Play Biting

Question
Hello.  My dog, who is an approximately 15 month old female lab-mix, is a horrible play biter.  Sometimes it doesn't hurt, mostly it does (although she has never broken our skin with her bites).  She bites constantly, especially when she's really excited (like when we come home from work).  There's no calming her down when she gets that way unless she hurts someone so badly that they yell at her loudly enough that it frightens her.  I hate to have to resort to that, but I can't seem to get through to her that the biting is too much.  I've tried grabbing her nose and telling her "no bite" but I think that just excites her more.  I thought that she would grow out of this because from what I hear, it's mostly a small puppy problem, but it hasn't happened.  She's really a wonderful dog otherwise.

Answer
Molly, first, ignore her completely when you come home, and tell your visitors to ignore her when they come into the house as well. That means do not look at her, do not talk to her, and do not try to pet her. She should eventually settle down. THEN, you can call her over to you (calmly) for petting if you want, or take her outside for a game of fetch, or for a walk.

She's still got quite a bit of puppy in her, and labs do tend to remain puppylike for longer than other breeds do, so you could be looking at a couple more years of puppyish behavior.

I also have an almost 15 month old female that behaves in much the same way that you describe, but moreso with my husband than with me. She chases and bites feet, will grab at your hands, arms, or legs, and even gooches us in the crotch when she's excited! Like your dog, she isn't biting hard, but it's hard enough! I have found that the best way to deal with *my* dog when she bites is to say "NO BITE," in a firm tone of voice and immediately, almost simultaneously, 'pop' her under the chin with my index and middle fingers held straight out (as if they were taped together). I tried all the other methods: yelping, taking her muzzle in my hands and looking her dead in the eye while saying NO BITE, rolling her lip over her teeth so she was essentially biting herself when she tried to bite me, squirting her in the mouth/face with water and a water/vinegar solution (she LOVES that, by the way), correcting her with a training collar, and even cuffing her upside the head (that was more of a reflexive reaction than anything). All of the above just excite her more, like you said, but popping her underneath her jaw with two fingers seems to work. It's quick, sudden, and gets her attention without being overly forceful.

Start out at a level 1, light correction. Most likely, it won't be enough. Immediately following the correction, offer her whatever body part she was going after again, encouraging her to repeat the bad behavior by saying things like, "You wanna bite? Do ya? Go on, get it again!" She will probably chomp down on the body part again, at which point you repeat "NO BITE" and pop under her chin with a level 2 correction. Repeat until she doesn't chomp back down on you when you offer her your hand or whatever again. Then you praise praise praise her and give her a jackpot of treats (meaning treat, treat, treat, treat in rapid successsion - not just a handful of a bunch of treats) or play fetch or tug or something with her using a toy.

Does she know any basic obedience? If not, enrolling her in a class may help to divert some of that energy to learning.