It gets easy, in the middle of a frustrating situation, to think Marley's being "bad". But, when we step back and really look at him and his behavior, he's a really good puppy.
The main things we really need to work on (we've been too easy on ourselves) are:
COME - he needs more practice so he won't choose to ignore it until he hears a "magic" (bribe) word
Loose Leash Walking - he really likes to pull. I've got a "slide whistle" leash training aid on the way
Greeting People Politely - he's got to learn to sit/down and let people pet him without "participating". That means "training" strangers to not pet him unless he's being polite.
When we stop and think about the things he's chewed up ... well,lately most of them have been things that have Tom's smell, that were left within his easy reach, and when he was frustrated (neither of us wanted to get up as early as he did). Before that he "killed" and "gutted" his stuffed toys and other toys he could destroy. We still have all our couch cushions, pillows, blankets, etc. We still have the cat. And we still have things he could have destroyed but chose not to.
I think we're doing something right, most of the time, anyway.
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