Biting, Growling and Snapping

Question
I have a 10 week old boy.  He bites pretty often while he is playing and sometimes when he is just laying.  I have tried to correct him but have not seen much improvement.  Is there anything you could suggest?

The more serious problem-  At times, like sometimes when I pick him up, he will growl at me.  Sometimes, this is where it stops, but other times he will snap at me and bite pretty hard.  When I try to correct him, he starts growling more loudly and gets more aggressive.  It's been getting worse, so I'm looking for any advice I can get.

Thanks

Answer
Sounds like you have the alpha of the litter.  It's not uncommon that the largest male pup of a litter (or the strongest in any case) will become mildly aggressive and dominant.  At 10 weeks old, this is the absolute perfect time to absolve him of this behavior.  Realize that play biting is different than aggressive biting which may or may not be different from biting to show dominance.

First, if it is just play biting, go to the hardware store, pick up some leather welding gloves (about $20) and play with your dog.  Teach it that if you are wearing gloves, you can wrestle and play to your heart's content.  Without the gloves, no biting.  This is usually accomplished by simply refusing to play without the gloves on.  This is a wonderful trick and allows you to bond and play with your dog in ways that many people miss out on.

As for the dominance type biting, this is also a simple fix.  Begin training in obedience immediately.  Work with a method some people refer to as NILIF (Nothing In Life Is Free).  The dog earns every treat, every pet, every bowl of food.  It can be simple things, but it helps establish that you are in charge.  Commanding a "sit" before every meal, a "down" for rubs or play time, etc.  My two are over three years old, and 99% of the time I feed them, there is a command involved.  My youngest dog makes a game of it and tries guessing and going through all of his "tricks" which makes for some entertaining mealtimes.  In any case, this will help establish you as the lead.  If the dog growls in displeasure, that's fine.  It kind of comes back to the kid who complains while cleaning his room - if he stops to complain, you can be upset, but if he's cleaning while complaining . . . well . . . the room is getting cleaned and he knows who's in charge.

Lastly is the tough part and where I recommend finding a professional trainer who is used to working with high-drive dogs who can be aggressive (e.g. German Shepherds, Rottweilers, Dobermans, etc - police/security dogs).  They are used to dogs that bite and how to correct them.  The short answer to this is that a dog who bites a human in aggression and who was not provoked in any way is a danger.  A dog who bites in the normal realm of obedience is a danger.  In this case, the dog must be taught that biting a human is NEVER acceptable and the treatment must be enough to condition the dog that it will never dream of biting in aggression again.  The method to do this varies based on the situation, and must be timed perfectly to have the desired affect.  Unfortunately, an explanation over email doesn't do it justice, and I hesitate to advocate anyone try this who has not dealt with dogs for years.  My advice would be to seek out a trainer immediately if the dog is biting out of aggression.

In any case, I would suggest starting training.  Feel free to write back with your methods of correction though, and I might be able to give you some more direction.