exactly!

Dogs have the short term memory of...of...what was that again?

If you catch the dog in the act of whatever it is you don't want it to do and punish it they make the connection. By punish all that's needed is a sharp "no!" or even "unh uh" nothing further. Dogs undertand tone, inflection, never hit a dog, not with your hand, not with anything.

But punish them later on, Half hour, 5 minutes, even 10 seconds later your dog is not thinking "oh, must be for what I did then" your dog just fears YOU.

Imagine you're at work and randomly for no apparent reason your boss comes in slaps you upside the head and suspends you. Never says why, never says what you did wrong, just hits and suspends you. You wouldn't know what to do.

I've heard it said about kids "catch them in the act of being good", with my dog I decide what behaviors I want her to do, sometimes have to break it down into steps; sit, that becomes sit then lie down, becomes sit-down-roll over.

I find positive methods work best, don't we all feel good and work much harder when we are praised? Sure it takes patience and consistency. (you mentioned this gal is not patient?) But training a dog should be fun on both ends of the leash. Are there any free courses at local schools or a club.