We adopted a puppy (sheppard/chow mix) from the pound a couple months ago.
He's now about 6-7 mos old and has a few habits we'd like to break while
he's young. He's a wonderful dog and very sweet-tempered, so I think it's
just a matter of us finding a consistent method of training him out of
these...

First, when he wants in (he's an indoor dog) he scratches at the back door
and won't let up until we let him in. I'd prefer a bark or two to let us
know he's ready to come in.

Second, he growls A LOT. He's not mean at all and I think mostly he's just
talking, but I'm not really sure. He even growls at us on a daily basis.
This is only when we've startled him or if we're any distance from him.
This is more prominent at night, so I think maybe his eyesight isn't fully
developed or he just can't see that well, because he knows all of us quite
well by now, but we have to reassure him that it's us and not strangers. Is
this normal?

Lastly, he's a BIG-TIME licker!! He licks everyone and everything
CONSTANTLY!!! He licks us, the furniture, the concrete patio, the brick on
our house, our other dogs, etc. I'm all for affection, but his licking is
excessive.

Thanks for any help/ideas you can offer.

Brandy
Say goodnight Gracie... Goodnight Gracie