Shankly, my 4 mth old pup is progressing well (I think) though only listens to me really well when there is food involved! He sits, stays, will recall OK most of the time (for food) but without it, I may as well be talking to a brick wall. Also, he is extremely bitey on people and clothing, and whenever I tell him to stop he looks up at me and yaps at me like a defiant teenager, or goes for it even more.
I have been following 'The perfect Puppy' and have been trying to ensure that we humans are consistently 'top dog' of the house. I have a feeling that Shankly thinks he's a little higher on the ladder than what he really is!
I am taking him to puppy classes, which he loves, but apart from the socialisation, I am not sure how beneficial they are. I feel that Shankly really enjoys the puppy class, he looks at it as an opportunity to see his mates but we seem to be learning very little. It was recommended by vet, and is the only one in my area. The method of training doesn't use food rewards, and Shankly's trainer seems very abrupt. For example, we are 'taught' to train sit & lie down by firmly pulling up/down the lead. Other things we do in the class (such as recall and teaching stay still for ear, mouth, etc inspections) make sense, but generally the approach seems to be not as positive as I feel it should be. (I live in Holland, and wonder if this may have something to do with the differences in techniques and philosophies, as I have noticed differences in other situations too!).
I am thinking about trying clicker training, and have a few questions:
Is it more likely to encourage the right behaviour out of him during training, instead of me being totally ignored?
If I am not allowed to use it in Shankly's puppy lessons, will I be confusing him by using a different method in class?
I am new to dog training, as you can probably tell, and don't know how to improve the situation. I know that training is a slow process, and he is still very young. I also know that biting, etc is normal. I just want to know that I am doing everything possible to help Shankly grow up to be the happy and well trained gorgeous boy I know he can be!
Thanks in advance for any advice offered.