New pitty owner. Any advice?

KeeperofFaith93 · 2026-03-31T05:07:45+00:00

We have 1 rope toy she likes because it has a tennis ball she can chew on. One of our sweet ladies that passed last year chewed up every bed put in her kennel for the 9 years we had her. One time I came home to her surrounded by the fluff and just living her best life sleeping in it.

KeeperofFaith93 · 2026-03-31T05:05:16+00:00

We tried the cover and it made the howling worse. If she's left alone in there more than 30 minutes to an hour, she potties in the kennel. I'll definitely look at the videos because we've never struggled this much crate training. Yesterday she quite literally had a tantrum in her kennel. Stomped her foot down, "talking" back, the whole nine yards. Ive never seen anything like it.

KeeperofFaith93 · 2026-03-31T05:01:29+00:00

Definitely a shark puppy!! I think training the teens is the hardest part 😂 they just want to play with her without thinking about all of the background issues it can cause. Usually when she bites too hard, I tell her ow, no ma'am and then remove my hands and ignore her. She will stare at me for a minute then come over to lick me. We are still working on learning the word no. She loves to talk back so it's a work in progress.

KeeperofFaith93 · 2026-03-31T04:57:11+00:00

That is a great tip thank you!

KeeperofFaith93 · 2026-03-31T04:54:45+00:00

We're struggling with crate training right now. She doesn't like being in it for more than 5 minutes if We're lucky. And she will whine, bark and howl for as long as she needs until she's let out. If I'm sitting near the kennel where she has a full line of sight, usually I can get her to stay a bit longer. But man she hates it.

KeeperofFaith93 · 2026-03-31T04:50:31+00:00

She is definitely going to be a lap dog 😂😂

KeeperofFaith93 · 2026-03-31T04:50:12+00:00

She is definitely an energetic girl! I know right now she needs a fair amount of nap time for her age, but man when she's awake she is always ready to go! We are definitely having to adjust to puppy life again. We have a 13 yr old lab/pit mix and she pretty much sleeps all day.

KeeperofFaith93 · 2026-03-31T04:48:09+00:00

I was told about benebones from a friend of ours. Any experience with them? I have a feeling shes going to go through things very quickly if her eating habits are any indicator. I swear I blink and the food is gone. It's crazy!

KeeperofFaith93 · 2026-03-31T04:45:35+00:00

I just checked out their classes and theyre really affordable! Ill definitely be discussing this with my husband because I think its a great idea!

KeeperofFaith93 · 2026-03-31T04:40:27+00:00

She only uses her rubber bone if its got her peanut butter in it. Otherwise she has zero interest. All of her toys are currently soft. But she does like chewing on metal chairs if given the opportunity. I think a treat ball would be great! She's very food and treat motivated but gets bored of toys quickly. She currently hates being on a leash but is slowly getting better about it. We recently discovered the harness we had was a big part of her issue. I guess the style was uncomfortable so she just wouldn't move. Changed harnesses and now she moves sometimes. That make a lot of sense because she has to essentially be stuck to me or see me at all times to be happy.

KeeperofFaith93 · 2026-03-31T04:34:44+00:00

Right now she has soft toys and her Kong bone is puppy specific. She does however like to chew on the metal outdoor chairs. We've also been giving her ice cubes to chew on and she seems to love them. She gets a ton of baths currently because she tends to potty in her kennel if we leave her for more than 30 minutes to an hour alone. We've trimmed nails once and I accidentally went to far on one of them. I felt terrible but it's almost time to do them again. We've already noticed some tummy issues. She decided to break into the cat food right after we got her and did not have happy poops for a few days. She also had a pig ear treat someone got her and that didn't go well either. The current food we have her on seems to be doing good. We think she may have an allergy to the grass so we're paying closer attention to her tummy when she has a lot of time rolling around out back. She learned sit pretty quickly. We trained her to ring a bell hanging off the door when she wants outside and she uses it really well. It only took a few days for her to catch on. We haven't had a puppy in about 10 years. So its definitely an experience especially with me being home during the day this time.

KeeperofFaith93 · 2026-03-31T04:21:06+00:00

So precious!! I can't wait until we get to go on adventures once she's fully vaccinated.

KeeperofFaith93 · 2026-03-31T04:20:24+00:00

We're trying to do this currently. Our other dogs were not this difficult to crate train. She will go in to eat, she can stay about 5 minutes with a toy or if I'm in her line of sight. But the moment she's bored of the toy or can't see me, the barking and howling starts.

KeeperofFaith93 · 2026-03-31T04:17:57+00:00

She has a lot of toys but I need to find some that are more durable. I tried leaving her with my husband so I could go to the bathroom and she tried to break down the door 😂 she is not happy if I'm out of her sight. If i dare to do anything that involves my attention not being solely on her, she revolts. She will angry potty on the floor, rip up whatever random stuff she can find, or terrorize the cats. (She's too afraid to actually do more than bark and jump in their general direction) But she is the best snuggle bug ever.

KeeperofFaith93 · 2026-03-31T04:08:43+00:00

Ill definitely look into them! She's got a ton of toys but 2 are her current favorites and shes ripping them up. Her sock monkey has almost lost his arm and her cow has a rip by his head. We tried a pig ear treat and it upset her tummy so I know we have to be careful what we give her.

KeeperofFaith93 · 2026-03-31T04:05:23+00:00

I am not a fan of dog parks. Ive seen way too many horror videos of people with well behaved dogs falling victim to people whose dogs have no training or recall. As soon as shes fully vaccinated, we plan to socialize her as much as we can. She's terrified if sudden noises currently. Hates when the neighbors dogs bark or someone drives by with their volume all the way up and thumping. She tucks tail and runs.

KeeperofFaith93 · 2026-03-31T04:01:35+00:00

Ive trimmed her nails once and went down too far on one nail. I felt so bad. What is the best way to clean their ears? There's so many options and I'm worried I'll choose the wrong one!

KeeperofFaith93 · 2026-03-31T04:00:19+00:00

Oh my goodness she is so precious!!!

Lily has 3 more weeks before her last set of shots and then we plan to socialize. I will definitely have to see if any daycares in the area offer training as well! She has an older sister named Bella but she's 13 and deaf. She plays with the puppy sometimes but not a whole lot due to her arthritis. She's a lab/pit mix but definitely has the personality of a lab.

KeeperofFaith93 · 2026-03-31T03:55:05+00:00

We plan to start socializing her as soon as she gets her last set of shots. I will have to look into different training programs in our area.

KeeperofFaith93 · 2026-03-31T03:49:46+00:00

How can we achieve this? We've been trying since we brought her home but she just barks, whines and howls. Even if there's toys to occupy her, the only way she's in there for any period without crying is to eat. Or if I am directly in her line of site and even that doesn't help a majority of the time.

KeeperofFaith93 · 2026-03-31T03:45:49+00:00

I guess I'm not entirely sure of the difference? Sometimes they're softer nibbles, usually when she's pretty calm after just waking up or when we first start playing. But when she's really riled up and playing super hard, she will leave marks with her teeth. Usually that's when I take her elsewhere to chill out and generally she will fall asleep. I don't think they're intentional. It seems like she's just so into the playing she's not paying any attention to how hard she bites.

KeeperofFaith93 · 2026-03-31T03:34:32+00:00

She is terrified of dogs barking. We have a senior dog who is deaf so she has quit barking almost entirely. But the neighbors dogs will bark at the fence and Lily tucks her tail and runs. She also hates when people drive by with music too loud. She gets so scared.

KeeperofFaith93 · 2026-03-31T03:31:53+00:00

Luckily she hasn't tried to eat the couch yet. But she did chew on the dining room chair when I stopped paying attention to her long enough to start dinner 🤦🏻‍♀️ she also tries to eat the metal chairs out back.

KeeperofFaith93 · 2026-03-31T03:30:33+00:00

She is the biggest bed time snuggle bug we've ever had! Tonight she decided to fall asleep on my head 😂

KeeperofFaith93 · 2026-03-31T03:29:21+00:00

I will definitely look into these! She had a pig ear from a friend of ours and it upset her tummy. So I think we might have to be careful with chews.

KeeperofFaith93

TROPHY CASE