biting

Question
hi i have a 12 week old German shepherd pup and she keeps biting me and it is very sore she is even breaking the skin. i tell her no and have even tried making a loud yelping noise and ignoring her and also holding her mouth shut and telling her no as that's what i heard was best to do. but nothing seems to work. if anything it makes her worse. she even scrunches up her nose and snarls at me and she jumps forward and snaps at me. she listens to my partner but not me. i try the tone of voice he uses but she just looks at me as if I'm stupid. i am the one who is at home with her all the time while my partners is at work. why do you think this is? i would really appreciate if you could help me . thanks

Answer
There isn't any quick, easy way to stop it.  The yelping and ignoring her should eventually work.  Young Labs, which I know best, and other puppies tend to very bad about biting. You see a litter of them, and all the ones that are awake are biting another one or themselves. I am not even sure they realize that when they are alone, if they quit biting, they would quit being bitten. At 3 to 4 months they are getting their adult teeth, and it seems they spend every waking moment biting or chewing. One thing you can do at that stage is to knot and wet a piece of cloth. Then freeze it. The cooling will soothe the gums. Only let the puppy have it when you are there to watch it. I maintain a Lab's favorite chew toy is another Lab. Otherwise they settle for any person they can. They keep hoping to find one that won't yelp, jerk their hand away, and leave.

You just have to keep on correcting them, hundreds of times, not dozens. Provide sturdy, safe toys such as Kongs and Nylabones. Avoid things they can chew pieces off and choke on them. Keep them away from electrical cords. Crates are essential for most young Labs and other dogs.

The pet stores are full of toys that many dogs will quickly chew up into pieces they could choke on or cause intestinal blockages. If you are not there to watch, stick to sturdy stuff such as Nylabones and Kongs. Keep a close eye on chew toys and quickly discard anything that is coming apart in pieces. Rawhide is especially bad because it swells after being swallowed. I don't trust any of the consumable chews. The dogs just gnaw them down to a dangerous size too quickly. These problems are the worst with, but not limited to, large, aggressive chewers such as Labs.

Start obedience training too.  Keep the sessions short, a minute or 2.  The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts. Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat.