Looking for advice on training two sibling VERY DISTRACTABLE puppies.

Question
Hi, I have two rescue puppies, about 3-4 months old, which are brother and sister. I have been trying to train them  to sit, fetch, etc with not much luck. The only thing they have seemed to pick up is my whistle to come(which my wife hates because she can't duplicate it). We believe they are atleast part American Pit Bull since one of their sister's we gave away (we found 4 originally) had blood work which came back fullblood pit. These puppies are kept outside in a very large country yard and only put in a the kennel, also outside, at night. There are a number of neighbor dogs which they play with during the day but I would like for them to be able to Stay when I tell them to. They don't like any treats except raw deer meat, not beef, not pork,or store bought, deer only. Any tips?

Answer
When you have two puppies together, especially litter mates, there's a strong possibility that they bond closely to each other, and not so much with the humans in their lives. And by maintaining them as strictly outdoor dogs you are also giving up your opportunity to have them bond to you, and to truly be important in their lives. In order for a dog to really want to work for a human, there needs to be a relationship. That means they live with you, you control at least some of their resources, and make most of their rules. Living outside and playing with each other and other dogs, they can control their own resources and make their own rules. Additionally with littermates, their relationship with each other tends to shut out others. There's even a name for it. It's known as "littermate syndrome" and it can lead to huge problems - ranging from being highly competitive with each other to being so dependent on the other dog that they are inseperable, and often one dog totally controlling the other one. I would probaby look for a good class, and study up on clicker training (www.clickertraining.com). This sort of positive reinforcement based training is good for making the dog see you as relevant, give him/her a reason to interact with you, and is more effective than most methods for teaching the dogs the behaviors you want. And I'd bring them, at least part time - separately - into the house for social time with people and training without the sibling. If you take them to class, they should go at different times. They need to learn to be individuals. Sandy Case BFA MEd CPDT www.positivelycanine.com