Leash tug of war

Question
Hello.  I just adopted a lab/pit bull 1 year old mix from a rescue shelter.  On the whole he is very well behaved.  He is potty trained, can be left alone, and very friendly.  He needs a ton of exercise, but he gets it. I run him a few miles or take him to the park to throw the tennis ball every day.  Recently, he has gotten into a really nasty habit of playing tug of war with his leash.  He has always (in the month we've owned him) been pretty bad at tugging, which I can handle. But now he has started biting his leash and playing tug of war with me. I have tried yelling no, ignoring him, dropping the leash and walking off, giving him treats to distract him, but it has only gotten worse recently.  I know he is just playing, but it drives me crazy and ruins my ability to walk him.  He does not do this when my girlfriend walks him and so I think he just sees it as a type of playing with me.  What can I do??

Thank you

Answer
Some of what you have tried should work.  Perhaps the secret is better leadership.  The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts. Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/ For more on being top dog, see http://www.dogbreedinfo.com./topdogrules.htm