Yes I think buying a book about your specific breed is a great idea. It will give you a better understanding of your dog and help create a stronger more repsectful bond between both of you.

yes they are pack animals and you can't change that but they do listen to the pack leader and you have to be pack leader in order to gain their respect. Thats communicating on their level.

I LOVE all DOGS.

But you've hit the "yelling" thing on the head. Too often people end up just yelling all the time, it desensitizes everyone. Save it for the important times, such as when they're running into a dangerous situation, and they will know to stop.

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I put him in the 'What Pets do you have' thread too:

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It's Medicine Jim

Im not fond of dogs they scare me a bit,other peoples are fine but I won't own one myself.I like teh cats they are lazy like me!

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I am female,and yes the cat in the avatar is me.

hes teething get him some chew toys or just smoke an ounce blunt with him im a vet tech trust me itll work

Ok guys...there have been a lot of great responses...thank you. As far as trying to dominating me...I don't think so. Because we'll Be petting him, and he'll get a little hyper, and just slide the thumb nibble for litterally 2 seconds and let go. No pressure. Just kinda like how a baby would chew on something. He's very good. His previous owner put in alot of time. He in no way tries to dominate. He listens very well. I do have a concern though. When he meets new people he likes to jump, and harass for attention. How do I break this. Some people enjoy it, and others find it annoying. I don't mind with me, because I know he just wants attention. But as far as others I'd like him to calm down. My wife has a 4.5 y/o APBT, and he still nibbles. I've been reading and i've found that it's like them saying "I love you". I don't think he would ever bite in anger or defiance.

An ounce blunt? lol. I did medicate him though. He was having some stomach issues because of the tranistion and me giving him people food to early. So he wasn't eating...maybe he was afraid of the outcome...so I gave him a couple hits. He waited about 15 minutes and tore his bowl of food up. He has plenty of toys. He doesn't look to bite us...he just does it occasionally after we come in after a walk.

Kind of like a nuzzle, but different. Our pups would inevitably do that, but we nipped it in the bud early. We had to with so many dogs.

With the jumping, try explaining to your visitors that you are breaking him out of the habit so he doesn't jump on a toddler and knock it over by accident. Unfortunately, it can take a while for a pup to realise its strength, so it's a good idea to break the need to jump up early. It can also lead to a dominance thing, where the dog will show its superiority to a stranger in their territory by standing up or jumping up on them. Not an attack, but a "hey dude, how you doin? I live here and I'm more important than you."
Anyway, always say "No!" (we say "No Jumping!"...it's distinctive in its sound) and push him back to the ground. Ask your friends to do the same and he'll soon realise it's wrong. But above all, be persistent and consistent...and love 'em up heaps too of course .

The harshest discipline our dogs got was me grabbing them around the snout and forcing them to the ground. Not twisting or anything, just firmly grabbing their snout, then guiding their head to the ground and holding them there while I chastised them and they stopped trying to pull away. That's another very good dominance thing that dogs understand.If they growled at me, they got slapped. Our dogs were also taught not to growl at each other or fight during feed time and missed out if they argued over food. At one stage we only had five large bowls for 15 dogs and they all knew who they shared a bowl with and never raided the other dogs' bowls.

I know it sounds corny, but you can combine a distinctive hand movement with the "No jumping" thing and after a while all you'll need do is get his attention and make the hand movement. Hehe, if I point at Jack when he's done nothing wrong, his expression immediately changes to "What'd I do?"
Dogs are brilliant at interpreting body language in dogs *and* humans that they live with.

Damn I wish my Lady was here. She has 'the way' with dogs. She barely has to raise her voice and Jack is already stopped whatever he may have been about to do. She could explain all this better than me. Only two days before she's back...with medicine too!

Oh, before I take over this thread too much, if you hand feed him and he lunges at the food, push him back and say something like "No. Be gentle." If you have too *gently* slap him on the end of the nose. It's really sensitive, so don't hit him hard. Practice with him long enough and he'll learn to take food from your finger gentler than a mouse. Jack's father could lift a 1/2" cube of meat from your fingers so slowly and gently, that you could barely feel his lips, teeth or tongue. With bigger pieces he'd take them gently into his mouth, but wouldn't pull back until you let the meat go. I've got a photo of him around this 'puter somewhere too. I've gotta shut up. Back to the

I'm happy for you guys getting a dog.

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It's Medicine Jim

Thank you. He's pretty gentle, and awfully well-behaved for a 10 month old.
My wife and I think he knows alot more than what we've picked up on. But hey we've only had him 4 days. So i'll start with the "NO JUMPING!" And we'll work from there considering that's my biggest issue thus far. Oh, and the nibbling is only done to us. We've taken him around and he doesn't do it to anyone else.

it's funny you mention the last part because he doesn't move until we walk outside. He doesn't even walk down the steps until we go first. He's very good with knowing his place. He's not toy possessive. We say "Release" and he let's go on command.