A lab/shepard is a great mix! Protective but friendly -- our family dog as a youngun' was this mix and he was amazing with us kids while still protecting the family. A few other dogs I've met with this mix have had the same personality.

Your new baby sounds like he's very smart, but is also fairly aggressive and will want to be dominant; which is in line with my experiences with this cross. Dominance training, which any number of books will cover, now will stand you in good stead later. Different dogs will respond better to different methods. I aquired a large, year old Belgian Shepard who had been on the street from about 6-12 months of age who had dominance problems and no people skills. I could whack him all day long with no effect. Eventually the dominance training paid off and I established myself on the top of the pack, although the only thing he would respond to was if I growled and acted like an alpha dog, and I became very good at knocking him over like another dog by tripping him. (Heaven help you if you don't manage to trip them the first time, because the next time they are ready for it and it's darn near impossible.) It all worked beautifully, for HIM, even if I did get some odd looks from people :) My rommate never did any of the exercises, and therefore never established his dominance, and this dog would simply ignore his commands.

I would never strike a dog with your hand when he can see it coming, because they may become hand shy. Nor a newspaper, if you want him to train him run down to the end of driveway and get your newspaper for you :) Anything loud and scary but relatively harmless will work.

Have fun with your new puppy! Ah, memories... the peeing in the floor, the chewed up furniture legs... all worth it when they lick your face!