Should my trainer be flanking my 8-month old, just to get her to bite?

Absolutely not. My advice is to get a new trainer and do not go back to the person you have been using. Flanking (grabbing the dogs flank and pinching) is a defensive move on the part of a helper. It should never be used on young dogs. Eight months is way too young to put a dog (especially a female) into defense. It will destroy her future working ability.If a trainer is using the technique of flanking on a dog of this age he does not understand his job or the drives of protection training. I recommend that you tell him to read some of the articles on my web site about drives and drive thresholds. Even so-called professionals can make mistakes.If a handler does not have access to a competent helper, he (or she) can do the majority of the young dog training themselves. We cover all of this in our video titled The First Steps of Bite Training. In this tape we show you exactly how to take a dog through prey work in a step by step fashion. We also show exactly where a dog needs to be in training when the time comes that you must add an outside helper.

There are a lot of helpers out there (especially new ones) that are qualified to work adult dogs, but should never be allowed to work young dogs. In Europe, it is common that the older helpers with a lot of experience are the only ones to work puppies.