A little puppy help please!!

First off, welcome to idog.  And thank you for paying the admission fee by posting a picture of the cutie.[]
 
There is a reason that there is a disclaimer on the CM program to NOT try this at home.  He is working with "last chance" dogs most of the time, not normal little pups.
 
When you hold your pup down, when you hold his mouth shut, or otherwise physically engage him, you are "playing back" in his mind.  This is VERY normal puppy behavior.
 
When I have a foster litter I always have pockets stuffed with toys AND a fanny pack brimming with them.  When someone starts chewing on me I tell them "eh eh, no bite" give them a toy with "THIS is what you can bite" and then praise like crazy for chewing on the toy and NOT on me.  If I am walking and being "attacked" (and remember this is MULTIPLE pups) I just keep walking and IGNORE the behavior I don't appreciate.  Not always easy to do, but this is when you make sure you are wearing ratty pants and ALWAY"S shoes and socks!  If it gets really bad, put a door between you and pup.
 
So long as you ALWAYS react in the same way (be consistent) this stage will pass rather quickly.
 
 

thanks glenda! i had a feeling that i was playing back, cause that is how he is acting! from here on in, any puppy bites will be ignored, if not deterred by chew toys!
jean

You're very welcome.  This is probably the biggest problem new puppy owners have to deal with.  Compared to puppy nipping house training and crate training seem like a piece of cake![]

I have a pack of5, 3 German Shep., 2 Husky mixes, one is part Chow.
My Chow mix also used to bite from behind, paw at me , and wanted to take off with my clothes, the ones I had on....lol.

I got that terrible behavior stopped. When he did it I would say something like " ah ah, or eh eh", then I would ignore him and walk away. Maybe giving a toy right away might not be the best idea, it could be seen as a  reward by the dog.

Congrats on watching CM and here is some words from him to you:
 
"Are the Rules Different for Puppies?
As the father of two boys, many parents would agree that they can be a handful in a small house. I admit, sometimes it#%92s easier for me to control my pack than my kids, but my boys Andre and Calvin are growing up to be wonderful human beings and I credit that in part to teaching them rules, boundaries, and limitations from the start. Every child development book you read will tell you kids crave structure and rules, and those rules have to be applied early and consistently! You can#%92t just start setting rules when they are teenagers, right? So why do we let a litter of puppies do whatever they want, then expect them to obey? Pups six months and older are already in their “teens!”
The second you bring a new puppy home, start implementing rules, boundaries, and limitations so they understand what is expected of them from the beginning. Puppies are much easier to balance because, although some pups do show dominant tendencies, they don#%92t seek a leadership role at that age and would much rather follow. So no matter how cute they are, give your puppies proper rules from the get go. They will love you for it later."

Whenever our pup nibbled on us, we yelp like a hurt puppy, and immediately stand up and ignore the pup for 10-30 seconds. Be consistent with this and it will be much more successful than holding the dog down, which is in itself sort of a game!
 
Gauge the yelp and timeout duration in accordance with how serious the bite was. This will help the pup learn bite inhibition so he can control the strength of his bite.

I like Glenda's advice.  Once you interrupt the pup, the reward, if it is even perceived that way, is for stopping the mouthing. []
So, I wouldn't worry too much about substituting a chew toy for your leg LOL.  I have used this method for years, and my dogs have all turned out A-OK.  We use this method for our students as well, with good success.  If you don't "play back", the pup eventually gets sick of the "game".

The advice you've been given is great stuff.  Keep us posted as to how things progress.