[JadeD]

I would definitely get the dog enrolled in a training class. Petsmart has classes starting all the time if there is one near you. It will be the best investment you spend on your dog, except for vaccinations.

This class will not only show you how to train your dog, but how to react to your dog. They will teach you commands to teach them. Drop it is an amazing command. Give is also good.

I have 2 almost 8 month old puppies (where does the time go?) that I have worked with myself and they know I am boss without me having to show them I am boss. It is just how I have raised them. Mine are thieves that steal everything. I just look at them and tell them that is mine and to drop it and they roll their eyes at me and drop it on the floor and wander off to find something else to steal. I will grab them and take it out of their mouths if necessary and they know this, so they don't bother trying to run with it.

My puppies gummed my hands and arms from the moment I got them, so they do not bite me. They actually chew on my hands even now more as a comfort type thing and they have never bit me. I have had to tell them ouch and they left an indent in my finger a couple times but they learned quickly what biting too hard was and now they know well and can chew on my hand or arm for 20 minutes and I won't have to tell them once to be gentle. We rough play and they do not bite.

I highly recommend a dog class. It will help them bond with you and give you a better idea on how to handle situations like that. If it was one of my puppies I would have scooped them up into my arms and removed the tissue from them, but that is exactly how I handle that kind of thing and they are accustomed to it. It would not have upset them in any way, but then they know I am alpha around here as I was alpha from the day I brought them home.

A firm NO was definitely in order though. I am a positive reinforcement trainer with my dogs. They are told NO if they are doing something they shouldn't be and then they are redirected to do something they are allowed to do and praised when they do it. My dogs are never hit or scolded more than a firm NO.

Good luck as you do not want a dog that bites to be around kids. It is not a safe thing if you can't tell your dog no. I had one dog that was very sick with cancer and if I told her no she would turn around and snap at me. It got very bad with her and she did bite my teenage daughter when my daughter told her no. The vet thinks her cancer had gone to her brain though as she would just sit and growl at me if I talked to her near the end. It was a very sad thing to see your beloved dog not seem to know who you are anymore.