Two questions: Am I playing too rough, and how to stop the begging

We have an 11-week old sharpei puppy at home. He is housebroken already, and takes walks very well for a puppy. He will be starting "puppy kindergarten", but he is already very sociable, good with kids, and friendly. We've got many compliments on his temperment from breeders and other owners. I have two questions though.
a. Since he's a puppy, I understand that he wants to play, so a couple times a night I'll run him around the main level or the yard, let him chase me a bit, flip him on his back and tease him and wrestle with him. I don't let him bite me, but he of course tries to nip. What's a good way to communicate to him that playtime is over? Sometimes, I'll be in a hurry, and he is chasing me around and biting my socks and shorts or jeans. This seems especially bad in the morning. Am I playing with him too rough, or is there another way I should be playing with him, rules to follow or something? On a sidenote, he usually gets at least one, if not two walks a night.

b. We got this guy from a breeder in OH, and I'm assuming since they had kids, he got table food. I understood that, and was patient with him, and he hasn't received a scrap of table food from me or my girlfriend, but I'm guessing that he was slipped some people food when my back was turned at some of the family gatherings we have brought him to. But, the begging is out of control! He has learned not to jump on furniture, but that rule goes out the window for food, he will jump and lunge for it, and stern "no's" are met with barking (about the only time he barks), he ignores toys, and is extremely annoying. I have considered putting him in his kennel every time we eat, but is there another way to get him to stop this?

Here's what I do to teach mine the no begging rule... First, make sure he's been on a nice LOOOOONG walk just before your mealtime (which should be before he eats). This will help get any excess energy out of his system.

Put him on leash. Sit at the table with him next to you. If he knows "down," tell him to do so; if not help him into the down position. Place your foot on the floor below his neck, pinning the leash to the floor. You want to give him just enough lead to be comfortable while he's down, but not so much that he can easily get up or move around. Ignore him and eat. If he gets too actively resistant, gently remind him "down," help him back into position, and go back to eating. When he settles down and give in, praise him calmly but enthusiastically, stroke him, and continue your meal. Try to make your mealtime pretty consistant as far as length, location, time of day, etc.

When you've finished eating, tell him "all done" or "finished" or some other release signal, take him to his eating area and give him his dinner (I would add an especially nice treat or two on top of his kibble).

It sounds as though you may have some incipent leadership issues brewing. Until your class starts and you have closer help, make sure you are showing leadership properly.

Eat before you feed him.
Give affection on your schedule, not on his demands.
Give attention only when he does something you like. Ignore or prevent unwanted behaviors.
Walk through narrow spaces first (doorways, hallways, gates, etc.).
Only allow him on furniture by invitation, never on his insistance (Better yet, keep him off furniture entirely).

Beth

No, you aren't playing too rough, but you may want to consider changing from physical play to toys. Playing with him as you mentioned above teaches him that its ok to play with humans like dogs, and when he's full grown it will be undesirable for him to play rough with humans. Get some good squeaky toys, balls, and a rubber kong and teach him to play with those. If he ignores them, you can try smearing peanut butter on them and encouraging him to get the toys, and you can put peanut butter inside kongs to keep him busy while you get ready in the morning!

As for the begging, when he jumps at you for food, make sure he gets NONE. If he gets food when he jumps for it like that, it will just tell him that "jumping means yummies means he must continue to jump for more yummies". Continue to be firm with him, shar peis have a reputation for being stubborn. Have you begun teaching him commands, such as sit, down, stay, etc.? If not, you may want to begin those! If he learns he is to sit before getting a treat, that should fix the jumping/begging problem. I hope I have been of some help to you. I'm sure some more experienced chazzers will add their two cents soon

I'm loving the input. We need to be more dedicated to a food schedule, and letting him eat after we're done sounds like a good idea for establishing leadership. The main problem is with work, I rush home to try to get him out to use the yard, eat and get back to the office in an hour. So he usually doesn't eat enough because he's busy begging. So I want to make sure he gets enough. He never goes on furniture, even if we're holding him, and he truely has not received a morsel of people food from us, so its suprising that his ears turn off when we start eating.

I'll have to be more consistent about using toys when playing, I do sometimes, and sometimes I don't.

He knows "sit" so well to the point that anytime we get a treat out, he sits immediately, so we give the command, praise and feed him anyways.He is usually a good listener, but when he gets riled up, or there's people food around, all is lost.

I want to start teaching him to heel, sit, stay, and lay, but I wanted to wait for puppy kindergarten which starts this Thursday.

As for the sharpei stubborness, its right on! If he gets in a jam and has his mind set on getting out the hardest way (i.e.getting under our chaise lounge), he will do it instead of taking the easy way out.

Also, when I'm walking with him, he usually walks a quarter-step behind me on the left. But sometimes, he will speed up and put his big head in front of my left step. I try not to slow down,but that encourages him to start nipping. Any advice on that?

I teach no begging like any other alpha or dog does.

Have you EVER seen a dog beg from another dog?

Not likely.

I treat them the same way when I have food. If they get too close or disrespectful, I sit up VERY tall in my seat, and freeze, mid chew. I GLARE with hard direct eye contact, and if they don't get the point, I"m not above snarling, barking, and advancing on the dog, etc.

I have NEVER had a dog that this failed to work on. My dogs are fed FROM the table every meal. They lie quietly on the floor with their chins down. There is no begging. Just quiet looking until we are done, or they get a treat.

Bad behavior gets NO treats.

I thought we were the only one's that stared/growled/barked...LOL.

We had the same problem with Tira for awhile. Yes, we started it, but we also fixed it. She will now "lay" on command and "stay" until we are done and willing to give her a treat (or a veggie from the leftovers). Gunner will sit or lay beside her cause he doesn't want to get "barked" at.

Glad to know I'm not the only one who barks and growls at their dogs. Its amazing what a good snarl can do. And when Hondo bit me one time for touching his mouth I growled and bit him on his neck, and he was like "oh my God", ears went back and he started licking me. He never did that again .