I know how trying it can be to train a puppy. My last dog was a lab/shepard/retriever mix and had a dominance streak. We are now training a pure bred Lab who is actually a guide dog puppy. He is 14 weeks old and quite a handful. Here are a few suggestions:

1. Never, ever hit a dog....ever. He will do what you want for praise and love and not out of fear or pain. Hitting a dog just makes a mean or sad dog.

2. Go to the library and get a DVD on puppy training. One we just watched is SIRIUS PUPPY TRAINING and it is VERY good!

3. The manual we have says this about biting (aka "mouthing"). Their mouth is the only way they know how to communicate and most of the time they are not trying to hurt someone. Each and every time he puts his mouth on you, say a loud "ow!" or another thing our puppy manual says is as soon as they do it to push their lower jaw firmly down toward their chest and say firmly "NO" at the same time. Then leave your hand near his mouth and if he doesn't bite at it give him some real good genuine praise.

The biggest thing though is consistency and never laughing at an undesirable behavior and when he does a behavior that IS desirable praise him so much that you make a fool out of yourself.

Good luck!!

First, don't let him jump on you or the furniture unless you've invited him up there. If necessary, put a leash on him and keep it on in order to control him.

If you're not knowledgeable about obedience, seek out a trainer or buy some recommended books or videos. There's some great stuff out there but there's also some with questionable techniques.

Maybe others can recommend a book/video.

Go get a leash and collar and go take your dog for a nice long leash walk, a couple of times a day will help your dog get rid of excess energy and will start the process of putting you back in the drivers seat. After a good 15 minutes on the leash you can add training while on the leash, this will help even more. Next, annz has part of the key, keep your dog from being on the furniture and on you and your visitors. A firm NO, deep a voice as you can possibly muster (No need to yell or get too excited). Be calm but be assertive. Your dog has taken over running the household because it see's itself as the boos, you need to take that role over and regain control. Be patient and firm

Take an obedience class. It is the best gift you can give to your dog and yourself.

About 18 years go, I adopted a Shepard/Lab, female, about nine months old. My first dog in many years. She was severely abused before I came along, and had many many issues.

Prior to getting her, my life was, to put it politely, violent. I was brought up in a very strict environment, and it was nothing unusual for me to be hit when ever I did even minimal things wrong. Unfortunately, these many experiences had a detrimental effect on me in more ways than one. Lots of times, when one comes from this type of environment, you pass it along, and, things in general can spiral out of control. When I look back on all of this, I see myself as being severely damaged. This damage took many forms.

When my dog came along, I reverted back to getting hit when I did something wrong, and once, only once hit my dog. When I did this, I instantly regretted it, seeing the terror in her eyes, realizing that she was hit so many times before me, and her behavior and situation was now desperate.

This experience started me on a path of spiritual healing, and dealing with my dog in a gentle way, always. Acts of violence, never get positive results. Acts of kindness, do.

I was blessed with my dog for 14 years. She got me through so much, we had so many good times.

Each time you hit your dog, you are not only damaging your dog, but yourself. This must be considered, and, understood before any type of proper training can be successful.

SG

Here's a great book:

Mother Knows Best, the natural way to train your dog by Carol Lea Benjamin

Lots of great advice has been posted, just one more idea.

Take a look at your local training centers, quite a few places offer puppy classes geared towards puppy manners and socialization. They focus on puppy manners issues like greeting people, jumping, chewing, nipping, etc so you can nip those bad manners in the bud.

It is also a great way to get your pup socialized with other dogs and people.

I'm a frim believer in NILIF ( nothing in life is free) for dog training. Link Below

Here is a link that might be useful: NILIF

There is a show on Animal Planet called Its Me Or The Dog. Trainer is Victoria Stillwell. We've learned a lot from watching her deal with bad behaviors! My husband who is impossible to train, has even learned a lot cuz I MAKE him watch the show.