urinating in house/biting

Question
QUESTION: I have a 13 week yellow female lab. We bought her at about 7 weeks old and she learned very quickly to ring a bell and go pee outside. Recently, she will not whine or bark or head for the door, but just squat in front of us and pee. She will hold it all night and during naps in the kennel, but in the past 3 weeks, she does this about every 2 or 3 days (peeing in the house). That is my first question. My second one is about biting. I know that she is young and labs tend to mouth while playing, but she will also often lunge at our face and snap while playing and once, she was trying to bite my shorts and I took her by the back of the neck to stop her biting, and she  quickly turned around and gave me a nasty bite on the arm, drawing blood and bruised immediately. She is a strong willed pup, but extrememely smart and can sit, lay down, come, stay, ring the bell, and is learning to roll over and heel on short walks. She loves people and is almost too excited when they come over. It takes a long time to get her to calm down so that they can pet her. I thought I picked out the docile pup, but I think she was the alpha pup. My husband has complete control over and she will submit to him always, but he is the only one. We use the exact techniques that he uses. If you can help, I would appreciate it.
Thank you.

ANSWER: Hi Beth, As far as the urinating problem, you must go back to square one and do her potty training all over again to reinforce it in her mind. Since you know she can hold it for quite some time, you should clean up the spots she has made using a good dog urine deodorizer, so she does not smell it at all in the house. Then put her on a regular schedule of outdoor breaks, taking her to the same location outside at regular intervals. She is still young, so don't leave it up to her to let you know, go back to basic puppy housebreaking.
You are on the right track in assuming that she is trying to be the alpha dog. It sounds like she is allowing your husband to be alpha, but does not respect the rest of the family. Teach everyone to be very consistent in her training, use firm tones, the same verbal and hand signals and she will get the picture. No play biting can be tolerated at all. Teach her that if anyone gives her a treat, bone, or toy, they also have the right to take it away from her as well.  She is very smart, and yes, strong willed.  But you must teach her to be controlled and controllable by the family. A firm "OUT" or "LEAVE IT", with a dominant glare and stern face is going to be necessary when she gets too excited or plays too hard. After her lessons on the lead, leave her collar and lead on and give her free time to be praised for doing good work. Shower her with affection and lots of praise, but if she gets too excited, you have the lead on to correct her if she gets overly excited or aggressive.  Sometimes even leaving a very short lead on helps. As long as she is supervised and it is not so long that she could get caught up. When people come for a visit, allow her to bark two or three times, then come away from the door and sit to await the arrival of your guest. Unless she sits quietly and lets your guest come over to her and pet her, do not let her greet the guest. You may have to set her up by having friends help you with this part of her training, so you can reinforce it.  Leave me some feedback and let me know how you progress with her.  Keep me posted as much as you need, I will be here to help you as much as you need it.  Looking forward to hearing about your good progress with her.  Thanks. Regards, Susan

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QUESTION: Hi Susan
I asked a followup but not sure how to view it... can it be emailed to me? the site is a little confusing to find this. I thought of one more question; do you have ideas on stopping jumping on people? We have a roomie from Japan who is very meek and Odie jumps on her and mouths her every day. She just says, no biting very softly, and sometimes grabs her neck. We have tried talking to her, but she doesn't seems to catch on. She leaves in 2 months.
Thanks.
ANSWER: Hi Beth, It is never, ever too early for obedience training. As long as she has had her puppy shots, you can enroll her in puppy kindergarten, or regular basic obedience to get started. She will probably do well and you may want to continue on to advanced obedience... Keep me posted on your progress. Thank so much. Regards, Susan

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QUESTION: Hi Susan
We got a choker collar and she actually is responding better overall. The only thing that I can't figure out is that when I change clothes to a more oversized piece of clothing, like a sweater or a robe or sweatpants, she will bear her teeth, stripe, and bark and start snapping! This is what she did that  day that she bit me. Any ideas?
Thanks
ANSWER: Hi Beth, I am so glad that you are making progress with her. As far as the clothing goes, you could rub your hand on the bottom of your feet (that is where they smell most of our sweat glands and recognize us), but your hand to her nose and let her smell it so she knows for sure it is you even though you have something different or new on you. If that does not work, write back because often times labs need to get their eyes cerf certified to be sure they are seeing okay and I can tell you how and where to get that done, sometimes quite inexpensively. Thanks again for writing. Keep up the good work girl, you are doing great. Warm Regards, Susan

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QUESTION: Thanks Susan, that is an interesting theory, but could it be anything else? Is she fixating on loose items? She has an incredible sense of smell, even if her eyesight wasn't the best it seems like she could recognize me. Just a thought. so you know why she likes to lick areas where she has scratched me?? I am going to sign up for obedience classes this week, btw!

Answer
Hi Beth, Just a quick follow-up. Please keep me informed about how it is going in your obedience classes. I cannot wait to hear about all of your good progress. If you can, send me some pictures of you in your classes, I like to put them up on my website if it is okay with you. Thanks. Regards, Susan