When my husband first told me his friend was going to give him a chow I was terrified. I'd heard so much about how unstable they were and that they bit even their masters so my eldest son and I researched a lot on the internet. When we got cha-cha at 3 months she was already quite strong and would nip our youngest son who was 5 years old at that time. We started with lots of techniques you'd read on the internet like separating her from the family when she nipped, or spraying her with water etc. We were frustrated and did not know what to do. We chanced upon the show "Dog whisperer" and we learned a lot. We learned that you also had to see to the dog's needs before you could even start to teach it. We needed to exercise her daily and set rules for her. You need to call the dogs attention while she is preparing to do the deed you don't want done rather than when its already been done. The most important thing we learned is to be calm and assertive when dealing with the dog. When our youngest son learned to do that things started to improve. We also made sure we exposed her to a lot of people while she was growing up so she's used to them and won't get too excited unduly which may lead to biting. WATCH that show with Cesar Milan and Good luck!