Behavior issues

Question
I have a 4 1/2 month old female Border Collie that I got about 1 month ago.  She's very smart and has learned to sit and stay and is pretty much house trained since I got her. However, she choses to ignore the word no when it comes to rough play and biting, although she knows what it means.  She will stop pulling my clothes or trying to bite me, but when I walk away, she nips my legs.  What really drives me crazy is that she loves to just wander around the room and pull books out of shelves, place mats off the tables, anything in her reach...and then walk away, just because she thinks she can. She also likes to grab things she's not supposed to, like umbrellas, shoes, food out of the cupboards and come and show me she has it and then run with it.  I can't put everything in my home up out of her reach, or spray everything with bitter apple, which she doesn't mind.  Help me, please.  She's really running my house (and she knows it)!

Answer
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.

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.