Author Topic: Salty AKA the Piranha-Cockerdile hybrid  (Read 10036 times)

0 Members and 2 Guests are viewing this topic.

Offline Ben's mum

  • Donator
  • Hero Member
  • *
  • Posts: 2951
  • Gender: Female
Re: Salty AKA the Piranha-Cockerdile hybrid
« Reply #15 on: August 21, 2019, 09:42:51 AM »
Is Salty motivated by food? Its much easier if they are, we did clicker training with Ben and he loved that as well.  When he came running towards us all bitey we could distract by turning it into a game with some training commands all given in quick succession so he has to concentrate eg sit, down, spin, stand, give paw - then a big praise and a treat. It distracted him from the biting and made it into a game and then he was moved on quite quickly. 


Offline PaulJ

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 68
Re: Salty AKA the Piranha-Cockerdile hybrid
« Reply #16 on: August 21, 2019, 12:32:38 PM »
With jumping up we use standing on lead technique.

I greeting people lead is on and as they approach a foot is placed on lead so pup cannot jump up. Soon learns not to jump up at people and how to greet them correctly.

With sofa we have a light house lead on if he is being jumpy. Again a foot on lead stops him jumping up. To start off with foot was firmly planted on lead so he learnt to settle.

Offline Digger

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 218
Re: Salty AKA the Piranha-Cockerdile hybrid
« Reply #17 on: August 21, 2019, 07:36:51 PM »
Hi- just wanted to chime in. I haven't read every single post so apologies if I'm repeating anything.
Just wanted to say-sounds just like mine at that age. You put heaps of time and effort in and think you're getting somewhere then next thing you know, you look round and think you've got a vicious dog!
We also had the sofa snapping arguments and feeling like we were prey in our own home. Not nice.
Anyway, firstly some reassurance.  our dog is lovely now. Still has her own ideas sometimes but is generally fine. Well socialised and especially good with children.( I made a point of standing outside schools at kick out time when she was a pup). Like a weirdo.

If ours was attacking us and we couldn't remove her, we would remove ourselves. They don't like to be separated from their family. That worked for us,but it did take time.

Otherwise put her in time out. The only thing with that is, you can cause some association with being naughty and the dog bed. Our dog spent so many minutes in her pen (which is where her bed was) for  being naughty that once we realised she wasn't getting timed out any more we actually relocated her bed to another area- like you're a good girl now, we don't need it.
Another thing I recommend Is being quiet. Naturally when your dog is attacking you you are going 'get off you little ****!!' But if you are quiet, there is nothing to rile up the dog and you're not both barking!
We couldn't do much at all with ours til she was one and she didn't stop attacking us til she was 18 months. She is still very prey driven if you are a bird, but she is exceptionally good with people. Absolutely loves them and will ignore their dog to go and collect her cuddle from the Human. Everyone who meets her falls in love instantly and no-one believes what she was like. To be honest, she was approaching two before I believed she was listening to a word I said, but it was obviously all going in- she just wasn't showing me that it had!
Yours is probably just really clever. The naughty ones are but stick with it-it'll probably be a really good dog in time. You 've just got to do what you can and trudge through the bad bit. It will get better!

Offline Lobo do Mar

  • Donator
  • Full Member
  • *
  • Posts: 115
Re: Salty AKA the Piranha-Cockerdile hybrid
« Reply #18 on: August 26, 2019, 11:13:46 PM »
Hi, and thanks again.

We are making progress:

Sofa 'OFF' is now a game all fine :)

Swap or drop for getting him to let go of things - or just 'that's mine' and light fingers to remove it if it is actually mine (never any growling or complaints) :)

We are all trying very hard not to raise voices and be calm, seems to be working :)

I have cleared the 'outer' 1000 m^2 garden (as opposed to his 'inner' patios) and we have let him run around there and practised recall, sit, down, and now moving onto stay - all going great with the help of small bits of treat as rewards - actually, he susses out what will come next and rushes off to do it before we open our mouths if we don't mix up the order a bit :)

I take him for a 25 min walk on the short lead around the streets in the morning and 25 mins on the long 5m extendable lead in the forest in the afternoon - he is excellently behaved on the lead :)

But, he still has episodes where he is going for us (there is no other way to put it).

I have been observing him during these, and:
With me he is barking and growling and snapping at me, darting in and out.
If I didn't know him I would be terrified, but if I just put my hands down he will launch and snap at them in what appears to be a vicious way, but there is very little bite force - similarly on my legs (although skin puncture and bleeding occurs most times due to tiny teeth).
He is also with his head down low, often with his tail wagging. 
Sometimes this is interspersed with tail-between-the-legs mad circular Wall-Of-Death type Zoomies (outside)
To me, he seems to be asking for attention, specifically for a rough play-fight.
If I can get him and pick him up in a cuddle he is all licks and stops immediately.
If we are inside I try to calmly remove him to outside
If we are outside I try to calmly remove myself.

With my (psychologist) wife its similar, she just said she thought he was much better, but that he was definitely 'trying his luck and pushing boundaries'.

With my daughter, he is the best with her in training, but when he goes snappy at her she understandable flinches away and isn't always totally calm (she is only 9, but is doing really well) and so he pushes it more, until we come in as back up.

We are using time outs in his patio (when he immediately starts crying but soon stops), or in his bedroom for forced naps

He is loosing his teeth - only lower canines now and others further back missing.
I am hoping that his adult ones don't come through
Only joking.

I bought a few tug toys but he shows very little interest in these

Am buying all manner of chews - they seem to keep him happy but he has a very short attention span in terms of needing new types .....
still trying to find yakers or bully sticks here, he did like the veggie Cerea toothbrushes but seems to have gone off them.
Actually, I think his mouth could be a bit too sore and that's why he prefers biting us softer Humans :)

In terms of food, he is still very bad at eating regularly and needs coercion / being shut in his bedroom to finish his meals without wandering off looking for something more interesting to do.
EDIT: from the 'Teething' Section of http://www.cockersonline.co.uk/puppy.htm: "Puppies may also go off their usual food around this time (soaking the food to soften it can sometimes help if this happens) " I have been soaking the food and this has helped :)

I have to say, this is a lot, lot, lot harder than my previous puppy, and my Wife's previous Cockers were never anything like this apparently, but we all have a very strong bond with the little B*gger :)

So, anything I should be changing?
I think I am already pushing at the limit in terms of exercise?

Offline Digger

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 218
Re: Salty AKA the Piranha-Cockerdile hybrid
« Reply #19 on: August 27, 2019, 02:18:55 PM »
Ooh just one other thing. Ours even now occasionally (sometimes after eating-and certain foods do it, or if she's got really excited and hasn't quite got it out of her system)...gets the sudden aggressive outburst. You know like when they get the zoomies-ours sometimes does that when she's wet.  Anyway, you can usually see it in their eyes ...that ' I really need to kill something' look.  ph34r Ours has got a nice heavy teddy. If she gets funny we just give her that and she'll shake it to death until she gets it out of her system- it's that or the cusions so we direct her to the 'allowed victim'!- that  usually does the trick and satisfies her urge to attack. After a minute she gets over it and is back to cuddly pooch.
They are weird dogs! :lol:

Offline Lobo do Mar

  • Donator
  • Full Member
  • *
  • Posts: 115
Re: Salty AKA the Piranha-Cockerdile hybrid
« Reply #20 on: August 27, 2019, 10:21:48 PM »
Hi,
Had a good day today again, lots of training in the garden, he was bounding around really happy to go between my daughter and I as we called him, sitting, laying down, even staying (for a bit ...)
Gave him some time out sleep time too.

Then this evening, I took him out into the garden again and he refused to listen or come back at all, even when enticed with treats.

Then, back in the house he had a bitey attack and actually got very aggressive with me with bared teeth and growling and then especially with my wife; this time there was definite gums rolled right back to show teeth, very aggressive growling and lunging / writhing / spittle as my wife tried to pick him up - although the biting bit was not hard.

I grabbed him around the middle as softly as I could (have to be quick - or he thinks my hands are a great game to bite) and calmly took him to his room

Actually,  I'd like not to have to grab him, but don't really think I have any choice, if I try to calmly remove myself I get very bitten on the way out, and don't think making a run for it sends a good signal.
Maybe I am wrong.
But when he is like this there is no question of him taking any notice of any commands or treats, or toys or anything else.

Half an hour latter, went to him and he was all licks and tail wagging, but after 5 mins had me pinned down in the yard - although not so aggressive this time, and mostly just with lunges and that horrible high pitched barking.

So, I grabbed him and put him to bed in his room, calmly but with disappointment.

So, now I am really worried about this aggression bit - the real baring of the teeth - this isn't like play biting at all - should I be worried, or is this 'normal' too?

I am getting a bit worried that this is snowballing and I am blinding myself to the obvious as it gets incrementally worse, and I just accept each step downwards until we are at a point that I would never had contemplated getting into had I know where it was going at the beginning of our plan to welcome a dog into our family

Should I get an outside opinion?
Or is the problem with us?
Also, how will I be able to trust him when he is older?

Obviously we are a bit sad right now - hopefully tomorrow will bring a brighter hope

Offline Digger

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 218
Re: Salty AKA the Piranha-Cockerdile hybrid
« Reply #21 on: August 29, 2019, 12:30:44 PM »
Hi again. I absolutely feel your pain. I apologise for the upcoming essay.

Seriously,this is exactly what Inca was like. The behaviour is identical.
I really did think 'oh my God-we have a vicious dog'.

I think it's not that they are vicious dogs and I am no expert but I do think there seem to be 3 levels of cocker spaniel. I have interviewed literally about 100 people with cockers. There seems to be:
1) The really docile teddy bears (usually the show type);
2) The more common type of working cocker- high energy, intelligent, busy busy but generally quite biddable and reasonably easy to train;
3) The type we've got- a rarer type from what I can gather. Possibly in our case, the totally working lineage has not helped. Our ones ancestors were either working or shut up. They were not pets. Our one doesn't do that 'merry cocker' thing- where they just pad backwards and forwards looking up at you wagging their tail. She's a thinker. First and foremost, a hunter.
 Unfortunately, ours will catch and kill birds if given the chance. It's an urge so deep I haven't been able able to even communicate with her if she is accidentally given the opportunity (which I try to avoid of course). We've had to securely fence our chickens.
I think this type also display guarding behaviours. Ours does, although it's ok-it's manageable.
Ours displayed exactly the behaviour yours is at the moment. It went on for months and was exhausting. Even now, given the right circumstances (overexcitement/ over tired/wrong food) she will start getting a bit silly but now a stern word and a quick timeout and she remembers how to behave.
I really am no expert and you may want to consult one (let me know what they say if you do!!!) We thought about it but I honestly thought it was a bit pointless because they would have to see the actual behaviour which would be so hard to time, and I think it would be really hard to make a judgement on such a jeckyll and Hyde dog. (Get that feeling?).

I can give you an opinion though. I think these are just top end of feisty dogs and as such need a slightly different approach from the norm. Ours is so feisty she just didn't give a ****.
 Like it seems with yours-ours WANTED a fight!! If you see her bashing through the undergrowth after a bird, you can see how ideas like squirting a little bit of water at her or something is going to have no affect on such a bullish dog.
I am not suggesting for a moment that you hit your dog or anything but I think you do need to get tough on the very worst of the behaviour as it will possibly get worse before it gets better.
Ours started like yours and progressed to actually properly going for me if I wanted her to get off something. She only did this a few times and the first time I actually felt quite scared. I had to remove myself for a good think.
I thought to myself..it's only a little dog. It's sort it out or get rid of it?!!! Option 2 wasn't going to end well was it, so I had to man up.
We used a containment area (a 'playpen' about 6'x3').
Sure enough she did it again. I had already planned my response-no messing-I used an  immediate loud booming voice of disapproval which startled her just long enough for my left hand to grasp the back of her collar so she couldn't bite me, and scooped her up and tucked her body under my right arm. Dumped her in the enclosure with further words of disgust, left the room and slammed the door.
For regular silliness she would be excluded for a minute but for this major offence I left her in silence for 15.

I know you shouldn't have to do this, my other dog never behaved like this blahblahblah- I had to get over all that and realise it is what it is- I have to deal with it.

It's all very depressing at the time and I do know why you feel like you may have a 'wrongun' and maybe we both do?!

BUT... :D

Ours is just two.  I let her play with our two year old granddaughter. I watch but do not feel worried. She can take a tennis  ball (most prized thing in Inca's world) out of her mouth. So can any other child.
We can leave her at home and she just shuts down when we're not there. She loves people-always up for a cuddle. She's very loyal and very brave. She 'viciously' saw off an enormous Staffie cross that came bounding towards our granddaughter the other day, with zero concern for her own safety. I don't think I will ever 'be attacked by another dog!
I still think she is a complicated character and is still wilful and naughty sometimes but I also get comments all the time on how good and especially how sweet she us (hahaha!).

My top tips would be:
-Train by repetition and habit forming-that seems to work best.
-New bad behaviours are often worst when they first appear. Try not to panic- make a plan and stick to it- the behaviour will probably moderate itself too.
-I'm not sure about all the dominance theories and you definitely want to avoid falling out with your dog if you can help it BUT I think these ones do need firm leadership or they'll run for office themselves! Be in charge!

I'm sorry for the essay but I know how it feels to have a difficult dog when everyone else is like 'Oh yeah-mines good as gold-no trouble' and 'ooh no-mine never did that'. It is disappointing but it WILL get better as long as you stay in control of the situation!

 ;)




Offline Lobo do Mar

  • Donator
  • Full Member
  • *
  • Posts: 115
Re: Salty AKA the Piranha-Cockerdile hybrid
« Reply #22 on: August 29, 2019, 01:38:17 PM »
Thanks Digger,

That 'essay' is a great help - exactly the support I was reaching out for thanks :)

I think Salty fits all 3 of your categories, depending on mood/hour/us/moon phase etc ;)

So, what I did yesterday was researched the fall of dominance theory (unrelated Zoo wolves (Rudolph Schenkel, 1930s) vs Wild family unit wolves (David Mech, 2000), and the lack of overlap between wolf and dog behaviour anyway), and it all makes more sense to my brain now.

Then I took him to two vets to see if all was OK physically - all good (although both vets said he was becoming too dominant ;) )
He growled at both vets a bit but I held him and he was fine, and as my 9 year old daughter chimed in, 'I would growl too if someone put a thermometer up my bum'  :005:

Then, I read a bit about house-lines and trail-lines and made one up (2m, old bit of 6mm PE rope from the boat).

THAT made THE difference  :D :D :D :D :D :D

Now he starts to bite at calves (its definitely asking for attention / play behaviour - I consulted the 'I speak dog' site and others), BUT as soon as he does I can control him without the escalation into a circle of play, try to catch, nip, me getting peed off, him getting out of control etc etc - he just can easily understand that its not acceptable and accepts the fact that he must stop. Like a different dog  :D :D :D :D

Also, I have been taking him out on slightly longer leisurely walks in the sandy forest (varying the route each time) and he is far more satisfied (actually, where does the 5 minute per month age rule come from? I am using it as a rule of thumb. I have read that this overexercising problem comes from a (one) study on Great Danes using steps - can anyone educate me better?).

I like using the extendable line - he knows his limits (physically at the end of line) and generally is learning to stay within this and usually comes back when called - loads of rewards and I can use a very small gentle tug reminder when he is distracted

I also have booked a session with a dog(i.e. owner) trainer for Tues. Now I am not sure if we need it any more but will go anyway.

We also bought him a basket to substitute his rug in the living room. Lots of treats in it as it was unveiled to him and we trained him to do 'ON' and 'OFF' on it. Actually we said 'ON' and 'OFF' to him 3 times before he was anticipating the next command before we could say it :)

His mouth must be so sore due to teething as he is off food and even chews - I will try to get a rubber toy for him to chew - c.f. the French Sofie giraffe for kids that we had for our daughter(but will get something sturdier). I asked my daughter if she would donate a cuddly toy, but got a flat refusal :) )

So, panic over and I hope and think that we are all now back on the right track

Thanks again

Offline Digger

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 218
Re: Salty AKA the Piranha-Cockerdile hybrid
« Reply #23 on: August 29, 2019, 02:01:55 PM »
Ahh that's great. ;)

If you do see a behaviourist- I'd say make sure they have experience with cockers.
-I think everyone on here would agree that they're not like any other dog!

Yours is still a baby and if he is like ours there will be new challenges ahead.
 We had our previous dog for 15 years and never did any reading- I've never done so MUCH dog related research since having this one-it's quite interesting really!!

 Anyway, sounds like youre on top of things-well done you!

Keep the faith-and stay in charge of your little monster-. onward and upward!!

Best wishes from sunny Suffolk-with our little monster snoozing on the sofa. >:D

Offline Jaysmumagain

  • Donator
  • Hero Member
  • *
  • Posts: 2450
  • Gender: Female
Re: Salty AKA the Piranha-Cockerdile hybrid
« Reply #24 on: August 30, 2019, 11:28:51 AM »
Fancy calling him Salty AKA the Piranha-Cockerdile  when all the little darling is ......da da da a Portuguese man of war :005:
sorry couldn't resist.....certainly think the teething hasn't helped.  Glad he is seeing someone next week....seems Salty is doing fine it is his humans who aren't.
Cocker kisses and cuddles just make my day!


You are always with me darlings Jaypup and my precious Oliver you are so missed

Offline Lobo do Mar

  • Donator
  • Full Member
  • *
  • Posts: 115
Re: Salty AKA the Piranha-Cockerdile hybrid
« Reply #25 on: September 04, 2019, 09:29:29 AM »
Thanks,

So, Salty is still behaving very well, biting is now not a problem.

I think that its because of:

1. Most important - 6 foot house line. This stopped the 'chase-lung-grab-avoidance cycle' and handed control back to us. Salty responded excellently. He might try an over-excited nip but stops immediately when pulled away by line. If he doesn't have it on he can still dance around and get a bit feisty but he is better and stops immediately when line put on. I am very happy with this 'find' :) It also helps to enforce lots of other stuff, e.g. he is now great with 'OFF' and is generally back to sweet little dog mode in pretty much all respects

2. Yakkers. I got 3 medium ones from Zooplus.pt. They are excellent, should last forever, as long as he doesn't loose his current love of them. I would say I guessed right with the medium size

3. More exercise. He is really enjoying exploring the forest. I dont push him too hard, but do take him for 40 mins twice a day (in cooler parts of day). I am really into using the retractable 5m lead, he has learnt to stay in the 5m radius, and returns on 'HERE' unless sniffing something especially rank (to me :) ) when a very sligth soft tug brings him back

4. I am reading John Bradshaw's 'In defence of dogs' (I love it, I am a Sci/Eng research geek so love the style). I am still not very good at training a dog (Salty and I are learning together :) ) but at least I have a better idea of what is going on.

5. Teething is still going on but I think his mouth is not so sore now. He has a funny mix of huge adult teeth and teeny weeny milk ones  :005:

Probably other reasons but those are my thoughts on our situation with our dog.

Hopefully onwards and ever upwards from now on (famous last words  :005:)


@Digger- Deepest Darkest Suffolk eh? I am from Tendring peninsular (nr. Brightlingsea) and really miss the Essex / Suffolk border country (us people from the Essex side always say the Essex/Suffolk border ;) ) and the East Coast Rivers - its so beautiful there.

@Jaysmumagain - In the end I skipped the trainer meeting as all is now going very well. Actually, I do remember him saying that it was lucky that Salty wasnt a golden colour as these were the worst. I thought that this colour-behaviour link had been disproved? He said it was from breeding mistakes here in Portugal; I guess the gene pool / breeding is isolated from country to country? I am just asking as I am curious - Salty is ours and he is as he is :)
I don't know about 'Man-O-War', although I have called him some other Portuguese names that I won't translate here :)

Offline Gerryjane

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 56
Re: Salty AKA the Piranha-Cockerdile hybrid
« Reply #26 on: September 04, 2019, 11:00:54 AM »
Really pleased that things are improving. The puppy stage is hard work. Do look into brain games as well as physical exercise particularly as Salty moves through the teenage phase. There are lots of ideas on the internet and scentwork/nosework is also great for spaniels. We did a Heelwork to music activity at the weekend .... it was just a taster as walking to heel is still work in progress. Toby joined in quite well and although there was limited physical activity he slept all the way home, woke up to eat and then slept all evening. He was still quiet the next day :D his little brain was shattered!
Incidentally Toby is golden and he is a sweetheart .... unlike our difficult working retriever. Dog training is an unregulated industry and it is easy to find trainers using methods and beliefs that are scientifically disproved and years out of date.

Offline Digger

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 218
Re: Salty AKA the Piranha-Cockerdile hybrid
« Reply #27 on: September 04, 2019, 01:33:54 PM »
Foreigner! We're from the Suffolk/Essex border. :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: (sudbury ;))

I can confirm that Brightlingsea is still alive and kicking-I was there a while ago-went to see a gun dog guy about a naughty little cocker spaniel!!!


Offline Lobo do Mar

  • Donator
  • Full Member
  • *
  • Posts: 115
Re: Salty AKA the Piranha-Cockerdile hybrid
« Reply #28 on: January 30, 2020, 10:09:25 AM »
Hello!
So, just an update, after some time, but really to add to the info here with my personal experience with my specific cocker
Salty is now 'matured' in his madness now that he is 10 months old :lol:

He still has an annoying habit of nipping us when he wants our attention, but its with front paws down and definitely not aggressive

He loves running around the house barking, retrieving his 'Mr McNugget' fluffy (now faceless) chicken, hiding under the sofa after nipping my wife on the bum etc etc

He also loves, absolutely loves, lying on his back on my lap having his tummy scratched where he very quickly starts snoring (literally after 2 mins sometimes)

He has forgotten how to sit etc, but is re-learning

When he gets out of hand, the house line is of great use to lead him out of the house to go to his 'cooler' (doghouse) outside.

Pulling on the lead stopped  instantly with a Halti harness attached at front (will get a V one now after reading other thread) The Halti is too loose at the front too, but the difference was amazing

He was on Yakkers until they only lasted a day and they are expensive to get down here in PT. Now he has rawhide ones - I know in a perfect world they are to be avoided but in the balance its worth it with Salty - he only gnaws tiny bits off and I only get no additives Cowhide ones and he doesn't chew them all day, and they are 3 Euros for a huge one here. Also, in comparison to the other stuff he hoovers down off the floor (see beach stuff below) its pretty benign.

So he is an absolute darling/devil  >:D :angel: he is not at all a model well-behaved dog, and we all absolutely love him!

The only thing he has done a couple of times is actually bite my hand pretty hard in a rage. Once was when he had something sharp and metal in his mouth and I stupidly ignored his growls after getting frustrated with trying to swap for a treat and tried to pull it out. The other time was when he was in his kennel and I reached in to stroke him without knowing that he had a stolen tissue in there. My fault both times, together with my previous failing in always taking things from him with out swapping for a treat when he was young. But, there is no textbook dog or owner I guess.

This was shortly after he was castrated, he's much better now - maybe hormone swings before equilibrium was reached? We also took him for a haircut a week or so after the castration, due to dreadlocks (we tried and failed to groom the piranha) and the lady had to give him a crew-cut which was a shock to all, but now its a tiny bit longer it has become our preference. He obviously didnt like that experience either, as when we asked the lady if he behaved well she said 'more or less .....'. He was probably thinking 'what are they going to cut off next?' Anyway, I feel the castration did not calm him down one iota but removed the aggressive tinge to him that he was developing, but it could also be age or something else.

I take him to the beach for a run, but keep him on a long 5m lead - letting him off has been another of my failings in that I never have let him off the lead. I am sure he would come back (after a bit of fun and games ....) but I know he will run up to people and either jump all over them to play, or keep his distance but bark at them if he finds something 'funny' about them - both of which from the people who dont know him's point of view would be scary. Also, even on the lead he manages to scoff literally 10's of dead crabs, seaweed, shells, etc etc and then has a dicky tummy for days - I am thinking of a muzzle for that, but not sure - another problem to be solved, ho-hum. At the moment taking him to the forest is a no-no due to the processionary pine caterpillars (if you are going to take your dog to south Europe (inc France) be sure to read up on these things as they can kill dogs)

So, that's where we are at the moment,  :lol:

I found the internet absolutely littered with cries for help from Cocker owners, my favourite started out, 'I would imagine that living with Fiona, my 20 month old ECS, is the equivalent of what living with a monkey would be like. '  :lol:



Offline Digger

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 218
Re: Salty AKA the Piranha-Cockerdile hybrid
« Reply #29 on: February 01, 2020, 03:09:21 PM »
Hi again. Glad everything's ok out there.

Just wanted to say sounds like salty is  bit of a guarder, so my advice on that one is keep tidy so he can't get stuff and if he does get stuff, ignore it if at all possible.
Inca is now 2.5 and really starting to grow up in the last couple of months. She is an incredibly affectionate and loyal dog as I'm sure salty is.
I do think though that if ours didn't have the masses of off lead exercise that she does, she would be more likely to be frustrated and maybe nippy.  Is there nowhere you feel you can let salty off the lead? He may well jump up to say hello to people but he's got to learn..and have some freedom!!
Ours is out for over an hour every morning. It's all off lead, ball games, finding stuff in the woods, running around with other dogs-all normal stuff but really important for her mental well being as well as physically being able to reach top speed and blast some energy out of her system. After her morning walk she pretty much just snoozes until  the (slightly shorter) afternoon walk. I bet if salty could zoom off some energy off lead he'd be much less likely to be a pain in between.
I always reckon that it's better to apologise to someone for your dog jumping up in the early days than to have a dog that you can't let off. He knows you are his provider of all things good-it's unlikely he wouldn't come back.
A good tip for recall training is Pippa Mattinsons method of conditioning. It worked for us. I always have a pocket full of homemade liver cake. You could get Anything back with that!!  .