Biting & Aggression Problems

You've posted about this before... have you tried NILIF?

If he's 11 weeks old he's not a "mean little thing" he's a baby.  He's chewing because dogs like to chew and need to chew.  He's biting you because he's trying to play with you. 

I'm not going to suggest you put him in a crate.  I'm going to suggest you take him to a puppy class.  He was probably taken away from his litter at a very early age.  But he's still very, very young and needs to learn, from other puppies, bite inhibition.

His behavior is typical puppy behavior.  It may be exacerbated because you are reacting to him.  Stop reacting and yelp.  If that doesn't work, walk away.  If just walking away doesn't work, give him a timeout of 2 or 3 minutes in another room.  The lesson he learns is "I bite, the game ends."

Part of his acting out is that you are reinforcing his behavior by participating.  Another part is that he's sleeping in the bed with you.  He needs to be on the floor, at least until you get this behavior under control.

People raised dogs without crates for years.  Personally, I love them.  My dogs are safe at seminars, in the truck, wherever.  They are not cages, they are "bedrooms".  If you had your pup in bed with you at 8 weeks, it was a mistake (that's the age when it matters, according to the most recent research), but nothing you can do about it now.  Personally, my dogs only get bed/couch privileges once they can sit, lie down, wait, leave it, and come on command every single time.  That doesn't take very long, and usually they are fine by the age of 12-14 weeks or so.  Your pup has only one week left in his optimum socialization period, and NEEDS to interact with other puppies - it helps him learn bite inhibition.  Please take Xerxes advice and go to class asap.  This is normal puppy behavior, but if he continually practices it, and you don't know how to stop him (and using muzzle pinches, and other crap that people try will make it much worse) then he will be doing it into adolescence - not what you want.  Find a trainer at these sites:
www.peaceablepaws.com
www.clickertraining.com
www.apdt.com

I'm trying and have tried NILIF ..but it's not working, he doesn't really know how to sit all the time because he just learned. I've only had him for 2 weeks and I'm guessing the lady before me got him at 8 weeks. She had him in a crate when she worked which was full time, and when she slept.. so all in all, most of the time. He shared a crate with an older Chi who didn't get along with him. I understand he just wants to play but on a scale from 1-10 on the hardness of his bite it's around a 7, if I were a child, I'd be crying my eyes out. I know puppy classes would help.. but as I said before.. I get $80 a paycheck and as of Sunday I put in my 2 weeks notice because I was being harassed. So there goes all my "money". I just can't afford them right now. Yes, I am looking for another job but when you live in a small town, the only thing there is ..is McDonalds, and no thanks to that. I've tried turning my back to him, walking away, avoiding eye contact.. but he does it mostly when it's time for bed. We'll get in bed and he'll sit there and bite me or the covers and then go after Pedro so I put him down and put up the dog steps so he cant climb on the bed.. and if he cries, I put him outside the room and close the door. Last night he kept crying and so I felt bad and I had to get up early so I let him back in -- which I know, was bad on my part.
 
I'm sorry I posted this again, but I don't think I explained how serious it was on the last one.. I guess it isn't serious. It seems to me it is though; Growling at me for petting him, I don't understand that.

Growling at me for petting him, I don't understand that.

If he's a pup, they investigate everything with their mouths, and they sometimes don't understand how to inhibit the bite.  If you can't get to puppy class, try finding other pups and safe "wee" dogs for him to play with, or at least meet in a safe situation.  You will handicap him for life if he doesn't get this experience. 
Growling can happen for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is fear.  You are big, and he is small.  If you have corrected him, even once, he may think he is in danger.  Or, conversely, he may just be a confident pup that thinks he can get you to stop touching him if he gets feisty. 
www.premierpet.com - Check out the "Ultimate Puppy Toolkit"
Maybe you can afford that.
As to obedience, buy a clicker and some treats and go here:
www.clickerlessons.com (free lessons)
www.clickersolutions.com (free articles)
www.clickertrainusa.com (free training videos to watch)
 

So when he growls at me for petting him I should just keep petting him?

It's really hard for us to say without watching you two together. As Spiritdogs said, when you're petting him, he might be afraid. In that case, you want to build up to petting him slowly to help him gain confidence (so yes, stop when growling). On the other hand, he might think that by growling he can make you do what he wants, so you want to establish yourself as the "leader" or "alpha" and not reward him.

If he is growling, for whatever reason, then you do run the risk of being bitten. So please proceed with caution.

Do you have a video camera so you could post video clips of his behavior?

ORIGINAL: redlegos

So when he growls at me for petting him I should just keep petting him?

Not exactly.  Tell me more, though.
Does he growl when you pat his head/shoulders, but not when you pat under his chin or his chest?   Does he growl when you try to move him?  Are there other times when he growls, and when does that happen?  Does he appear to be playing, even though his teeth are too sharp and are hurting you?  What do you do now when he growls at you?

Chico's only 11 weeks old, but he's a mean little thing and I think it's because I may encourage it? lol. He tugs on my pant legs, bites my arms and legs, nips at my face and growls (sometimes when I'm just even petting him), he scratches at me with his nails.. but he also attacks Pedro and Tj. He bites them on the neck and back legs, hard; and trys to drag them. He growls at them and sometimes gets jealous when I pet them, but then at other times he loves to just lay with them.

 
he sounds like a perfectly normal puppy-- all of that behavior is him thinking he's playing with you and with Pedro and Tj. Who are Pedro and Tj?
I have some permanent scars from "puppy play bites" so just because he is biting hard doesn't mean he isn't playing. He just doesn't know how to regulate his biting yet. The best way for dogs to learn this is by playing with other dogs. If you can find someone with well-socialized dogs and arrange play dates, that won't cost you a thing. Otherwise, do what dogs do when other dogs bite to hard in play: they yelp loudly and stop playing and ignore the other dog.
It takes time. He won't stop mouthing you overnight. You need to play with him hard in appropriate ways to burn off that energy and satisfy his need to play, too.

Pedro and TJ are the other 2 small dogs in the house. []

What does Chico do when restrained, like when he's being "hugged" or held for a vet exam? If he's acting out then as well, you can do what a trainer friend of mine suggests for puppies in her puppy class: keep holding/restraining him until he stops struggling/growling, then release him w/ a "good dog" and some play. Rinse, repeat. If the behavior intensifies to the point that you're afraid he might hurt himself, you have a developing problem on you hands and I'd be looking into way to afford a good trainer or behaviorist. Puppies with restrain issues can create huge problems when they are older, especially if they learn biting and growling works.

At other times when he's being mouthy like a normal pup - timeouts are probably your best bet. You've said that ignoring him doesn't work, but have you tried baby gating him in a room and then when he mouths, yelping and walking out of the room (the gate prevents him from following)?

Do you have any friends with wellmannered adults that will give him what for when it comes to inappropriate biting? You need a dog that will give a dramatic display w/o actually making contact with your pup - the stuff you mentioned about his interactions with other dogs leads me to eblieve his dog-dog socialization is lacking and since you've got 3 weeks to address this before the socialization window closes, you need to find a good benevolent leader dog to teach him appropriate manners - esp if he is a small dog as behavior liek you describe could easily get him in trouble with larger dogs.

keep holding/restraining him until he stops struggling/growling, then release him w/ a "good dog" and some play.

 
I really dislike that method, I think it can have adverse psychological consequences and may get you bit. One should avoid any kind of force if at all possible when dealing with puppies. I prefer the hotdog game-- arm yourself with a handful of treats, and go give your pup a pretend vet exam every day, reward for a cooperative attitude. If your pup shows signs of not liking certain body parts to be handled, you don't force the issue, you just gradually over time desensitize the pup. Example: pup clearly doesn't like having his feet handled. So you give treats for letting you touch his shoulder today, and tomorrow try touching a little lower down, and so on. Soon you'll have a dog who loves to be handled.

With puppies restraint is often not really fear based it's more of a "I don't wanna" kind of thing - hence the hold until calm idea. If there is major fear involved I'd def take the gradual route and I only recommend the hold method for puppies and only for restraint, never for nail trimming or examining individual body parts.

I was thinking of investigating the doggie day care about 15 minutes from here.. to get him around some pups his age. I was going to take him and Pedro for a couple of days. He growls when I pet him softly on his back -- just as you would normally pet a dog, or sometimes on his head. I take it as "get the heck away from me".. but I don't know. I also think he's a little protective of me? ..I don't know if those are the right words.. but he's constantly following me 24-7. If he sees Pedro kissing me, he will attack him, lol.