My Dog Eats Everything

Question
Hi,

I have a 1 year old Jack Russell, Pug mix. And my problem is that he eats everything. If he finds something outside or if he gets his paws on something in the house (i.e. toilet paper) he'll run off and eat it. I've tried, scolding him, startling him and using the bitter apple spray. He's been taught the command drop it and leave it, but he's become very sneaky in obtaining items to eat and he tends to ignore me when I give him commands. Is there anything else I can do to stop this behavior or is it just a stage? Also on walks he has this need to stop all the time to smell things and refuses to move forward. How do I fix that?

Thanks,
Canya

Answer
You need to forget about scolding, and start training!  Take a look at the lessons on www.clickerlessons.com and do them in order.  All that is wrong here is that you don't know how to train.  It's a skill and can be learned, plus it's fun:-))  Once your dog really learns what you want, things will start to get better.  The sniffing on walks is normal canine behavior, but your dog should be able to focus on you when you need him to, and walk by your side.  The exercise on that site entitled "loose leash walking" will help.  Clicker training is very useful for training smart dogs, and JRT's are usually smart.