In regard to training with treats, I used kibble in the manner suggested by Ruth and mainly did (and still rely on) clicker training. My dogs all still perform for kibble even though they've been exposed to much higher value treats. I used a cue word ("yes!" said in a specific tone) instead of an actual clicker, although I've heard a clicker works better, and you can use a cue word and clicker interchangeably from what I understand.
I used shaping (and mostly still do) to teach "tricks" (sitting, laying down, we're working on playing dead, to achieve a "butt drop" on command for lay down where the dog relaxes its rear). ... I've said it a hundred times on this forum and I'll say it again... Tab Shamsi's Training Positive YouTube videos are some of my favorites for clicker training methods that are easy and broken down. "Kikopup" on YouTube is probably better, but I don't have WiFi and her videos are long.
Someone on this forum, probably one of the ladies replying here, suggested an excellent recall training method where you say a command (I use "right here!"--don't remember if that was the original recommendation or not) and show a treat in your palm, then let the dog run to you and take it out of your palm. It creates the outcome of the dog running to tap its nose to your hand later.
I phase out treats by sporadically cuing and treating for the desired behavior after it has already been trained, so the dog is never sure if it will get a treat or not. So far that has worked really well for me.
Gosh, talking about basic obedience is just good for you. I just realized what I should do to curb a behavioral problem myself...
As far as the nipping/growling goes, I say, try everything! Redirecting, yipping, ignoring... My current pup (nearly 12 months now) was the most difficult dog to break of nipping I've ever had. I just had to give everything a go and figure out what worked. Ignoring was my winner in the end. Now I can yip if he so much as gently tries to mouth me, and he stops immediately, but it never worked before for him. So weird! I am STILL reinforcing soft mouthing (I think it was Leerburg who suggested ongoing soft mouth training) just in case the demon puppy ever comes back to haunt me.
I agree with the puppy socialization advice. I'm assuming that many somewhat older puppies would be acceptable playmates in terms of weight if you can't find any very young ones. I think it would be a big plus if you could make this happen.
I would also never let your children on the floor with the dog ever. Frankly I would likely make sure that the dog always stayed a respectful distance from me while I was holding one of the children, say 3 or 4 feet. I don't have children, but I do have a big puppy, and I would hate to think he might knock me down while holding a baby. By the time the kids are, I don't know, 40#, the pup will be 80 (or more? where is the baby growth stages chart around here...
).
Good luck!
Also... Pictures please!
