New dog, few problems, want to fix him

[colum]

I have an extremely freindly pound dog that is quite bullish when he plays. He is a mix of a rhodesian ridge back and some type of yorkie or staffordshire terrier in him (looks like a pit in his head features) He kinda plays rough and is a bit excitable with other dogs. He jumps up on dogs at times. This makes other dogs bite at him, thankfully he has not bit back or even growled but Id like to train him to be a bit less agressive in his playing. He also likes to playfully take your hand in his mouth, he does not bite hard or I would be unable to type this...but id like to teach him not to do that (because he is just to big to do that) He nibbles on hands and at times has tried feet and even a playfull brush up against a cheek or shoulder with his teeth. He mostly stops when you say no, but has at times continued,,,I slapped hois nose lightly and I guess that encourages this in a dog (my mistake) Id like some ideas on how to stop him from being a nibbler and jumping up on other dogs. He is not in any real threatening postures when he does this and does not seem to be angry, he is just not growing out of puppy type behaviors,,,,I think his last owner probably didnt teach him well. I took this dog out of the pound knowing he would be work, but he is definitely a loving animal. I think poor training and possibly aggresive play with his last owner backfired and he now needs to be a bit calmer in his play. I do not think he is beyond help and would like to save him from being branded as a bad dog and winding up chained up,caged or worse yet euthanized. Any help would be appreciated.
By the way, I am a stone mason and can bring the dog to my job most days and am hoping to build a strong bond with him and get him to listen better to me. One other thing after only two days, I have him rolling on his back exposing his belly for me to pet....Thats a good sign in my eyes. I have just got to get him to play nicer and stop his nibbling on hands. I am certain this dog does not mean to hurt anyone, I just think he lacks judgement on how rough to play. He has not bitten anyone hard and Im just hoping to avoid that. I am getting him often exposure to other dogs and he does not always jump up on them, but needs more work to be a bit less rough playing. Thanks!

[adunphy]

I've never been one to try to change dogs play styles. Its best to help him find compatible dogs that play in a similar way. For safety, if he is large, then keep him on leash and restrained while playing with smaller dogs, or dont let him.

I would take him through a group obedience class, this will help both of you learn about these types of things and how to deal with any behavior issues you might be having. IT will also socialize him to other dogs

Amy

[colum]

I have slowly let him play with girl dogs, he jumps quite alot, but these dogs are jumping around with him fairly decently. I did keep him from going to rough, I hope since he was just nuetered last couple of weeks and is also 2 years old he may mellow a bit. He is not a big confrontational type, but goes up very interested and happy to meet others...just very strong and needs to learn to ease up...im sure he figure it out slowly.Im going to continue to expose him to other dogs often and hope he gets used to it.He wants to play with people a bit hard to, but eases up as soon as you let him know.I hope he just learns to be a bit less puppy like because he is to big to be so all out. He is probably just ridgeback as breed, i saw some online that looked like his twin....he looks a bit stockier then most of the ridgebacks, but theres alot that look just like him.He sure is strong, I just hope he mellows a bit over time. I will keep him leashed and confined at all times. I do a tiny bit of off leash stuff on the deck, but its mainly just to teach him to stay put. He responds very well. I need to be able to get him if his leash or Collar breaks, He snapped one collar already and I got a better one, plus a harness. But its best I train him to come back and stay too, in case he gets loose.