When he is awake he is biting at us. I can't even pet him. He has lots of toys and I try to use them for playtime but he is only interested in biting me - not the toys. I yell no, I yelp, I get up off the floor and ignore him but nothing seems to work. The ignoring did for a little bit but now he immediately goes to the door to be let outside which means I can't ignore him anymore.[/b]
My Moe had a biting problem when we adopted him years ago. Our situation was a little different from yours, in that Moe was estimated to be seven to nine months old when we came accross him in a shelter. But, like you, I couldn't even pet him and he was severely bruising myself and my eight year old son. Any touch resulted in biting. He wasn't attacking us or fear biting... he seemed good-natured enough when he bit. We reluctantly lived with it for three weeks, unsure of how to correct him, while he recovered from kennel-cough and recieved his shots. When he was well enough, we took him to see a trainer who worked with the shelter to help new dog-owners overcome problems with thier newly rescued dogs so they could successfully stay in thier new homes. Careful evaluation revealed Moe's biting to be a form of domination over us, and he had never learned bite-inhibition. She taught us how to correct his domination problem, (which I can't share with you, as this type of problem needs to be evaluated by a professional before proceeding with any type of treatment).
From the trainer, and also from this board, I learned some tips for teaching him not to bite, which I'll share happily with you. I used them all, at different times - I think I was afraid that if Moe got used to any one trick it wouldn't work anymore. :blink:
1) Bitter Apple Spray. Initially, it was my best friend and constant compaion. I sprayed everything he bit... my hands, my legs, my arms, my feet. (Later I used it to keep him from destroying things I couldn't pit away... chair legs, table legs, the couch, rugs, or anything he took a fancy to chew.) If he even LOOKED like he'd bite, either me or something he shouldn't, I took the bottle and gave a squirt in his direction (not towards his eyes, but towards and below his mouth - so that he could smell it and maybe even taste it, but not so's it would get in his eyes or nose - the idea is to discourage him, not hurt him). Eventually it got so that all I had to do was show him the bottle (empty by then) and say "NO, MOE, NO!". He'd look at the bottle and stop what he was doing.
2) An empty coke can with 5-10 pennies in it is a great inexpensive tool that works wonders. When tossed near a naughty dog it makes a startlingly LOUD noise that startles them out of misbehaving. You need to toss it near the dog, not AT the dog, and you shouldn't let him see you toss it. They need to think the noise is a reaction caused by what they were doing so that they don't want to do it anymore. I used to put six kids on the bus in the morning in addition to my own. Even after Moe got better about biting the bad habit came out again if he got too excited and having many kids to play with in the morning was exciting. Of all the tricks we used to discourage biting , the kids liked the coke can the best. They kept the coke can nearby when they played and learned when to toss it and when not to. He NEVER hurt one of the visiting kids. We adopted Moe in the month of July, and by the time school started we knew all the tricks and we taught the kids how and when to use them.
3) Ingnore him. (This one you already know.) When he bites, sternly - even loudly - say "NO BITE!!!" and then turn your back to him. Moe would try to get in front of me to get me to lok at him. I'd keep turing so that no matter what I did my back was to him. I did not acknowledge him in any way. Eventually he'd go lay down, with a moan.
4) If your dog has a biting habit, do not play rough-play games or games like tug-o-war with him. To this day, eight years later, Moe will STILL bite when overly excited, and games like tug-o-war get him VERY excited. You can play fetch till the cows come home - it's Moe's favorite game - and it's a 'safe' game. Moe never plays REAL fetch - he won't release what he fetches - but he loves to be chased once he's got the ball, so I chase him for a bit. When he stops I don't try to pull the ball from his mouth - that would be like tug-o-war. He knows I won't throw again till he drops the ball (or toy, or stick) at my feet so I can pick it up. In the winter "catching" snowballs is a favorite game, too, even though the balls disintegrate when he bites down on them. It's fun and safe, because I don't have to get the ball from him.
Lastly, have patience, patience, PATIENCE. It amazes me still that Moe can do a bad behavior just once and it's 'learned', but it takes three months to 'un-learn' it, with a LOT of work on my part. <_< It will take time to change his behavior but persistance and patience will get you, and Toby, through it. It took three months to stop Moe from diminating us by biting. It took about that long to 'control' his other type of biting, but it was closer to two years before I could throw away his empty Bitter Apple bottle. He was probably four when I tossed out his coke can, pennies and all - it was dust-covered from not being used. I still have to ignore him on occasion, but it's not for biting... these days his main interests are finding ways to get food and keeping people off 'his' spot on the couch. I ignore him if he insists it's cookie-time when it's not. :lol:
These are the things that worked for us with Moe. Our trainer also recommended nuetering ASAP because that could help biting problems, too. And, like our vet told us, if you've never had 'ice cream' you'll never miss it, if you know what I mean.

I'm sure there are tricks that others used that helped them. All things don't work for all dogs and thier people... you have to find what works for you. Be patient, keep your sense of humor, and don't be discouraged. Whatever tricks you use, give them enough time to work. With persistence and patience eventually you'll be able to pet Toby and snuggle with him without him trying to bite you. Good luck to you both.