Hi, So I feel like my 8 month old pup is completely manipulating me and I need advice. He knows what behaviour gains rewards and so does it before I have even asked....for example...when we are walking he will grab the lead and tug when I say Jack he let's go sits and waits for a treat. He will nip the treat bag if I just reward him with affection or at times bark and growl at me....the tugging can be sore as he is 32kg...he picks up rubbish and again drops it as soon as his name is said and sits for a treat. So am I reading to much into this or is there another way I can get him to stop biting and tugging on his lead aggressively to then carry out good behaviour to get treats....he is also still super excited at meeting other dogs and people and a 32kg pup bouncing around is hard to get under control at times. Please help
Hi @Elaine06 , I'm not sure I can help but lots of us have had problems with lead grabbing and so forth at various points, myself included. It sounds like Jack is pretty bright, but I doubt he's doing those things to manipulate you, just that he's learnt what works to his benefit. Do you go to classes or have a good positive trainer that you can work with? With the food grabbing, have you done any of the impulse control games were they learn to work around food and not grab it, this I found a really good thing when my Cassie, now 2, was a puppy. I'm sure there are solutions to your problems, hopefully someone else will be along soon with more advice.
