and give proper commands too.