Chomping and Hyper puppy

Question
Hello! I have a 9 week old Jack Russell called Cid and he tends to attack peoples feet at random moments. He likes to tug off the socks or chew on toes and pants. I dont know if hitting or scolding a Jack Russtle would do any good, I've been told that it makes them harder to train. (is that even true?) We've(the family) tryed directing his attention off our feet using squeek toys and such but sometimes he dosent want to let go. He's pretty much house broken and understands the sit command fairly well. Sometimes its hard to even pet him 'cuz he trys to bite your hand. I get him to knock it off by pointing my finger and giving him a stern "No" I'm not too sure if it's all just puppy play or Cid behaving dominantly. Would giving him more walks and practicing the "NILIF" technique work? Is there anything more I can do to calm him down?
-Thanks!

Answer
You should not hit a dog of any breed, Sunyoung. His behavior is normal puppy play, but he needs to learn that it's not acceptable to bite people's feet. To teach him this, you can try squirting him in the face with a mixture of 1/2 water and 1/2 white vinegar whenever he bites at your feet, or grasping him by the scruff, looking him dead in the eyes, and telling him "NO" in a stern tone of voice. Do not let him go until he stops struggling and/or looks away from your eye contact. If you have to, you can even let him drag a leash and use it to correct him when he goes after your feet. If you don't know how to administer a leash correction, get a trainer to show you. Basically, it's a very quick jerk, but you don't want to yank the puppy across the floor, and you don't want to use the leash to hold him back from getting your feet, because that will create frustration and he'll only want to go after them MORE.

If he bites at you when you try to pet him, tell him no as you've been doing, and then get up and walk away from him. Ignore him for 10-15 minutes. You can also try the squirt bottle for hand biting. Another technique that works very well is making biting uncomfortable to him. When he bites your hand, tell him no and 'pop' him underneath the chin with your index and middle fingers, which should be held straight out as if they were taped together. The 'force' is controlled by how you snap your wrist. What you want to do is imagine a scale of 1-10, where 1 is the softest 'pop' and 10 is the hardest. Start out at level 1, and then immediately offer your hand to him again, encouraging him to try and bite it again if he wants to! Most likely, he will. When he does, tell him no again and 'pop' under his chin at level 2. Repeat until he no longer tries to bite your hand when you offer it to him. Then PRAISE him happily!!! Remember, you are not >>hitting<< him under the chin. You are tapping with two fingers.

Yes, exercise and practicing NILIF are two things I would definitely recommend. Just be careful with the exercise because he's not protected against parvo yet. Keep him in your yard until after he's received his final puppy shot at around 16 weeks of age.

Cid is a Jack Russell. No, you are not going to be able to calm him down. **laugh**