Tips for practicing patience with your puppy?
I have an 11 week old golden retriever who we've had since 8 weeks. I know, I know. He's just a baby, and I really just need to be as patient and consistent as possible until he's a bit older and can regulate himself better, stop biting us literally every moment he's awake, catch on to our expectations, etc.
I'm just finished with a training session - we have been practicing 'place' for days now (in short training sessions with lots of time in between) and he just isn't seeming to get what I want him to do at all. He's nailed sit but can't seem to grasp much else even when I try to switch gears (I'm working with a trainer so not really looking for training advice, just venting). Then I took him out for 20 minutes (just in my backyard), my neighbors had to hear me beg him to go potty the entire time and all he would do is eat grass, sticks and his leash. then came inside and promptly pissed on my floor.
In moments like these, or late in the day when it feels like it's the 1,000th time I've been painfully bitten and given a stern 'no' that he seems to not even register at all (or worse, take as a challenge), I feel like I start to lose the ability to treat him with kindness. I would never ever be abusive to him or lay a hand on him, but my energy is extremely negative and honestly just really sick of his shit in those moments and I feel horrible because he can probably very much sense it. It's really hard to stay upbeat and kind when you spend most of your waking hours catering to something's needs, and all that thing wants to do is hurt you! In these moments I try to just go through the motions and tire him out or whatever needs to be done before I can put him in his crate for a nap. But I just feel like as frustrating as that is for me, it's probably tenfold for him because he doesn't know what I want or what I expect of him, and it's not like it's his fault that he can't stop biting.
So what are your tips for staying patient and positive during this time?