Agreed that you should get someone knowledgeable to work with you in person, but I have a general tip that worked very well for my corgi when she was being pushy. Any time she did anything during play that I didn't want her to do (nip, bark at me, jump, etc), play stopped immediately. I didn't say "No", or tell her she was a bad dog, or address the behavior in any way other than turning my back to her and leaving. She caught on really quick that there were rules to play and if she didn't follow them, Mom would quit the game.
We also practice the philosophy of "Nothing In Life Is Free", which has really cut down on her demanding behavior. Basically, she has to do something for me before she gets anything from me. Want the door opened? Sit first. Want me to throw this toy? Sit first. Want your dinner? Sit first. She knows appropriate ways to ask for the stuff she wants, which is way nicer than her previous methods of grabbing at things, jumping on me, or barking for things.
There are some really great training books out there- my favorite is "How to Behave So Your Dog Behaves" by Sophia Yin. I'm sure you can get other recommendations from people here!
I am a behaviorist and the NILIF (nothing in life is free) is great advice. Are you anywhere near Missouri? I can do consults (I've done phone consults before, but I much prefer in person). You can also look at the Association of Pet Dog Trainers website (ack! I need to renew my membership!) at
http://www.apdt.com and do a local search.
Basically what you have is oncoming adolescence bad manners. My mantra for dog training is as follows:
Reward what you like, ignore what you don't like, correct what you can't ignore.
Like stealthdog said, you want to reward four paws on the floor with GOOD treats (think cheese, bits of hot dog, cooked chicken, not boring Milk Bones), attention and petting and turn your back or body block with your hips (but don't touch, or the dog can think of this as petting!) during jumping and nipping. Don't look at him, don't touch him, don't say anything while he's jumping and carrying on. He ONLY gets rewarded for good behavior. If he's the normal goofball lab with a thick skull,
as a last resort, you can try a 5% vinegar solution and spray him (not in the eyes obviously). But your timing has to be really good.
Get him engaged with a toy or tug, but the game MUST have rules. This is not a free for all. There's absolutely nothing wrong with playing tug with your dog (the best police, military, and competition sport dog trainers use toy/tug rewards to train and motivate their dogs), but it has to have rules. When you ask for the out, it must out and it's rewarded for outing the toy by a re-bite or more play. The dog has to sit or down before the toy is thrown, etc.
HeartSong said:
If your puppy does something to you like nipping or jumping to get your attention, yipe (and do it like you mean it, loud and high pitched!!) then ignore them for at least 15 minutes. It tells the dog, "you just hurt me and I'm not going to be your friend if you hurt me." They don't have to actually hurt you, you just have to make them think they did.
This works really well for a lot of 8-12 week old puppies (sometimes as late as 4-5 months old). But if they don't learn it by 7 months, it usually doesn't work. If you watch wolves or dogs at play with puppies, they're pretty tolerant, but once they reach a certain age (usually around 5-6 months), the adult will physically correct them like "okay, knock it off NOW." In the same way, at that point of 7 months, I don't want the pup to think of me as a litter mate, but as a pack leader. The high pitched yelp can get the prey drive kicked in too much at that age too and get them too overstimulated.
