biting and aggression

Question
We just go a min pin who is 8 weeks old. i am very excited, but concerened about training him properly. he bites and growls and can be very aggessive, i would like some tips on how to handle this properly, Thanks for your time

Answer
It sounds like you are going to have your hands full with this little guy. If I were you, I would just pretend he is an 80-pound terror instead of a Tiny Toy Terror and proceed from there. And I must point out that if you think he is too dominate and aggressive for your household, it would be best to return him now to the breeder before you get too involved with him.

Start him in puppy socialization classes ASAP, and then follow that up with several months of ongoing obedience classes. Practice Nothing in Life is Free with him (http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm), and I would do Long Downs with him three times a week. (http://www.volhard.com/general/artbywv.htm#tnw)

For a puppy that bites, I pinch its lips *HARD* (but with a quick release) as I stare it in the eye and roar in its face as I tell it "NO BITE". This works well on almost all puppies, but there will be a handful that will not accept that and will continue to bite. Those puppies I hang up in the air by the scuff of their necks as I roar in their faces.

Good luck with this guy.