Originally posted by mzbogart
How do you do the NILIF?
Like she said, he has to earn everything, hence the name. Do a Google search on 'Nothing In Life Is Free dog training'... he has to sit and wait before he eats, he has to sit and wait before he gets his leash on or off, he has to sit and wait before he walks through a door (and he always walks through doorways behind you), he has to sit and wait for treats, petting, attention, everything! You can switch sit with down if you want. Just clearly establish that everything he gets comes from you, and you are the leaders. Have both you and your husband do this ALL the time, you have to be strict about it. I also encourage you to teach him to "watch" you, and heel at all times on walks to establish leadership again.

Most of all, you definitely, definitely, NEED a behaviorist! This kind of behavior is very serious and can put both your dog and other people/dogs in huge danger. He will also be judged very harshly because he is a pitty, in the first place. What is his background? Did you rescue or do you know the breeders, and when did you adopt/buy him? Were his parents fighting dogs/poorly bred/etc? Is he neutered? How have you socialized him... how often do you expose him to outside people, dogs, and kids? Socialization is sooo key to raising a well-adjusted dog, and if he wasn't introduced to other dogs and kids since he was a puppy it'll make this whole training process much harder. The fact that he challenged a little girl that was doing nothing is not a good thing, at all. Please see a reputable dog behaviorist, you'll need a lot more than advice from internet message boards .. he's still a puppy, and at 9 months old dogs are just barely starting to show how their true adult personality will be. This REALLY needs to be nipped in the bud, and even if you don't have kids, he will be around kids for his entire life and who knows if you'll decide to have children 10 years from now? He really needs to be socialized in a positive way with other dogs and kids now, with the guidance of a professional trainer.