Overly Friendly Canine

Question
Hello,
I have a couple of issues I hope you can kind of help me with. First, my dog is a mixed breed. The mother was a pit bull and not sure about the father. He is about 35 to 40 pounds. We adopted him as a pup a little over a  year ago. Now, he is very extra friendly i guess you could say. He jumps on everyone he comes in contact with. He runs around uncontrollably. If he happens to get out of the door he is gone in a flash. He has ran out into the street several times almost getting hit by a car. He is smart enough to know how to get out of his collar then run from us. He is extremely playful. But he is too strong for us to handle. When we walk him he pulls and pulls to the point where his leash has broken. We just cant hardly control him anymore. We have tried to leave him in the yard to run off some of his energy. That was a nightmare. He chewed all of the insulation off of the a/c pipes, destryed chairs, the gate, etc... He does not want to be there. When we try to bring him out there or bring him back in he will tackle us repeatedly and snap at us. If we try to correct him he will just stand there and bark at us like talking back. I just dont know what to do anymore. He is the sweetest most lovable dog, loves attention and love people. He doesn't have have a mean streak in his body- I mean it! And my family loves him very much. We enjoy playing with him. What can I do to take control of him though?? Please any advise is much appeciated! I dont want to be forced to give him up but at this point it has been a thought. Thank You! --Lori

Answer
Hi Lori;
Hee hee hee, sorry for laughing, but you have a little rebel that is training his family to give him his way in all things.
When he stands there and barks when you are correcting him, talking back is exactly what he is doing.
You need to take him through a good obedince class.
Petco and Petsmart have weekend obedience classes.
They will teach you how to train him, how to give commands and how to show him YOU are the alpha, not him.
I am betting he wants somebody in toe yard to plat with him, rather than being there by himself.
You have a brat, and you need parenting lessons. LOL
For the snapping at you, I would chew his little butt out royally, and put him in time out.
I have never seen a dog yet that doesn't mind time out.
Time out at my house is a half hour or so closed up in the small bathroom.
No toys or anything but lie there on the bath mat and be bored.
I am sure mine would rather be beaten with a club than put in time out.
When they misbehave, all I have to do is say, "Do you want to go to time out?" and they straightn up and act like little dolls.
Your problem is deffinately an obedience problem, and the trainers at those stores will teach you how to take control of him.
Man's Best Friend is another good source for a training class.
Most Humane Society chapters have obedience classes, and some rescue groups have them.
The sooner you get into a class with him, the sooner you are going to have a well behaved pet.
Charlotte