Bad manners

Question
Hi, its the first time I've ever raised a black labrador and our puppy is only 4 months old.  She has been potty trained and also trained to sit and give her paw, but I have a few problems and one is her diving onto furniture and biting.  She is not aggressive in the true sense of the word, just very frisky and hyper.  I have grabbed her muzzle shut and told her no, but once I let go, there she goes again, snapping.  She lies on her back and  you need to keep your body parts away from her, she's  at her worst in that position.  The other question I need answered is how do you make the dog stop being so destructive?  We put her out in our large fenced in yard when she's being too hyper in the house, but then she stays out there and eats the plants, destroys the gardens and my decorations.  Literally tears things to shreds.  My pretty yard looks like a disaster area anymore.  Can you  give me some advice?  Oh and while I am at it, when do you take a puppy for obedience classes?  Thank you, Denise

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. Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/  You should be able to find a puppy class to accept her now, or at least in another month.  A good class will make a big difference.

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 and jerk their hand away, or growl "Bad dog." and clamp their mouth shut.  Then offer a chew toy.  They keep trying despite hundreds of corrections.   Another good technique is to yell ouch, and quit playing and go away.   Be sure to praise them when they are playing nice and not biting.

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.  

The pet stores are full of toys that many dogs will quickly chew up into
pieces they could choke on or cause intestinal blockages.  If you are not
there to watch, stick to sturdy stuff such as Nylabones and Kongs.  Keep a
close eye on chew toys and quickly discard anything that is coming apart in
pieces.  Rawhide is especially bad because it swells after being swallowed.
These problems are the worst with, but not limited to, large, aggressive
chewers such as Labs.

Ropes from the pets' store quickly turn to hazardous shreds.   Ones I made
lasted much better.   Go to a hardware or home center that sells rope by the
foot.  Buy 2' of 3/4" poly rope.   Melt the ends, and tie  knots in it.   Get
them as tight as possible, put it in a vise and pound it with a hammer.  Watch
carefully, and be ready to discard when it comes apart.

I don't have a real solution to the outdoor shredding.  Here is a link to a picture of how I kept one Lab from destroying the wiring and insulation to my A/C, http://www.photolocker.net/images/Labman/KatetheAC.jpg  The copper tubing from the faucet runs outside the fence protecting the garden hose.