cant afford the dog whisperer--training at home

Question
I've just seen the dog whisperer and am unsuccessfully implementing the no bite thing he does with my 8 week old standard poodle.  Is there any point to trying to teach a puppy not to chew on my hands, kneecaps, feet, & other skin covered parts of a person?  Is shaking the mouth and making eye contact the wrong technique for a puppy?  I constantly try distraction 1st, with a chewable toy and this muzzle closing eye contact thing is my last resort.  He doesn't quite get it yet and I started to wonder if this technique was not developmentally appropriate for a young puppy.

Answer
Hi Yma,  Actually that is a very bad technique as you are dominating the dog by closing his muzzle and then challenging him with the eye contact.  Shaking the mouth can just confuse the dog into thinking that you actually want to play.  Have you seen puppies play?  They shake things with their mouth, so body language wise you are telling him you want to play.  The best way to stop play biting is to reach over the muzzle with your free hand (thumb on one side of the muzzle, fingers on the other) and pull the upper lip down and pinch it back up against his teeth.  It will pinch and what he will associate is that everytime he bites something he is not supposed to bite, it will pinch.  At the same time you do this, tell him "no" so he understands that he is being corrected and that you are not playing.  Then give him something to play with like a toy.  By the way, you might want to reconsider following the Dog Whisper's ways.  He is currently being sued for a dog being choked with a choke chain to the point of unconsciousness and having to have emergency surgery to his larynx to fix the damage.   Just a little bit of news a lot of the public is unaware of.  Hope this helps,

Dawn