Re: 10-week old yellow lab pup - male
My suggestion:
1. Come up with a one word command you can use to tell the dog no biting. It should be short and not a command you use to tell the dog anything else. The word I've used is Teeth. You also want a visual hand gesture of some sort that always gets issued when the verbal command is given. Again, something you would not do for any other reason.
2. When the behavior occurs ... firmly issue the command/gesture and give the dog no more attention on the issue once the biting/nipping stops. Giving even negative attention is attention. Also, praising a dog for stopping is not a good idea here. There are many places that positive praise helps, but not here because the dog will learn to get attention by biting, then stopping, then getting positive attention.
3. For the new command to work, you must be 100% consistent in your behavior. No deviating ever. Even if whatever he/she is doing is cute or funny.
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