"So I have a dog, a pitbull/rottweiler dog. And Ive had him for over 5 monthes now, and Ive been training it. But lately it hasnt been listening, and he's a 1yr pup (I found him when he was a stray).Im thinking of buying a shock collar to get the message across to him to not jump on people, especially little kids like my nephew. I let him outside the yard to take a piss, and then I call him and he doesnt come inside. He just runs away from me."

He's only a year old. He's not going to start listening instantly. give it time.

"I just dont like the idea of letting him outside even on the leash because last month on valentines day he "some how" got off the leash while I was gone."

"While I was gone"? I REALLY wouldn't recommend leaving a puppy outside when you're not around. Treat him like a child.

"Animal trainers just seem to expensive for the moment, shock collars cost rather cheap."

You're looking at about $100 dollars. I've worked with animals all my life, and have taken courses in dog training and animal behaviour, and I consider them overly harsh and unnecessary.

"It's hard to train dogs when they aren't puppies... just hit him on the nose whenever he does something bad. Dogs HATE that! Also, talk to him in a FIRM voice, that should get your point across!"

It's no harder to train a dog than a puppy. It's easier sometimes, actually, since puppies are so hyper and inquisitive.

For one thing, don't hit your dog for trivial reasons. Use it as a "last resort", kind of like you would spanking a child. Even then, I'd be wary of using it, as negative reinforcement has been proven time and time again to be inaffective. The negative stimulus MUST happen less than 1 second after the event you want to discourage, or else the dog won't understand exactly what's bad. If you start hitting your dog, say, when you come home and find a mess on the floor, he'll just pair the negative reinforcement with your presense, and start avoiding you. This type of behaviour, sadly, is CONSTANTLY reinforced into dogs by people who think that dogs are like children, and that you can explain with your actions what you want. You can't. The best way to train a dog is through positive reinforcement. I prefer using little crackers, or small pieces of cheese. Dogs have a natural urge to please humans, and it's best to use that.

When he does something you don't like, you have to be very careful how you handle it, or you could end up accidently reinforcing the bad behaviour. Some types of physical punishment/yelling don't actually teach the dog. They see it as a form of attention, and dogs LOVE attention. A stern "No" is enough. When they stop, reward them. If that doesn't work, sometimes the best thing you can do, for example, with annoying barking, is completely ignore the dog. He'll stop, and when he does, you reward him.

"There's something called a citronella collar that is much less cruel. It's a collar with a box that sprays a harmless mist on the dogs face that has a smell they don't like. You use a remote control to activate it."

Although I agree with citronella collars, NEVER EVER try to train your dog with a remote control! For the same reason I said before, these are so easily abused if you don't press the button during that 1 second window.

"I think shock collars are quite possibly among the least cruel methods of operantly conditioning a dog."

... Other than every other method? I mean really, I agree that shock collars aren't that bad, but it's worse than a smack to the butt or nose. It works by physical pain. You can't deny that. If you want to, stap on a collar and speak. :P

I would recommend looking up some advice on the internet, but be careful. Anybody who recommends negative reinforcement before trying EVERYTHING else isn't competant, imo.

And another thing, just because it works, and your dog stopped doesn't mean it's a proper way to train a dog. If you beat a child, they'll stop whatever it is they're doing, but that doesn't make it right.