Due to the amount of chewing, I just thought I would re-stress that these guys can be very heavy chewers. It might not seem that way when they are little, but they will chew wires, shoes, boxes, etc. If given the chance. They really need to be re-directed in their chewing. If you don’t do it when they are small, as they grow you will be sorely inconvenienced when they start into their ‘heavy chewing’.
Train them while they are young what is appropriate to chew, and what is not. Also, know that they are “mouthy”; in other words they use their mouth to grab a hold of things such as your hands, feet, etc. Our boy, at six months, will grab my hand with his mouth though he has never hurt me; his teeth are sharp and while we have curbed this behavior we haven’t fully stopped it.
He will also get behind us and nip at our heels and legs when he wants to play. He can be very demanding and he definitely has an alpha personality, that requires constant regard to his place in our pack/family.
I cannot stress how smart these dogs are. They will learn very quickly, but they also will learn your weak points in handling them. If you have children/had children then you can relate to this; they will push the boundaries and make sure those boundaries stand. If you give, then they will know it. If you have an alpha personality dog, then he will continue to push boundaries for his place in the pack; this doesn’t mean you have to be cruel. It just means you need to be aware while training, that you might have to continually re-address behaviors, not because they aren’t smart, but because they will challenge the position you hold.