How often and long for training sessions?

[fritzy]

hello again guys!
my training with my gsd puppy fritzy has been going amazing! hes 9 weeks old as of this moment, hes learnt various commands such as sit, spin, down, come, touch (my hand, another variation of come), wait etc. obviously nothing mastered but he remembers them and does them most of the time!

problems im having is im not sure how long and how often i should be doing our sessions, since hes a puppy his attention span is limited unless hes semi tired or ive got really high value treats. hes doing well at paying attention when he does but i dont want to tire him out, but at the same time this is the best form of enrichment and i dont want to deprive him of it

im also struggling really hard with trying to stop him from biting me, hes doing it right now and its VERY painful, he’s drawn blood a few times, ive tried to redirect it to toys, ive tried a small tap on the face to correct him (he bites my finger) and ive tried to really show that it hurts (fake yelping and stuff) but all of these seem to drive him to bite me MORE, im also trying to make sure he has enough sleep and play but its hard, should i try those more?

thank you!!

 

[MyDogBitz]

A 9 week old puppy shouldn't be doing much of anything for more than a few minutes at a time. They only have the capacity to learn so much in anyone session.

I would concentrate on building his markers and getting him as much environmental exposure as possible. Obedience is easy and can be done whenever.

Those precious first few months are where the foundation is laid for what type of personality and disposition your dog is going to have. That opportunity only comes once.

As for the biting, it's a breed thing. GSD puppies put EVERYTHING in their mouths, including you.

I would provide the pup with plenty of chew items and physically stop him from chewing on you. At this age it's going to be hard because it's all he wants to do but just stay consistent. Just pull the pup away by the scruff of his neck and direct his chewing attention to something more appropriate.

The faking injury thing doesn't work. Everything that goes along with that just encourages the pup to bite more. (Fast movement, high pitch noises, it's all motivational) Good consistent corrections (simply moving the pup away buy the scruff of his neck) with redirection is far more effective.

I encourage you to watch YouTube videos of mother dogs correcting puppies who bite too hard. You will be surprised - mom is ZERO tolerance.

Anyway, the first few months will really test your patience but stick with it. When teething is over at around 6 months of age the behavior improves dramatically IME.

Last point, if you're not already doing so crate train your pup now. It's going to prevent a lot of issues in the future AND it provides a nice timeout for both of you.

Also, if you're living space allows for it, use an ex-pen. Same concept and benefits of the crate but with more freedom.

Good luck!