he doesnt bite out of aggression....
for example...we have problems with him and the cat.....hes becoming a nightmare,so im on constant alert when the cats about...if i reprimand him for plauging the cat, he'll bite,he doesnt clamp his jaws shut, its as if hes having the last word!
another example... if hes playing with my 3yr old daughter,he'll keep trying to bite her arm,again not actually closing his mouth! he'll annoy my older daughter too,shes 14 and he'll keep trying to bite her too...
when hes around we have to try and keep things calm,or he'll get all mouthy, and thats hard to do when theres a 3yr old about!

he gets over excited on the field too,hes biting for his ball,the other day he bit my side and bruised me...although i was teasing him by pretending to throw the ball, so i told him off, but he already knew what hed done, so i took the ball off him for a while and made him sit!

ive just told him off for chewing the brush,and there he goes again,the mouths open to bite!

he has plenty of mental stimulation....today hes been for his walk and run, ive thrown treats in the garden for him to find, ive filled his ball with treats to play with, and weve been in the garden with bubbles, and weve played with his teddy for a couple of minutes!

today hes been a nightmare, there are days though when he doesnt do it at all!
ive tried yelping ow when he bites, ive tried growling no at him.....ive put him in the kitchen and ignored him....nothing works!

Sounds like my Jozi was at 8 1/2 months old, she just thought it was a great laugh to play rough.

the only way to stop it is to remove all attention, send to Coventry.  Keep things calm as you have been doing.  sounds like he has good bite i inhibition as regards how hard eh mouths (Jozi did too).  She used to jump up and nip me on the boob or bum, thinking it was great fun.

With her any telling off made her more excited, so I used the water bottle and sprayed her in the face if she ignored 'enough'.  Water sprayed in her face was enough to convince hr it was no fun, and gave me time to leave or distract.  Of course it won't work if the dog likes the water, or if the dog is nervous or afraid.  It should just find it unpleasant, a slight shock but not frightening.

It is just growing up really he is a big young teenager.

thankyou brainless
i was beginning to worry it was the makings of a nightmare dog.
i have started to ignore him now,i dont even look at him..its just a battle getting the kids to do the same,ive got a stroppy teenager and the 3yr old only understands when she wants too!!
the water bottle is no good for fred...this is fun for him...lol...i have tried a bottle with stones,but hes only scared of this occasionally, depends what mood hes in.

i'll keep with the sending to coventry i think!

> the only way to stop it is to remove all attention, send to Coventry

lol sorry but that reminds me of when my sis and i were kids, if we were bad we were ignored till we "were socially acceptable again" lol, worked way better than a shout or smack!

lol, it is quite amusing when hes lying down feeling all sorry for himself, and every now and again he has a peek over to see if im looking!

He's behaving like a spoilt child and needs firm direction from you by the sounds of it. I know they are just to cute at that age and that you'll feel like a complete meanie when you stop his fun and make him sit quietly, when all he wants to do is play. But believe me, you'll be glad you did and in the future, you'll have a beautifully trained dog you can be proud of.

youve hit the nail on the head spiritualist!