Bitting

Question
Hi, We have a 10 week old Golden retriever Male. I take care of our dog turing the day because everyone else is at work. My dog really seems to liek to bit me alot and also try to hump me alot!. He does not do this to anyone else in my family as much as he does it to me. I tell him no no no all the time.. and ligtly flick him on the nose. This doesnt seem to be working at all. He still bits and bits me all the time. Is there anything I can do to stop my golden from doing this? Its starting to hurt a bit lol.. Thanks Steve

Answer
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.  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 and jerk their hand away, or growl "Bad dog." and clamp
their mouth shut.  Then offer a chew toy.  They keep trying despite hundreds
of corrections.   Another good technique is to quit playing and go away.   Be
sure to praise them when they are playing nice and not biting.

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.
These problems are the worst with, but not limited to, large, aggressive
chewers such as Labs.

The humping is largely about who is who and status.  The 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. Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/

A quick way to demonstrate you are top dog is to throw it on its back, and
growl "Bad dog!" right in its face.  Hold it down until it lifts one back leg
to show submission.   You can pick him up with your hands behind his front
shoulders and hold him up with his back to you.  Keeping him far enough away
to keep his head from smashing into your face, hold him until he stops
struggling and relaxes.