7 week old Pit

Question
Hello, I have a 7 week old green eyed baby boy pit. He is adorable. He is very small right now but he will grow very big and I have no former training with big dogs, although I want to train him to do many cool tricks and be very loyal, but getting him to play with his toys instead of nibble on my hands and feet are a much harder task. His bites get much harder and I do not want to smack or hit him. I have gotten him many toys, but for some reason His main attraction are my feet. How can I get him to stop that ? ... Also I know he is young, but is it possible for him to be able to recognize his name ? I call him all the time and it does not look like he is completely aware that, that is his name. I would appreciate any advice. Thanx

Answer
At this age you can usually use a loud vocal sound to startle him to let go of your hand.  Many people use the short vowel sound for the letter "a".  Here is the protocol for teaching him this is not acceptable.  It is labeled "One, Two, Good Dog!"

Set up the situation where you have control of him in a position to present him with the opportunity to mouth your hand.  When he takes your finger in his mouth shout the "AAAAAAAA" in a very demanding voice (One).  This should distract him enough that he lets go of your fingers (Two). Then immediately praise him with vocal praise and physical rubbing of the neck and sides and even face (Good Dog!)  This entire process should take only 2 to 5 seconds.  If it takes longer then you are reacting too slow.  Repeat this process until he no longer will take your finger even if presented to him.  Now continue this process by opening his mouth and putting your finger inside.  Do this until he just plain doesn't want your finger in his mouth.  Your teaching session should take 3 or 4 minutes and get 15 to 20 reps of the process.  Now he has learned to not bite your fingers you can extend it to you feet or anything else he is chewing that he is not suppose to simply by using the "AAAAAAA" sound and the praise.  Now as often as you can during your interaction with the dog throughout the day present the situation and react as designated in the protocol.  Each occurrence should last no more than 2 to 3 seconds.  Try for 10 to 20 reps per day for a couple weeks.  What you need is somewhere between 200 and 600 consistent reps for the dog to reach a state of conditioned response or be "trained" not to present this behavior.
Just remember that when a dog is exhibiting an undesirable behavior you must take action to stop the behavior or make the dog uncomfortable when it does it, then reward the dog immediately when the behavior is stopped.  Generally I would not use a command linked to extinguishing an undesirable behavior as I want the dog to understand it is unacceptable to show that behavior at all and not just to stop it when given a command.  The "AAAAAA" sound is not a command but simply a mechanism to startle the dog enough to break its focus on biting.  You could also use a slap on the nose, a spray bottle, can of marbles, or anything that will work.  The important thing is to remember that unless the total protocol is completed, One, Two, Good Dog!, and in a quick, consistent time frame, the dog will have difficulty learning what you are teaching.  In order for praise or reward to be understood by the dog and linked to the correct behavior it ideally will be presented within 1/2 of 1 second of the behavior.  That is almost simultaneously.  The longer it take for the reward to be presented the more confused a dog can become.
Feel free to email me if you have any further concerns.  dr.hogan@invincibleservices.com