I use a leather glove, my pointer finger and the one next to it. I learned this trick when I was teaching my dog to "hold" the dummy. I got it out of the book..."how to train a super puppy" I have released a couple hen pheasants from his mouth. We used to have chickens on our farm back home and he would bring them to me all the time. Had to get rid of them. I would put the fingers in his mouth and tell him HOLD...He made sure he didn't bite down too hard. Like most dogs though he gets a little hard mouthed when other dogs are around to try and steal the glory.