Wow! He is such a big cutie! I can't believe his size at 7 months old!
For the jumping at people, I would enlist the help of a friend and get her to approach Matty..if he pulls/jumps toward her she is to stop and turn her back on him...You can have him in a sit/down/stand-stay if you want...keep getting your friend to walk closer and closer to him until he is okay with watching her walk by. Then eventually, not necessarily in the same session, you can get her to approach him directly (with the intention of giving him a fuss)...If he pulls or jumps she is to turn her back on him...eventually Matty will get it and you can test it out with other people.
With regards to being nippy when he doesn't like what your doing to him...I would start handling him ALL over throughout the day...you can start when he's resting so he's not as hyper. I would practice the problem spots a lot - like the collar area, until he doesn't notice or care that you are petting the area...eventually you can start holding him in place by the collar treat him for it. I found that I had to stop playfighting with my pup because he got so excited that he would start nipping - now we play tug or fetch with toys but rarely do we playfight... Also, I would make Matty's time-out longer than 30 seconds because if he's all hyper from playing he'll need longer to calm down...
With regards to being an attention hog - is there any possibility that he could be bored and need more exercise? Before going to sit in the TV room, I would do some training with Matty...after you can give him a kong or treat ball to keep him busy...Have you taught him a command like "go lie down"? Matty is still young but your goal is to teach him that he cannot demand attention...he only gets cuddles or play time with you if he's earned it (and at your discretion!)!
I've never had to deal with a counter-surfer...but to me, this is totally unacceptable and I would be a bit more "forceful" about keeping him off the counters...I would probably get a spray bottle or a can with a few pennies in it and set him up with temptation... Leave something on the table and wait where he can't see you but you can see him... the instant he goes for the temptation, either squirt him, or rattle the can...you shouldn't need to do that too often before he gets it...Alternatively, you can work on the "leave it" command...where Matty is in a stay while you put food in front of him...the goal is to teach Matty self-control by being able to put food on his paws, or toss food at him or walk by food in heel position
without taking it (eventually you will want him to not even look at the food).
Whew! Good luck with Matty! I'm sorry I wrote so much but I've just experienced exactly what you are going through!
