First, you get your pit bull. Pet him and love on him real good, because he's about to go to boot camp. Here's what you'll need:

A. A plastic or wire kennel.

Make sure you have a doggie bed or something

comfy to line the crate. Size is important. Please link to the crate link for more information. It's for Golden Retrievers, but it'll work for pit bulls, too.

B. A large 7" size Kong

C. A medium 4" size Kong

D. Rawhide Chews

(if you live in SF area, Trader Joe's

has 6-packs of 5" compressed bones)

Otherwise, Target has a great deal on their rawhides.

E. A good dry and/or wet food suggested on our Nutrition

Page. Only use a quality food made with whole ingredients

and sold at small pet stores. They cost a little more, but

you are making a down payment against future invasive

diseases and the quality of the food is superb

human quality, not made from euthanized animals

like some questionable brands which are listed on our

Nutrition Page.



Make a schedule: times you want your pit bull to eat, potty, etc.

The first couple of days, adhere to that schedule. Breakfast and dinner: fill your big Kong with the dry food and plug and pack it with the wet food. Waft it in front of Fido's nose and place in the back of the crate. He might need a little help going in the first time, he's a pit bull, so help him out and toss a chew inside, too.

He eats his breakfast and dinner inside the crate. This is for a multitude of reasons revealed in your Golden Retriever crate training reference, i.e. potty training, separation anxiety, etc.



When you are ready for him to go potty, open the crate door and not a moment before! This is very important. Immediatly leash him and take him outside to potty. This might take awhile the first few times. Remember, your guy has been in a shelter and probably relieving himself in the cage, so be patient. When he goes potty outside, give him the best treat and praise, like "good potty outside, good boy!" Don't worry about sounding stupid, you do, but you'll have less accidents in the house. Stick to this and you'll have a perfect dog who pees and poops on cue and that comes in handy during rainy season.



Your dog is a den animal. He will love his crate providing you up the stakes when he's in his crate. For instance, he only gets the chews in the crate. He always has something great waiting for him in his crate and no rawhide goo all over your furniture. You can expand his privileges to his dog bed in the future when he gets a better grasp on the house rules. Never use the crate as a punishment. You always want it to be a place of peace and refuge with lots of goodies.



These goodies can consist of:

1. Filled bones, when they get emptied, pack them with your wet food and freeze.

2. A pig's ear or rolled pig's hide for a different treat. Be sure to back it up with your rawhide. These don't last long.

3. You can freeze the smaller Kongs filled with peanut butter or cream cheese (or wet dog food) and they last longer, too.