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Good grief! I didn't have my preferences set to email me when their was a response! So I just now quickly read all of them and boy, do I appreciate all the insight!
I'm going to go back and read them slowly so I can pick up what I missed.
Thank you so much and will give you a report in a bit.
about this age is the worst time for destructive chewing and painful biting. This period can be especially frustrating with high energy breeds and/or if you have the alpha of the litter, which sounds to me to be the case. It is extremely important that he learn "no bite" NOW and not later. I've never had success with any hand-striking punishment to discourage biting, particularly with dominant dogs. The only thing that seems to work for me is the following:
First of all, never initiate punishment until he has begun to chew/bite you. If he bites you harder than the threshold you are comfortable with, position your thumb on the middle of his tongue. Push down hard, pinching his tongue and lower jaw between your thumb in his mouth and the first knuckle of your index finger under his jaw (does that make sense?) while making hard eye-contact and repeating "no-bite" in a firm tone. If he panics, you're doing it too hard. If he doesn't make a sound, you're not doing it hard enough. It's a fine line.
This will take a LOT of repetition and patience on your part. Don't expect him to get the idea the first day, especially if he is as hard-headed as you say. I dealt with the exact same thing about 30 days ago and can definitely feel your frustration and pain. This really is in your best interest and his. Don't ignore it because it will not necessarily go away on its own.
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