Last Saturday I ended up in Urgent Care because of Dante's overly mouthy grip. During fetch he brought back the item and mouthed hard, crushing my hand. My hand looked like a latex glove filled with water. Xrays done - no broken bones but tissue damage and a lot of swelling.

Anytime he gets an item, he pushes it into me while mouthing. My flesh is a mosaic tile of bruises and blood blisters.

I've tried to deal with this excessive mouthing by placing my hand on his head to gently push him back (while saying "back"), turning to the side, turning my back on him, walking away, etc. He still pushes into me while mouthing. He's not trying to bite and nip at me purposely but that's just how it ends up.

I like to play fetch with him in the backyard because it gives him the (much needed) energy burn off when I can't get him out for a walk. He's so food driven that when I've tried exchanging the fetch toy for a treat, he loses interest in fetch play because he wants to stay by me for treats.

It's gotten progressively worse so obviously I'm not doing the right thing. Help!

eta - I have an ecollar on order. Can I employ that later on for this issue?

Are you planning on doing bitework with him?

If not, push into his mouth every time he does it.
Make it very uncomfortable for him to have your hand in his mouth.

Make a fist, and just shove it as far back into his mouth as possible.

The goal is NOT to hurt him, but simply to make the act of putting his mouth on your hand, uncomfortable and unpleasant.

If you do have bitework planned with him, don't take things out of his mouth.
Just play the two-ball game, and try to keep your hands clear of the furry vise.