Taffey was retrieving to hand at less than
  seven weeks old and at seven, she is now a
  finished dog with multiple titles and still has a
  wonderful future ahead of her.  What a great
  journey it has been! She has a few things left
  to do in terms of titles, but it's time to change
  from the testing focus and to emphasize many
  of the other dreams which now are to become
  a reality…..a few litters of well bred pups that
  just might allow others to experience a great
  dog, hunting which she dearly loves plus the
  mentoring of young KwickLabs ----- Kooly, her
  yellow "fireball" daughter......Daisy and now
  Gunny......the newest Kwick "Dustbucket".
 
  In the early fall of 2005, on September 10th,
  she passed the fourth HRC Finished hunt test
  and earned her HRCH title.  On September
  25th she got her fifth AKC Master Hunter pass
  for the MH title. Since then she has spent
  each fall and winter upland guiding and
  retrieving at Blonhaven's "Europeans". 
 

I guess I'm not so "warm and fuzzy" with biting pups. The biting issues are dealt with early on with tethered sessions on the living room floor. I want to have control over the pup's freedom and consistently apply the same correction. A "muzzle grab" and a stern "no" always worked quickly for me. I am "up close and personal" and there is no chance for escape. I'm not looking for an easy, alternative distraction, and I'm sure the pup's Mom wouldn't do much coddling, either. Deliver consistent consequences at the level they "dish it out" and get this issue over with sooner...rather than later.

The regular sessions are designed to be boring and cost me zero time......I do watch TV at times. Puppies need to learn that not everything is wild and exciting. Their reward is 30 minutes of quiet time with me. Several neat things occur.....1) the pup becomes leash broke, 2) the possibility of escape is removed, 3) biting becomes clearly unacceptable, 4) the true meaning of "no" is established and 5) being relaxed, quiet and calm is normal (for both of us).

The "muzzle grab" and "no bite" routine can be transitioned to a simple raised finger and a quiet "uh...uh...uh" verbal warning..............when he understands and just needs a reminder. I should mention that there are different levels of the "muzzle grab’.

On a side note, veterinarians will very much appreciate the fact that they can easily mess with the pup's ears, legs and paws without him/her "freaking" out. I know I'm making headway with
a pup when he falls asleep next to me.   

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