How to Train a American Bully? – Tips for Training Like a Pro

American Bullies may seem aggressive and fighting dogs, but they are far from that. In fact, American Bullies are loving, affectionate, playful, loyal, and gentle dogs.

However, sometimes they don’t realize their strength and need proper guidance and training. We will discuss how to train an American Bully properly like a pro; hopefully, this article will help you immensely.

When Should American Bully Training Start?

Start training your American Bully as soon as you bring him home. A puppy will quickly pick up behaviors and understand commands compared to an older dog.

American Bullies are intelligent and owner-pleasing dogs that can be trained relatively quickly.

When you bring your American Bully puppy home for the first time, begin training in a quiet and private place without distractions.

Keeping your Bully under a leash is best if you train in a public place.

Setting Up a Training Environment

The moment you bring your American Bully into your home is the first impression, which should be good. It is also essential that your house is ready for the training lessons.

Before training your American Bully, you must set up his training environment. Ensure your Bully gets his own space and your family members mature enough to let him have his own time.

Here are a few steps to get you started on the training.

Basic Training Tools

When you bring your American Bully home, you must establish a ground set of rules. And to do that, you must be prepared and get the following equipment.

1. Collar and leash
2. Harness
3. Crate or cage
4. Food bowl
5. Clicker
6. Treats
7. Chew toys
8. Fence

Selecting the Right Space

After choosing the tools for training, you need to select the right place for training. When choosing a training place, remember to have privacy, light, water, moderate temperature, and be big enough for your American Bully to play around.

Ensure the training space gets a lot of sunlight to help grow strong bones.

How to Train an American Bully?

Now that you have set up the environment for training, it is time to start it. You must gradually establish wanted behaviors and habits when your puppy arrives home to educate them.

Use the training equipment to help you and start with basic training.

1. Basic Disciplinary Training

Laying the basis of your training with your American Bully dog is one of the most crucial things you will do as a trustworthy owner.

This initial training can take a little time, or your Bully pup will be easy to train. Either way, be patient and practice these five basic commands often.

Remember to keep some delicious-smelling and tasty treats ready. Your Bully puppy will be alert when they know you have something delicious.

Reward them every time they execute these commands, even for a few seconds. Keep increasing the command duration over time, but a slight improvement is still improvement at first. Give your Bully the treat.

When rewarding, use a signal word like “yes” or “nice job” to let your dog associate that signals with having finished the command. Some folks prefer the clicker training method instead of the verbal signal, which can also work.

Sit

If you have a treat in your hands, let your American Bully know that you have it, let him smell it, and be aware of which hand it is in. Then follow these three simple steps.

• Place the backside of your treat hand near your Bully’s nose.
• Raise your hand so your Bully’s head follows, and his butt goes down.
• You say, “Sit,” and give him that tasty treat as soon as he sits down. Followed with a “yes,” “nice job,” or whatever praise signal you choose

Repeat this multiple times, and slowly increase the duration between the “sit” and the reward. I mention putting the backside of your hand close to his nose because you can eventually utilize this as a hand signal.

Stay

• Let’s start because I already know you have a treat in your hand, and your dog knows this.
• Make a flat palm stop motion with your non-treat hand while saying, “Stay.”
• Take a few steps backward.
• If they have stayed put, say “yes” or “nice job” as the release trigger and invite them to come to get their treat. Give many compliments afterward.
• Take a few more steps back each time you repeat this.

To link the two for simpler orders, always use the hand gesture when you say “Stay.” We are ready to “Leave it” after they perfect the stay.

Leave it

Leave it will be similar to the stay but without the treat in your hand. I use the one-finger in-the-air hand signal.

• While facing your American Bully puppy, raise your finger. Doing this with your dog on the floor will initially be simpler.
• While your puppy is sitting or staying, put a reward on the floor in front of the dog.
• You gesture “leave it” with your hand.
• After a brief delay, you can say “yes” for the release cue, at which point they can come to claim their reward.

Repetition will increase the time and space between you and the treat. When they “leave it,” shower them with praise. When you master the more difficult variation, you can practice working on your dog while maintaining eye contact without glancing at the treat.

Down

Your dog should lie on its belly by responding to the word “Down.” This is frequently employed for stopping the dog from jumping up on people or objects and for that.

Use only one command and one specified response at a time. Did you get your reward? Good. Remain on the ground while holding the dog.

• Get your dog to follow your hand as you move the palm of it from the hand holding the treat down to the ground.
• Move your hand away from the dog and towards you while your Bully follows it to the floor to encourage them to extend their body to their belly.
• You say “Down” and reward them after they have their tummy on the ground and are in the down position.

This one could require some practice, but keep upbeat and resist getting discouraged. If your American Bully still doesn’t grasp it after a few tries, practice a few short “Sit” commands before returning to the “Down” drills. Your dog will remain interested and content in this.

Come

The final step is teaching an American Bully puppy to respond to calls. This one will be extremely helpful in a variety of circumstances.
Making this one enjoyable and satisfying is crucial. Your Bully should be eager to approach you when it hears “Come.”

• Start teaching your dog this command when she is on a leash. Get down on the ground, signal with your hand to yourself, and say, “Come.”
• If they don’t come naturally, draw him toward you by gently pulling on his leash.
• Give him tasty food and lots of praise when he is directly in front of you.
• You can take the leash off and back away when he starts acting this way without your prompting.

To practice both skills, try doing a “Stay” and having the release be a “Come.” Once they have mastered this ability, please encourage them to practice in settings with increasing distractions.
When issuing the command “Come,” keep these two factors in mind to attain the outcome you desire:

Never Repeat What You Have Said Clearly

Ensure you have your dog’s attention before using the “Come” command. We have all seen those owners bark, yelling, “Come! Come! Puffy Come! Come Puffy! Come!”

It is known as poisoning the cue when the dog has completely tuned out. Your dog will start to ignore it as background noise.

Never Discipline or Scold Your Dog When They Come to You

Never reprimand your American Bully if they ultimately come back after you call them while they are at the park or in the yard, even though they might not answer right away.

You don’t want them to interpret “Come” and come back to you negatively; it would be the opposite of what you wanted them to do.

2. Advance Training

After your Bully has learned the basic skills, it will be easier for you to teach him more advanced tricks and manners.

Teaching Social Skills

Generally, American Bully dogs are very friendly pets. Growing up encircled by family is a perfect starting point for sharpening a Bully’s socialization talents.

Training them to act well with people and pets can start with regular walks. It is a fantastic way to exercise your Bully and keep him healthy and happy. Outdoor walks are also ideal for leash training and mingling with other dogs.

You can introduce your American Bully to other people like your neighbors, people you meet on your walks, pets, and others. You can also begin training them to get accustomed to a vet visit.

Nevertheless, it is best to vaccinate your Bully before socialization training. Pups go through a biting and chewing stage. Thus, exposing them to other people and pets is not an exemplary idea when they are not vaccinated.

Potty training

Another necessary training that American Bullies require is to learn to potty properly. Potty training them earlier will make life more comfortable for everyone.

Your Bully should understand that relieving indoors is not a great idea. This training can have a lot of hits and misses; therefore, you have to struggle more and have patience.

Watch your puppy if they are sniffing, circling, and squatting. These are indications that they are likely to pee or poop.

Take your Bully outdoors or to his potty area and wait until he finishes clean-up the mess. Clean up instantly if your puppy does a potty during a walk, particularly in a public place.

Crate Training

Crate training is a perfect way of teaching subordination to American Bullies. It also gives them a secure and relaxing space of their own so they can soothe.

Always remember that the use of crates is not a punishment. Instead, it must be a secure place for them to rest and sleep.

• Make sure that it is big enough for the dog to move around. Moreover, crates should let them watch what’s going on around them.
• Never force them inside the crate.
• Encourage your pet to explore the crate by putting blankets, toys, and some food.
• Once they feel comfortable inside the crate, feed them inside it with the open door. You may close it when your pet feels secure after feeding.

Increase their stay slow until they feel comfortable enough to sleep inside the crate.

Exercise, Swimming, and Games

A healthy and fit American Bully requires exercise. Besides the ordinary walks and tours, you can include activities your dog will enjoy.

Swimming is an all-around exercise, and most dogs love it. Let your Bully swim and play in the water, but always be mindful of their stamina. Let him get out of the water when he wants to.

American Bull’s agility is ideal for training, combining obedience and physical activity. It involves a circuit of different obstacles that the dog must jump, dodge or cross. The master always goes by their side, which makes it very rewarding for the animal.

Consistency and Patience

Being an American Bully parent, you have to be consistent and patient. You should live by this motto to accomplish your goals and be a great owner.

Importance of Consistency

Short training sessions of 15-20 minutes that are completed daily or a few times during the day can have immediate and long-term benefits. This is crucial for your American Bully in particular.

Consistency is critical when training your American Bully. Training every day will help commands and obedience training stick and provide that excellent mental stimulation your American Bully craves.

A daily training session will make your smart American Bully even smarter and strengthen your bond with your dog. This time is so crucial for both you and your American Bully puppy.

Importance of Patience

Patience is a virtue. American Bullies may be smart but are goofy and have a short attention span, so their behavior may tempt you before they are fully trained.

Being patient when training your American Bullies is best, as they act like babies. Always use positive reinforcement, and the remaining patient is vital to do it.

Watching them disobey your commands can be exhausting, so remember that your dog can read your body language and react accordingly.

American Bully is not a human, so when you get frustrated, remember it is doing its best. So relax, take a deep breath, and start over on a happy note.

Watching you smile, your Bully will get excited and look forward to what you have next for them.

FAQs – Frequently Asked Questions

Is American Bully Easy to Train?

The American Bully is easy to train as they are an intelligent and affectionate breed that lives for human appraisal. They can easily get excited and distracted, so you must be consistent and patient.

How Do You Calm Down an American Bully?

If you notice that your American Bully is getting hyper, you should give him a time-out or use a mental trick on him. Never use physical force, as that can cause them to develop aggressive behavior.

Use mental exercise, place training or settle, physical activity, trick training, and impulse control to teach him how to control his energy from an early age.

Can You Leave the Dog Alone with A Bully Stick?

Don’t leave your American Bully alone with a bully stick; it can become a choking hazard. Always supervise and limit the stick chewing to training or playtime sessions to avoid misbehavior.

Are American Bullies Tough?

American Bullies are medium-sized, athletic, strong, and muscular, so they are strong.

They also have strong jaws with a powerful bite force, but that does not mean you can put them through hell and misery. American Bullies are living creatures with a soul, and every soul deserves respect and care.

What Makes an American Bully Extreme?

Its name can define an extreme American Bully. They have a higher muscle mass, height, and build than standard American Bully.

They are built with so much extra muscle that they are an average Bully on steroids. Kennel clubs do not recognize extreme Bully.

Conclusion

Training American Bully is easy, but it still takes time and effort with a little bit of patience. When you do everything right and have a big heart, you will notice the outcome of your effort as a fantastic American Bully who is well-behaved and more intelligent than other dogs.

You can teach your American Bully almost any trick, and they will learn it quickly to gain your approval. Do well by your American Bully; they will return your love tenfold.