A very aggressive 6 week old puppy

Question
Dear Kristen,

Whilst out looking for one of our lost collies we happened upon several litters of 1 week old orphaned puppies that had been brought into a shelter by Animal control.  They told us we could have one if we wanted as their fate was yet to be decided.  

I bottle fed Sasha, who seemed to be developing just fine physically, however around the end of the 4th week, she began biting and growling.  

Baring in mind we have 1x13 year old, 2x1 year old, and 2x8 week old puppies, I note Sasha's behavior is extremely aggressive and totally out of control as she gets older.  I am fully aware that she is at a total disadvantage due to the lack of learning and interaction with her other litter mates and mother.  The other 2 puppies were raised normally and brought home a week ago.  

Although Sasha is learning how to play with them, she is still extremely aggressive to me, to a point where she is drawing blood.

I am not mistaking her aggression for "normal puppy behavior".  I need to nip this in the bud, but am at a loss as to how.  She works herself up terribly in most instances.  I often crate her at night now as the other dogs will not tolerate her fearless challenges and will indeed hurt her.

I find that when she is in an aggressive mood, which is most of the time, picking her up or trying to restrain her [nothing hard] only aggravates her more and makes her fight much more vigorously.  I tell her "OFF!" and "NO!" in a low, stern voice when she is at my ankles trying to bite in to me, this has worked occasionally but is certainly not a constant.  I have also tried telling her "NO!", then placing a chew toy in her mouth, though when she smells my scent she almost always tries to go for my hand instead, and when I pull it back rather then go for the toy she's attacking my legs.

It's not to say she's all bad but in all honesty, she only really stops this behavior when she is asleep!

Any advice you could give me would be greatly appreciated

Thank you

Answer
Is there any reason you cannot allow the other dogs to 'put her in her place' and discipline her? If they interact with other dogs normally, it's highly unlikely they will hurt the aggressive puppy, though there may be a lot of noise when she is put in her place. She really needs to play and interact with other dogs and puppies her own age right now, so she can learn bite inhibition and proper doggie etiquitte.

It's hard to say without seeing her behavior in person, how you should handle it. I would recommend that you consult with a local trainer that can come to your house and work with you one-on-one.