She is a cutie!!! We never crated but used a "secure room" for our pup - used a baby gate at the door. One day she decided she wasn't going in - and she had been using that room for about 4 years! I have no idea what caused the change. So, we bit the bullet and left her out - no problems. The funny thing is, we can come in and she's sleeping in her little bed - IN THE ROOM SHE USED TO BE CONFINED TO!! hahaha Guess she just got tired of the gate. I was glad to see it come down too! Look at the blog savvy southern style and do a search for her dog crate. She has hers in their bedroom and did some sort of cover (fabric). tina

I agree that crate training is a very good thing when done properly. Like the dog whisperer says, "There are no bad dogs, just bad owners." I agree. I don't entirely agree w/ what the ppl that JCLE is talking about are doing, however, I have to add that I had a Choc. Lab. & after I got him familiar w/ his crate he enjoyed being in it much more than being loose in the house while I was gone. I only work part time, but sometimes I would have to leave him in his crate from 7 am to noon then again from 1 pm to 4 pm & he was totally content. Again, I only work part time, so this wasn't an every day occurence, but... Sometimes I would leave him loose in the house when I just had to run out for a few minutes & he would go crazy from the time I left until the time I returned, barking & tearing up stuff. That's the thing, I did train him not to chew stuff & he didn't *while I was around*, but as soon as he knew I was gone it was almost like he had seperation anxiety and that being in his crate made him feel safer & more secure. When I would come home when he was crated, he would, 95% of the time, be sleeping and if he wasn't, he would be calmly chewing on a toy or treat. BUT, my dogs do get lots of inside & outside play time, so exercise & interaction was not an issue. So, like I said, yes, I agree that 12 straight hrs. is not good, but maybe the dog actually would prefer that to being left loose in the house. I have heard of several dogs that have sep. anx. I'm not in anyway trying to take up for them or excuse what they are doing, just trying to get you to see the other side. Believe me, nothing angers me worse than ppl who get dogs & then don't love them like they need to be loved! Also, to whoever said being left outside doesn't help w/ house training a puppy, I have to disagree. When we got our Choc. Lab. it was warm outside & we knew that he was going to be an inside/outside dog (our other one is too), so when we did have to be gone for a few hrs. & couldn't take him w/ us, we tied him outside w/ my other dog (next to a doghouse of course). I honestly think this got him to pick his "spot" quicker & that's where he wanted to go when he had to & where he went until the day he died. We recently got a new puppy & since it's been so cold here & he's so tiny there's no way I'm going to leave him outside, so he's crated when he can't go w/ us & he has not caught onto training nearly as fast as our lab did, even though I'm training him the exact same way. Yes, I know that each dog is different & each will learn in it's own time, but I truly believe that being outside does help. Sorry to ramble, just wanted to add my 2 cents. :)

'Why on earth would you allow a breed like that in your home is beyond me. Keep the pit mix and expect more of the same incidents in the future.' Why would you question what type dog a person has if they are a responsible owner, as sarah appears to be. She has realized that there is a problem and working to resolve it. This dominance/jealousy problem could have risen with any breed dog, not only a Pitt. I have been around/worked with dogs all my life; the three times I was bitten was by a Cocker, a Jack Russell and a Sheltie. Pitts are not the top bitters, but as larger dogs they do more damage when they bite. A lot of smaller dog bites are also not reported making their bite statistics lower on the list. I've seen Pitts who were wonderful "people/kid dogs", who were wonderful pets and great with other pets and I've seen Pitts who were wonderful pets but couldn't be trusted around other pets, same as can be found in any breed. I can't say I would never have a Pit because I've had too many rescues to say never but I probably wouldn't go out and intentionally get a Pit due to not knowing bloodlines or how the animal had been raised. At one time there was a guy here in Florida who bred Pitts just for fighting. He took the worst of the worst and bred them over and over. If you got a dog from his bloodlines in error, you could very well have a problem because this IDIOT had bred them to be vicious. I've seen people who want their Pitts to be bad and train/abuse them to be so. Sadly, in cases like these the dogs are the ones who suffer. Personally I think that people of this ilk, people who fight dogs and people such as this breeder need to be put into a cage and forced to fight in the same manner which the dogs are forced to do. Animal abuse laws aren't strict enough in my opinion. People who abuse animals have no respect for any kind of life as far as I am concerned. Bless you sarah for fostering.

Bestyears, I was keeping it vague because discussing dog training methods can be equal to politics! Try telling some of the militant rescue groups that you will be using a different training method than the one they strictly follow ... you will never get a dog from them! Here are two articles from two opposite theories that gives you an idea of how they think. 1) https://positively.com/victorias-blog/balanced-dog-training-theres-nothing-balanced-about-it/ 2) https://www.nitrocanine.com/blog/2015/06/12/in-defense-of-balanced-training/ With my rescue I started out with a purely positive trainer. It worked great in the house and yard as the dog is very food motivated ... BUT outside none of the training made a difference. Critters and the chase were a much higher reward than anything I could offer. I even tried carrying filet mignon! I was being dragged around town by a crazy dog ... even with the easy-walk harness the positive trainer told me to buy. The dog just walked sideways and pushed into the harness. The last straw was when on a walk the dog nearly knocked me, and my father, to the ground when trying to get a squirrel. I had to kick the dog to stop her lunging and get us untangled (my Dad also had our smaller dog on leash). I looked for a different approach and found "balanced" training. The trainer I found is slightly different from #2 above in that they do use food rewards. Happy to message you a link to the training program website and the actual trainer I used. We now go on off leash hikes and I get stopped regularly by people who comment on her behavior and level of training. I got so many questions that I started carrying business cards for the trainer!! One of those people actually contacted and used my trainer, even thought she isn't local. Do your research and choose the trainer and method that best works for you and your dog. The best method will most likely be a combination of several different ones.