Aggressive Puppy or Normal?

Thanks guys. I figured I was too worried. I've tried the Ouch thing and it scared her at first, but then she thinks we're playing.

 
YES!!!!! That's why it works.  In normal play, the "injured party" yelps, which stops the play.  Next time, puppy bites a little softer - but, if it's too hard, the playmate might still yelp.  Maybe he even leaves.  So, pup learns that if he bites too hard, the fun stops.  This is why it's so important for pups to play with other pups.  If you have no other dogs, you will often have a mouthier pup than if you have another household dog that plays with the pup!

Growling, even loud growling, is normal for some pups when they play.  As long as it isn't accompanied by signs of bossiness (pinning another pup repeatedly, drawing blood, guarding objects excessively, etc.), you probably have little to worry about.

I have to agree with Anne on the interaction with other pups.  Our Shadow was an only child.  He's two now and still a royal pain in whatever he decides to bite.  He does it only in play, and usually rather gently, but his bite inhibition is NO WHERE as good as the pups who had littermates, despite us working really HARD on it.  Humans just aren't as good for learning from as other pups are.

I know it hasn't been that long, but here's an update...

Well, I must admit that I was a bit skeptical about the idea of "letitng her bite me" for bite inhibition. BUT it seems to be working rather well. She does come back with a softer bite and if she doesn't, then I get up and walk away and when I come back, she either bites really softly or licks me. After I say "ouch!" she typically bites softer and then moves to licking me on her own. I actually have been getting more "kisses" from her than I usually do without asking. I've also been doing the "easy" suggestion, and it is working brilliantly. She doesn't even bite at my hand anymore, she puts her paw on it and licks. I swear we're bonding through this more because I'm not holding her muzzle. (I never liked that anyway and this has much better results!)

We've also been doing a lot more training sessions thru the day, and I think this is really helping us bond more. She has "sit" down, and we're still working on "come". She knows what it is, but if there is another distraction she doesn't always come right away. And she only seems to respond to her name half the time, but anyway... But, since I've been doing more training at shorter periods, it's calming her down and making her more attached to me.

When she makes the growling sound, her body doesn't seem negative. The only time it really bothers me is when I pick her up to put her in bed (she's sleeping). And she'll do it when I wipe her paws off. What I've been doing is when she growls, I turn her around look her square in the eyes and say "no growl" until she looks away. This seem to be working.

I really appreciate everyone's replys and advice, thank you so much. I've always read abou dogs, and did my research before hand, so I thought I'd be well prepared! I grew up with two dogs, and had one as a puppy and so I thought it would be smooth sailing. Well, since all the burden is on me now, it's different. Plus, each dog is so different! And now, I'm the alfa and with my beagle, my dad was the alfa so I realized I had to adjust to that role.

I just wish I found this site before I got her so we had more chance to bond better for the first three weeks!!

sounds like you're doing good. I would strongly recommend against discouraging growling though. Growling is communication; all communication is good. Dogs who have been punished for growling may turn into sudden savage biters-- they can't complain that their stress level is increasing, so when they get too stressed by whatever you or the vet or your child is doing their only option is to bite.
 
Instead, work on getting the dog to be more accepting about whatever it is he's growling about. Have you tried giving him treats  for letting you handle him? handle him more often, away from the foot-wiping: touch a foot, give a treat. Pick up a foot, give a treat. and so on.

It sounds like you would benefit from reading some books on dog behavior.  "Kisses" aren't kisses, they are lip flicks, a calming behavior that is designed to tell you "I'm not a threat".  They are also supplicative in nature, and not a sign of love, but more a sign of respect for your authority.  If your dog butt nudges you, that is a sign of affection.
Also, do NOT discourage growling.  A dog that feels it cannot growl, will go directly into bite mode if it is pressed.  You want your dog to be able to warn you that she feels uncomfortable or fearful, and not have to bite someone to relieve the stress she feels.  Parents often make the mistake of correcting a pup for growling, and later their kid takes a face bite for something that could have been prevented.
"No bite" really doesn't mean anything to the dog, unless you teach it.  Humans seldom do that, they just say it louder and expect the dog to "get it".  Uh-uh - doesn't happen.  If you hold a treat in your closed fist, let the dog investigate, and finally when the dog backs off, you say "good easy" and your hand opens to reveal the treat, which the dog gets, then she will start to associate the word "easy" with backing off and getting rewarded for it.  Doesn't happen overnight.