Okies, so we have a new pup, a RED HEELER, now around 8.5 weeks old. And as is normal with this breed AND with all new pups, he’s a bitey 'lil monster during his waking hours.
We can’t get into Puppy School until the 12th Jan, so just needing some advice in the meantime. He WILL sit on command (with a treat reward) and is otherwise smart, but when he’s just woken and full of beans, he’s full of BITEY stuff as well.
YELP?? 
I have a year old red heeler/whippet mix and she’s a mouthy little thing too but is thankfully settling down nicely. One thing we do a lot is that every time she gets excitable and jumpy and mouthy she’s learned I’ll ignore her until I see a behavior I like–and bringing me a toy to play with is always an acceptable behavior. She’s smart as a whip too, so she’s learning to bring specific toys because bringing me a Nylabone is nowhere near as fun for me than if she brings a rope toy so we can play tug of war. Which I heartily recommend–tug of war is right in a heeler’s wheelhouse and for a little puppy it’s soothing to teething gums and burns up plenty of energy for the pup without much work for the human.
So yeah, TONS of tough toys that can be chewed on and every time your pup gets mouthy tell him to go bring you a toy. Heelers are super smart dogs so giving them a job to do from a very young age will help fend off some common misbehavior.
Yep, we have tug-of-war ropes, slippers, doggie-puzzle things, chew toys…but the little snot still prefers to tug on my dressing gown and bite my fingers.
Not so much advice but hopefully some understanding.
Our guy was a horrible puppy. He bit and scratched almost constantly. He was our first young puppy in about 15 years or so and I could only shake my head as I tried to remember previous puppies we had raised. I asked myself over and over if I really could have trusted a puppy with young children. But I had and, for that matter, I had grown up myself with puppies too. I just couldn’t remember any as bad as Bentley. My old lady hands and arms were constantly covered in bruises and broken skin. My adult son got worse though. Bentley latched onto his lip one day and my son ended up getting four stitches and a scar as a constant reminder. For a while there I think Bentley thought his name was Little Bastard.
That was almost three years ago and amazingly, he grew into the nicest dog possible. He is so calm and gentle and just loves everything and everyone. The demon has truly been exorcised.
So there is hope for even the brattiest of puppies. Hang in there. You should have a lovely loyal dog there one day.
I would advise that you, every single time, present the pup with something appropriate to chew on when the bugger chews on anything else. “No, no pup. Here, chew on this. Good pup.”
Yeah, doing that with not too much success. 
His chew toys get piffed in prefence to my dressing-gown cord and my Ugg Boots.
Well, he’s real young yet so keeping especially desirable items put up out of his reach to keep temptation to a minimum might be a good idea. He’ll get better, and in less time than you’d think, especially if you put in the time and effort to redirect his little bitey face fifty million times a day. If he gets after stuff that’s absolutely a no-no, like electrical cords and furniture, you might consider investing in some bitter apple to give him a more memorable reminder of what he’s not supposed to do.
Are you crate training? Because that would be super duper helpful while he’s growing up. Keeps everyone safe.
Chew toys are good - use them to establish clear boundaries between ‘play’ and ‘not play’
I might get flamed for this, but what has worked for me is to establish myself as the ‘big dog’. If my dog does something I think is unacceptable, I push her to the ground, pin her (very gently and carefully) by the neck, put my face very close and, in a growly voice, assert “I’m the big dog!” - I hold her there for a few seconds, then let her go.
This might seem cruel, but I believe dogs function best when they completely understand their place in the social order. Behaviour problems happen when the boundaries are not clear, and the dog tries to discover or traverse them.
We don’t do crate training in Australia, 
I’d like to like this post,
Oh come on Kam, he’s a cattle dog for gawd sakes. Get him practicing yarding up a couple of yearling steers like he’s been bred to do. Elsewise the poor little bugger will be bored out of his mind.
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This is NOT cruel … if anything this is the exact opposite of cruel …
Dogs are social animals, but dog society is nothing like human society … what you’ve done is establish yourself as alpha-wolf and puppy as beta-wolf … puppy completely understands these rolls and once spay/neutered, puppy will thrive as beta-wolf …
The only grief I’ve had with this is the dog sometimes gets carried away with the “protecting the young” imperative, other parents didn’t always appreciate my dog not letting them near their own children … although after further review, these parents did welcome my dog into the playground … it was easier dealing with my dog than having the kids stolen or something …
Puppies need to chew on things … my dog picked my office chair and that was a happy medium for us both until the chair collapsed underneath me … boy, my kids thought that was funny … [sigh] …
If it makes you feel better, I find the story highly amusing. Guffaw inducing, even.
We had a Dalmatian puppy who was super mouthy. We would hold her muzzle and say “No bites” it took maybe 3 mos. Of this to put a complete end to the nippy- ness. We had our hands full with that girly. She was very smart and manipulative. Turned out to be a great dog. She died at 8 years old.
This is the “alpha roll.” It is indeed cruel, as it is entirely unnecessary except to appease human ego issues, and it’s also dangerous.
New Study Finds Popular “Alpha Dog” Training Techniques Can Cause More Harm than Good
What “alpha rolling” is really doing to your dog
Dog Training and the Myth of Alpha-Male Dominance
What has worked for me (and comes widely recommended) is Dr. Ian Dunbar’s method, which mimics how dogs learn bite inhibition from their littermates.
The TL;DR version: teach your puppy to be soft-mouthed, then teach him not to bite in play. But you should definitely read the full version:
Good Dogs Do Bite: Training Advice from the Real Dog Whisperer (click-through ad)
No, it’s not the “alpha roll” … in the sense of a training technique … we talking about an eight week old weenling, which is far too young to be training yet … what I’m recommending is more in line with what the bitch does to keep the lil’ nipper from nipping her teats … and we can fully assume that if the cub survives to eight weeks, he’s learned already how NOT to bite, or bitch will kill him …
The difference is that I’ve only had to do this once in any of my dogs lives … and at around eight weeks old … the other difference is that we don’t roll the dog over just to roll the dog over, we roll the dog over to get better access to the dog’s throat, makes it easier to get our own teeth around and a bit of a squeeze … cub’s already learned not to bite mama, we’re just teaching him to not bite papa … it’s a “one and done” thing, nothing more …
All your citations focus on training techniques and the failure of negative reinforcement, but that’s a different debate … it’s very easy to train a dog to “alpha roll” on command and the dog will do this simply because they love you … this is no more cruel than any other “stupid pet trick” … and if we’re using positive reinforcement, the only danger is to the human’s fragile egos having to drop to their knees to lavishly cuddle their dog … it’s amazing what a dog will do for you just for your approval …
That’s my advice to the OP … bite the cub right back … at 8 weeks old, they understand …
Funny video – “How to Alpha Roll Your Dog the Right Way” – YouTube 2’22" – the guy just simply asks the dog to roll over, neither dangerous nor cruel … in fact, it looks like the dog is enjoying herself … that’s something judges look for during AKC obedience trials, whether the dog is enjoying themselves or not …
I don’t know about Red Heelers, but my understanding is that Aussie Heelers aren’t recommended for households with small children … the OP choose a dog bred to nip at heels, so there will be the nipping of heels throughout the dog’s lifespan … I suggest getting a herd of sheep as well, give the poor dog some heels to nip at and everything should be fine …
Heelers have earned their name honestly–my girl has one friend of mine who just puts her back up and she cannot get over it and when he comes around she runs around something, sneaks up behind him and will definitely go for his heel if nobody tells her to knock it off or he doesn’t turn around and eyeball her. We have NO idea why she’s taken so against this one person, it was instantaneous on her part and she’s normally a super gregarious little showoff who loves everyone. She was raised with a toddler and LOVES kids, to the point of hanging out the window of a car, vibrating like a tuning fork when passing a schoolyard during recess.
Herding dogs gotta herd, it’s their thing and you can’t train them out of it. Which is why I don’t recommend herding breeds to neophytes–they can be a handful.
While I’m at it, may I point out that the OP is in violation of custom in that there have been no pics of this bitey little bastard posted yet? BAD OP, NO COOKIE!