I do run and walk the piss out of him.   I take him to work with me and run him there (i work outside).  I take him on three walks a day.  He'll get tired and sleep, then when he gets up, watch out.

I...I...I feel so...foolish.

Jesus.  I've tried to explain it several times.  I HAVE NEVER let him stay on the couch.  No matter what I'm doing, I immediately get up and get him off the couch, with force.



He has NEVER been able to get comfortable on the couch.  In my mind, there is NO reason he would feel like he is entitled to the couch.



Also, he is neutered and he is 4 months old.

It's a dog, they are rough with each other in pack life. People make them out as delicate "special" children.

He was from a breeder.  I don't know when he was taken from the mom, but when I visited the litter and bitch, she was kept separate from the litter in a pen by herself.  He was 10 weeks when I witnessed that.

Here is a suggestion.  If the dog gets on the coach, tell him "Off".  Only ONE TIME. Because you expect him to respond the first time right?

If he does not respond, don't just try to prod him to get off on his own.  Pounce on him, and pick him up off the couch by his scruff if he is small enough that it won't hurt him.  If not, pull him to the floor by his scruff.  Get him on the floor, then pin him on his back by the skin on his neck.  You don't want to choke the dog out, you want to simulate another dog pinning him by the neck with his teeth.  Bark in his face with a low growl "NOOOOOOOOO", and keep him there until he stops squirming.  Here is another tip.  Watch dogs having a dominance fight.  The dog establishing dominance usually comes out of nowhere like lightning, a couple moves, and it's done!  Either the dog is moving aggressively, or CALMLY stationary.  By the time you have to roll him, are going to be frustrated, DON'T let the frustration show.  You have to stay calm and in control.  If frustration shows, it encourages the difficult dog because they think they are winning.  It's difficult sometimes, but keep at it.  Just very calmly keep the dog on his back until his tail tucks, his ears go back, and he relaxes.  Let there never be any doubt who is going to prevail.  The dog senses this.  ONCE HE SUBMITS, tell him "good boy" and let him go.

ETA: you have to watch the dog very closely!  As soon as he shows signs of submission, RELAX.  Hold him there, but RELAX.  The instant he starts to squirm again, IN HIS FACE, GROWLING.  Etc. etc.  

This is the level I had to ramp up to with my 120 lb. male, un-nuetered GSD who was removed from his litter WAY too early, and reared by a woman and her two daughters, then passed on to me at the age of two years old.  He is still far from perfect, but he is much better than when I first got him.

I would really highly suggest you crate train your dog.  Crate training helps establish the basic rules and gives your dog a safe, comfy den to relax and that he can go to when he is feeling put out too.  My GSD loves his crate.

Keep at it until he gets it.  Do it every time and he will.  Then he will graduate to just getting up there when you are gone.  You'll have a harder time convincing your wife that you aren't hurting the dogs feelings.  In the end, for you and your dog to co-exist at a level that you can keep him long term and have a bond, he has to learn the rules.

Both.  I tried "pinching" the scruff and yanking it down to the ground.  He thrashed about so much that I ended up trying to pin his whole body down.  I have even "bitten" his neck while down there growling at him while holding him down.



It was literally a strenuous struggle that lasted 15 minutes with him never relenting, let alone stopping squirming/biting/kicking.

That is such horse shit, our goldens new the diference between get out of the kitchen and go in the kitchen.

We are not all the dog whisperer... a rolled up newspaper is just fine.  It doesn't hurt them (and it certainly doesn't hurt when my wife hits ME in the head with it).  

That said, my dogs are currently sitting with me on the couch.  They will, however, almost always get off the couch or bed at the command of, "off."  So, as long as they do what I want them to WHEN I want them to, they get to keep their privileges.  When they stop listening, they get smacked and grounded from the couch/bed for a couple days.  They usually understand.

I have a fly swatter, all I have to do is pick it up and my dog will stop what he's doing and run about 5 or 10 feet away. I've never hit him with it or anything else. He doesn't like it because I have swatted the end table or something else to make him stop what ever it is he was doing,  just the sound of it makes him stop. I'd never hit him with anything, but it is effective.

If you're down to whacking the dog to correct a behavior, you've overlooked several more effective ways that a decent dog owner should already know how to do.



Hit your dog if you want, but you're stupid. Feel free to argue, that's what stupid people do.

Just a suggestion, don't "pinch" grab as much as a dog with his mouth open would. This would be on the side of his face behind his cheek near where his head meets his neck. Then don't yank down, pull up and over forcing him to twist his head on his own and go down by himself. Yanking him downward might be considered more aggressive than corrective which is why you are getting the reaction you describe. Also you need to stay calm because anger will be taken as agrresion in that situation.

Terrible advice.    There are as many ideas about training animals as there are animals.

The Alpha dog typically nips unruly dogs on the neck, growls or gets in their face.  You can do that... but nipping at a dog just gets you a mouthful of fur.  You're kidding yourself if you think the alpha dog doesn't occasionally demonstrate to a particularly unruly member of the pack that his threat of force is credible.  

A smack or two on the ass with the rolled up newspaper is just fine.  As another poster said, it's the sound of the swat coupled with the feeling of BEING swatted that makes them understand who the alpha really is.

As for the not understanding English.  My dog knows EXACTLY what the word, "walk," means... hell, I took to spelling it, and he now responds the same way to the spelled out, "walk" as the WORD, "walk."  I've taken to spelling it backwards.  I recommend everyone who owns a dog get the book, "Sit, Stay, Think."  My dogs understand A LOT more than most other dogs I know... mostly because I make an effort to teach them.  

Much of it is tone of voice, but, for instance, when they have stolen one of my socks, I ask them politely, "is that yours?"  And they drop it.  If they are in my way, I generally say, "excuse me," and they move.  If they don't sit immediately on the command of, "sit," I ask them, "what did I tell you?"  And they generally sit.  It doesn't have to be exactly those words, but the tone of voice coupled with some of the key words will get the point across.  I am no where near as good as the author of the book I recommended, but my dogs are pretty smart - even for mutts.

I'm asking for advice, because we're not all born knowing how to train every dog in the world.





I've only had one dog before, a mutt that was reasonably well behaved with completely different behaviors than this one.  I didn't know shit about training then either, but whatever we did, it worked.  



This dog is different, and I'm asking for suggestions because despite your personal attack, I'm not "stupid."  I'm smart enough to know that I don't know everything.  You however don't seem to suffer from this knowledge.

I have to ask do you praise him when he gets off the couch? Or do you go into your I am claiming the couch mode?

Newspapers are for retrieving.

What you need to do for a quick fix is a training collar .

It will work ,  I guarantee it.


As for establishing your self as pack leader that will take some time and some training on your part.

Not the dog.

As stated before, I praise him when he volutarily responds to the command "off."  With food and "pets."  This occurance (with the couch) is extremely rare.   He understands and obeys "off" when dealing with people and tables etc.



I know to reward positive behavior.  It only took him about 5 tries before he completely mastered "give me your paw."   The next day,  I taught him "shake" using the other paw.  



Things he knows and does well (when focused in "training" mode):



-sit

-lay down

-paw (his left paw)

-shake (his right paw)

-stay (amazes me with this.  He'll stay for over a minute while I prepare his food.  I'll place the food dish on the floor and he'll wait until I say "ok."   As soon as I do, he runs over and gobbles it down.

-watch me (stares at you in the eye till rewarded, can hold for 15 seconds or so till he looks away)



-leave it (on walks he is starting to obey this command but not dependably)

-off (sometimes successful but not dependably).





If he is focused on something intently, all bets are off.  Wh

Some breeds can turn completely timid if you hit them.  Others such as a boxer will be like "yeah!  lets kick the crap out of this newspaper"     Hands and voice are whats needed.  use a stick when they think they can screw with you and then get out of your hands reach (boxers again for example)   Consistently be the boss and always love them and problems melt.

I don't know if I can convince my wife of the training collar.  She's not into it.  Will see.



Definitely, I know I need training to be able to train the dog.  I don't know what the fuck I'm doing.  However, I'm reading everything I can, and trying everything.  It just doesn't seem to work. It's got to be something.

This has been effective for my dog.

I'm going to get eviscerated for this, but if he is drawing blood, I've only seen two ways of fixing that - which probably shows how little I actually know.

1. Shove your hand further in his mouth (NOT forcefully, but hard enough that he can't expel it) until he is choking on it and frantically trying to spit your hand out.  My dog was nippy and that's how I cured it.  

2.  Whup the hell out of the dog with something (not your hand) as soon as he bites you.  I have seen that work.  The dog was never the same, but it cured the biting AND cured the dominance issue - the dog always deferred to the guy that administered the whupping.  And it saved the dog from being shot.

You will note that, people who say things like swingset has, never offer a realistic technique - only condemnation of an approach that has worked for thousands of years.  They're like the people that teach time-outs for children instead of spankings.  A balanced approach of positive reinforcement tempered with negative reinforcement really works the best as a beginning approach.  As you learn your dog's personality, you can lean toward one direction or the other.  



Not all dogs are the same.  Some need a swat - others, not so much.

Then again, I've raised more than my fair share of strays.  The only dog we've ever paid for was my wife's designer mutt - a Cock-a-poo.  It's always been smart enough to know when it had done something wrong.

The Cock-a-poo


The Mutt defending himself from a few strays we were fostering until they got adopted.  

Try training a hound and get back to me. Very lovable but the most stubborn creatures to ever grace the earth.



 

Do you notice that he only behaves when the shock collar is on?  That is my fear.

It will work fast and the dog will understand the word NO after a few times.

Then go with the beep only or some just vibrate.


I'm always very hesitant on recomending them because some people over use them.



Like I said this is a quick fix only...


edit to add


It has to be a re enforced training , but eventualy the collar can come off.

If he is displaying this level of stubbornness and aggressiveness, at this age (he is still a puppy, when he is not a puppy any more it will be X 10) with the techniques you said you have used, you need to seek the help of a professional or two.





 

Honestly, the more I think about this the dog is 4 months old. You really are dealing with a "child" at this point. I think that if you just remain consistent and try to apply some of the stuff mentioned in this thread the dog will be fine. You might want to cut back on using treats or pets to suppliment praise to the point that your voice is sufficient. Also make sure your significant other is on the same page as you. Some women have a tendancy to be counter productive when it comes to training and discipline of a dog.

I wouldn't hit a dog too early in it's life.  My first dog I was to physical with too early and he would cower if I got angry with him.  The dog I'm currently training is 7 months old now and I am just now starting to physically punish him(very lightly).  I am primarily using a stern tone of voice for correction and positive reinforcement for everything else.  I am very pleased with his progress.  I have been able to break nearly all of his undesireable traits and he seems really eager to please.

As far as the couch goes, you might want to try mouse traps.  That worked for a friends dog.

Edit to say that at age 1 I will start using a shock collar to train him from a greater distance.

You're supposed to switch it out with a regular collar after you're satisfied with the dog's behavior.  A smart dog might be able to tell the difference, but that same dog would likely figure out you didn't want him on the couch after the first couple of times you corrected him.

He responds to "don't bite"  ONLY if you have the bitter apple spray bottle in your hand.  He KNOWS that he will get sprayed.



He also KNOWS I don't want him on the couch.  When I get up to get him off, he hunkers down and tries to force himself against the cushion.

That's because he doesn't respect you , and also you have to understand that puppies nip.

That is something he will grow out of.

I'm sure I've whacked all three of mine w/a paper once or twice, probably for leaving the yard.

They are reluctant to leave now but when they do all they have to do is hear the paper hit my hand and they b-line it into the yard.

Paper works fine for much but don't over-do it.

An empty coke can w/4 pennies and a good shake will get their attention but from there you need to supply the instruction.

One thing you have to teach a dog is to understand english (some call it commands but I don't buy into that) and like kids, keep them occupied and you have to be the head dog.

At his age he will be mouthy, react like a dog would. Basically yelp loudly. This would also be a time to utilize the "pinch" if he gets more aggressive. In this case litterally pinch him like he is nipping you. Or you could do the shove your hand down his throat till he starts to choke. It works but it doesn't help with training him to have a softer bite.

Bad idea , I know some books or trainers write that.


Good way to make a dog afraid of loud noise.

That is a bad training technique.

The pup is trying to assert his dominance, and I think this is something he will grow into. Some dogs have a natural drive to be a leader, and will always be testing their limits and trying to move up in the pack, as much as it is bred out of them. Unless there is something major we are missing from the situation, I think this guy is going to be a handful all of his life.



 

I just beat my dog at every tough guy pissing contest he wanted to start. He is a pit, and he still has his balls, so it was tough. Do the neck grip, press em on the ground, never lose a staring contest, if he growls, dominate him. Never let him walk through doorways first, always eat before your dog-preferably in front of them. Check them on everything. Its great, I have a very obedient dog now. He knows lots of commands, and submits completely.
















 

4 months is young , real young


That's why I was hesitant in telling him to use a training collar.

The OP just needs to train himself , the dog wants him to be the pack leader.

The dog isn't seeing that in him right now.

That is frickin hilarious!

My Boxer has gotten a whack or two for all the chewing. She knows exactly what she has done and what she's in trouble for before she has ever been swatted.

The posture says it all.

I have no doubt the swatting is painless to her.

I never rubbed her face in accidents as a puppy either but I damn sure showed her up close while telling her she was bad. It worked fine and the manuever also put me in a dominant Alpha position and her in a submissive one. She knows who the boss is.

Lots of good tips in here.

Does chasing him around the yard with the garbage can count?

I disagree, just don't over do it or yes, it could happen.

You whack your dog with a rolled up newspaper? Kind of strange. Try a fleshlight.

I had a Springer Spaniel that came from the pound, I wonder if that was how he got scared of loud noises.  I had to break him of that to hunt with him.  Turned out pretty well but it took weeks to get him over it.