Obedience
Basic care
When you first get your new dog, he should be kept with the owner as much a possible, this helps to build their confidence, build a better bond with the owner and with provide you with a more obedient and protective dog.
Whenever possible keep the dog in the house, the most ideal place is wherever the owner is. If you want your dog as protection, this is most important. If he is only allowed in certain rooms, he may not protect the entire house, and therefore may "let the burglars in".
Tying up your dog is unacceptable practice. It makes the dog insecure and frustrated, wich will then result in negative behavior such as jumping up, digging, chewing, barking, not coming when called and sometimes even aggressional problems. It is much better to just build a fence, keep the dog in the house, or build a dog run about 6'x10'. A dog that is tied up unatended could end up getting tangled and strangeling itself.
Dogs left outside for lond periods of time become insecure and end up barking at nothing. Keeping him inside the house will build his confidence and reduce barking. Dogs are pack animals and don't like to be left alone. If you are unable to keep the dog in the house, keep him as close to it as possible. Have the dog house on the porch or somewhere right up against the house, not in the middle of the yard. Keeping the porch light on will reduce his barking.
As fun as it may be, try not to playfight with your dog, it breaks his confidence and their trust in their owner. It does not make them tough as some people may think. It aslo causes your dog to be mouthy, nipping your hands, and encourages jumping up at people. They will also learn aggression towards the owner. Do not play tug o war with your dog as it often has disastorouse effects. For example, a child walking down the street dragging their coat behing them, the dog runs up to grab the coat and accidentally ends up biting the child. To play with your dog it is better to teach them to retrieve, or do some site tracking. Positive games such as these build the dogs bond with his owner, and give him better confidence.
Remember, dogs are like people, they do not like to be scolded, so usually say "NO" is sufficiant enough. Hitting is not necessary. Even if it fixes the problem at hand, it will result in other negative behavioral problems. Not to mention hand shyness, and cowardness. Even verbal abuse can lead to aggression.