[Garmie1]

the first couple of minutes he's fine, he'll play fetch, tug, and behave wonderfully.

but after a while he starts to lose his impulse control, he'll bite my hand when i'm holding a toy for example, or shred one of the softer toys to bits, when he reaches that point we take a break, i've been doing so for a couple of weeks now and it doesn't seem to improve.

 

[DriveDog]

How old is your pup?

 

[Garmie1]

17 months old.

 

[DriveDog]

I assume you have a beautiful GSD based on your avatar. You also used the term "impulse control" therefore you understand the concept of 'impulse control". Use the excitement and anticipation of your GSD in your favor during these play sessions. Train impulse control and appropriate bite inhibition during those sessions. GSDs have strong jaws but they also have considerable intelligence. It's your job to clearly define when bite pressure on your limbs is excessive or not allowed and give the dog an acceptable alternative.

Once again, I default to the age of your dog, at 1 1/2 years your dog needs to revisit previous limits and boundaries which were acceptable. Your dog is becoming an adult with formidable tools and needs to know what is permissible as you dictate.

I found myself taking a few shots from my dogs training this behavior during play sessions but never wasted the moment. A break or "time out" is not a clear enough signal compared to other immediate corrections which could better communicate the intended message.