Regardless of what specific type of training you do, the single most important thing is CONSISTENCY! Don’t try one method one day, then switch to something else the next. If the furniture is off limits, it is ALWAYS off limits. If jumping up on people is not ok, then it’s never ok (on a side note, I do enjoy my dogs jumping up to greet me occasionally so I trained them to do so on command and ONLY when they are asked/invited). Another thing, many of a dog’s perfectly natural behaviors (jumping up to greet people, barking, digging, rolling in stinky stuff) are generally not acceptable to people. Preventing them can sometimes be a simple exercise in giving the dog a different, acceptable, behavior to do instead. If you don’t want the dog to jump on people, teach him to sit in front of them instead.

As for a walking partner…dobes make excellent walking and/or running partners. As adults. A four month old puppy, regardless of breed, is not going to be up for lots of long walks or running. After two blocks, he probably isn’t tired yet. But he is a puppy and he is easily distracted and curious about the world. If you want him to pay more attention to you, try bringing yummy treats or a favorite toy with you on the walk and reward him for paying attention to you and walking (BTW, this would also be a great time to start teaching him how to heel). Just remember that at four months old he is still very much a baby. A mile or so is probably a good distance for him at this age. For most people, that’s a fairly short walk…maybe 10-20 minutes.