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So, I own a Rottweiler – German shepherd mix. He is just under 4 months. He weighs 31 lbs. He is so stubborn it's unbelievable. He knows commands like 'pad', 'potty', 'sit' and 'get down'. He disobeys on purpose I swear. He looks at me as he does something he knows gets him in trouble. Hes destroyed the corners of wooden furniture. He destroyed books and DVD cases. He side-eyes me right before he does something.

He has ate SO MANY socks. Luckily they didnt cause any problems. And he won't leave people's toes alone. He growls playfully and lunges at feet, and it hurts when he actually succeeds.

He also has an aggression issue. He growls, barks, or tries to snap at you if you get close to his food or a snack (ex: peanut butter, chicken, etc). He also gets randomly 'aggressive' if you pull his collar. Idk how to manage it or fix it. (His bio mother was also food aggressive.)

He is so rotten and knows it. I want to be a good dog owner but it is so hard for me. I have days I think of getting him a different home but I want to bond with him and id hate to get rid of him. But it is hard when every day is mentally taxing and stressful.

I've started walking him for short periods since it has been nice out. I am trying to potty train him and teach some simple commands.

So my questions for advice are:

1. How do I make him stop chewing on literally every surface?
2. How do I get to stop peeing on the carpet?
3. How do I make him not bite limbs or people's body?
4. How do I fix or manage his aggression?
5. How do I train him not to pull/choke himself? Or try to play tug-a-war with it?
6. How do I prevent him from peeing/pooping in his crate?

Please be nice and I'd really appreciate any tips or advice 🙏

[I am a first time puppy owner. I've only owned a cat or been around adult dogs.]

[Edit: We had his mom first (before she was pregnant) then had him and his siblings. The mom and puppies found homes after they could leave. Mama dog was ex bf dog so he took her back after the pups left. We kept this guy]

My boyfriend and I have had our puppy, Kuma, for a week now. (Kuma is an 11 week old toy poodle, and he is our first dog.) We introduced Kuma to the crate on his first night home, which is in our living room and is where we spend most of our time during the day.

Kuma has blankets and a snuggle puppy in his crate, and we play a white noise machine. During the day, we play crate games and do 5-10 minute sessions where we close the crate door and cover for a few seconds.

Kuma cries for a bit when we put him in at night, but he seems to settle and sleep on his own. We let him out for a potty break at 12 and 3/4 a.m. We haven’t had success having him sleep in the crate during the day, but he will lay down and play in there if someone stands in the playpen with him.

Yesterday, he seemed reluctant to go inside the crate for bedtime, though. My boyfriend put him inside at one point with some treats, locked the door, and covered the crate. Kuma cried a bit but then went to sleep.

We’re very afraid of building negative associations with the crate, which is why we don’t force him to nap in it. His reluctance to go into the crate yesterday has us questioning if we’re crate training right.

Any and all advice is welcome! We are first time puppy parents, so we’re honestly a bit lost on how long this whole process should take.

What do you guys do with the last inch or so of the stumps(probably not the right word but oh well) of collagen sticks? My puppy is just shy of 5 months old like 3 days shy, a shepherd/cattle dog/black mouth cur/who knows what else. A 6” collagen stick(in a holder) gives me about 1.5-2hrs of peace… I just don’t want to have to throw out the 1” of remaining stick if I don’t have to. Can you microwave them like bully sticks or yak chews to get a puffier treat?

Quick post for anyone looking for high value treats for training, I have tried a BUNCH of different cookies (store bought and homemade), bites, training nibs of all sorts and I have not found anything more VALUABLE to my pup than the freeze dried style treats. We currently have Salmon bites, Beef liver and Lamb liver freeze dried treats and my pup is losing her mind over them. I cut them into small pieces and they are so great for training. Another plus is they are typically SINGLE ingredient treats because they are literally pieces of meat. Just wanted to put this out there in case you haven't tried them yet!