jumping/biting

Question
Our 4 month golden puppy Moose has picked up what we believe are a couple of bad habits. One is when we take him for walks or are playing in the yard, he will come running at us at a full sprint and literally run right into us or jump at us. What is this about? The other is when petting him after awhile he'll start to bite and nip at our hands and arms, not breaking the skin but it's a bad habit we don't want him to get into. When we tell him no or try to make him stop he'll become more aggressive. My husband will do the "Cesar" thing where he makes the pssst sound and pokes him in the neck. That seems to work immediately but how do we get him to stop doing it at all? Thank-you. (He starts puppy class next week...)

Answer
I hope puppy class uses more positive techniques than Cesar.  As you can see, his methods don't work so well without careful camera work.  Denial of attention is still on the negative side, but effective when accompanied by plenty of positive attention.  

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.

Again, you must not reward him with attention when he runs into you or jumps.  Stepping backwards when he jumps is highly effective.  Once his feet are back on the floor, or you puyt him in a sit, you can pet him.