puppy biting blood out of heels off feet

Question
I have a half Pomeranian and half miniature pincher puppy that is 4 months old.  She is cute but I honestly do not know what to do with her you can not walk across the room without her biting your heels and biting the blood out of you she jumps up in your face when your holding her and bites your lip and causes it to bleed.  She is very hyper, and I want to give her a good home but I can not tolerate this behavior much longer! Please help me and my children to learn to control her. Thank you, Kimberly

Answer
First of all, if your children are young, this is NOT the dog for your household! Everyone needs to be able to correct a dog in a family, which is why some breeders will not place a puppy in a home with small children, particularly if they have a breed which might be a bit more active.

Frankly, after being allowed to do what she wants for all this time, it may take a bit more effort to get her under control. Get her into obedience classes for several months and work with her every single day. Start practicing "Nothing in Life is Free" with her. http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm  Everyone in the family must follow through with this!

Rule #1. Bad behavior must ***NEVER*** be tolerated!!!!! It must be nipped in the bud IMMEDIATELY. You think she is cute now? Wait until she is still doing this when she is two years old! Good looks can only take any of us so far...

When one of my puppies bites me (puts a tooth on any part of my body for any reason, accidentally or intentionally), I IMMEDIATELY pinch its lip HARD, as I stare it in the eyes, roar in its face (like a lion... get MAD!), and loudly, firmly say in a deep, threatening voice, "Don't BITE!" The pinch is a quick pinch and release. It is imitating what the mother or littermates do when they get bitten too hard by one of the puppies. That is my favorite, most effective correction, particularly in young puppies.

Some of them I will hold up by the scruff of the neck and dangle them in the air as I berate them. The idea is to take them by surprise and scare the bejabbers out of them for a brief instant. This demonstates to them that YOU are in control and they are NOT. This is more for the puppy that might decide to argue with you over who is the boss.

You should also practice Long Downs three times a week with this puppy. Best to do this when the house is quiet and she is a bit tired. http://web.archive.org/web/20071022223519/http://volhard.com/general/artbywv.htm

Dogs don't hold grudges, but live in the moment, and any corrections should reflect that. They should be instantaneous, to the point, and done immediately at the time of the incident so that the dog understands WHY it is being corrected.

I do remember a large collie-X puppy (3-4 mos. old) in training class many years ago. She was very hyper, and her owner's hands were bloody from her biting. Once the puppy was put into a Gentle Leader Headcollar and the owner shown how to use it, the puppy was lying quietly at her owner's side by the end of class. These do come in many different sizes, but yours would have to be very, very tiny, and I don't know if they go that small.  http://bargraph.com/gentleleader/

If you cannot get this dog under control, and SOON, then ask your veterinarian for the name of a good animal behaviorist.