Quote Originally Posted by christensenfarms View Post
Good grief- I am not suggestion beating the crap out of the pup. But there is a differnce between a gentle tap which doesn't get the message through to a pup to something more forceful that tells the pup in no uncertain terms- NO. Its exactly what dogs do in their own social circle. They settle domance issues very quickly( I said no biting and I meant it). Once usually solves your problem and it asserts your position as leader. At 9 weeks my pup knew not to bite...he knew not to jump on me. Not out of fear but respect. All of my dogs never had biting or jumping issues not because I am a great trainer but they knew from day one what was and was not acceptable. The line was drawn and they knew the boundries. As a result, they have all been well behaved and well mannered animals ( both dogs and horses)
Honestly - the original poster described normal mouthy behavior that all puppies manifest to some degree. It is not "BITING" it is mouthiness. It is not "DOMINANCE" for a small puppy to behave in this manner. It does not require a smack (or forceful tap) to correct.

I've raised puppies into well behaved, biddable adult dogs with excellent bite inhibition and never laid a hand on them.