Have had my 9 week old puppy for about 1.5 weeks now. Over the last few days he has started growling sometimes when we have to pick him up (usually to go inside) and while he tries to nip one of us or when we stop him from nipping. When I say stop him, nothing physical other than a gentle nudge to get him to release. Have read some threads about nipping and plan on following their advice, but it's frustrating when someone wants to pet him and he just wants to nip at their hand. I try to redirect with a toy which works about 50% of the time. Giving out a yelp I have only done a few times but doesn't seem to detour him.

My three hear old husky didn't behave this way - some nipping, but not with the persistance of this guy and certainly not the growling. For what it's worth, the lady I got him from did make note to tell me he was going to be a talker and I have noticed he does bark a lot more at this age. Just wondering if this behavior is typical or if I should be concerned.

I would double check to make sure he doesn't have any sores on his belly area that you may be touching. It could be as simple as a sore spot from licking or irritation. If everything is ok, then i would just try reinforecment, say ouch so he understands that it means stop. As they go through teething he is going to want to chew on you a lot more and needs to know when its too much. I know Libby hated having her rib area touched as a puppy and would growl at us. The vet said to us that she may have a small bruise just from rolling around and playing with the other dogs. Good luck.