Agressiveness

Question
Hi Carol;)
I'm worried about our pup.  He's 14 wks. old and has of course been teething/nipping since we got him at 9 wks.  I know this will pass.  My nipping question was answered when someone else asked it! (thx) We have another problem.  He bit my husband tonight.  He also grazed my daughter's foot last weekend and drew blood, but I thought it might be more her fault by not removing her foot from the situation fast enough.  Tonight, my husband went to pick him up to put him back in the kitchen area and he actually bit his finger.  A good gash from those teeth and lots of blood!  I swear, he knows he did wrong and has been sullen for the past two hours.  Can I fix this?  What should I do?  thx

Answer
Hi Kristine,
Yikes! He's already testing you at 14 weeks old. It's imperative to do the proper training immediately to nip this in the bud.
The dog has to learn his position in the family and understand that he is low man on the totem pole! Your daughter should not HAVE to move her foot for him. He should have respect for all your family members, no matter how old.
I talk about Cesar Milan all the time because I love his method of training and it works very well. Have you seen any of his Dog Whisperer shows? His technique is simple but affective, and if you can catch the show Friday nights at 8:00 on the National Geographic Channel, please try to do so, it's very informative on all aspects of training. It's very hard to explain here but I'll try. Its difficult because you have to really know how to read the dog. A correction has to be made at the very second he starts to even think about biting or being aggressive. You (or husband or daughter?) has to make a noise command (Cesar uses "psss")snap your fingers and give a very firm touch/poke/grab to the nape of the dogs neck. What you are trying to do is STOP the aggressive thoughts from even starting... or stopping them by distracting him the second he starts. You have to be calm but assertive, the boss, not afraid or nervous, and look him in the eye, let him know you mean business. Believe it or not they can really read you. They know if you're nervous, so take over and be tough!
Basically if you think about it, you are acting like his mother. This is how dogs train their puppies when they get out of line. They nudge and/or grab the puppies neck and let them know that behavior is not OK! Repeat repeat repeat and never change your technique. Stay in control, and do NOT let him think you're nervous.  I probably didn't do a great job explaining it in writing, but if you can watch the show (or even check him out on YouTube) type in Cesar Milan or The Dog Whisperer.
You're smart to start early, start now!
Very best of luck!!!