Training questions

[Labfan1]

I am a newbie to this forum and to this site in general. I thank you for your responce.

I have a 5 1/2 month old yellow lab who is progressing ok in his training I understand that he is a puppy yet but I would like to know how to keep him interested for the entire training session that i give him everyday? He gets distracted very easy and decides he is done with training. How do I break him of that? I recently buried my chocolate lab who was 2 years old due to a tragect accident. He was very focused from the time I first brought him home.He was Easy to train and Loved to hunt. Now with the new Pup its "i will stop when I feel like it". Any thoughts?? Thank you

[RiverRunner]

Most 5 1/2 month old dogs have very short attention spans. Keep your training sessions short (15 minutes or less) and positive. If you have the time maybe train basic obedience in morning for 10 minutes and in the evening throw in some fun retrieves. Read lots of training books, the 10 Minute Retriver is a pertty good book. Tons of good info on the internet too. Just take your time and have fun with it.

[SlamNFish]

Ditto on what RiverRunner said! A couple books i enjoyed were Labrador Shooting Dog By Mike Gould, Retriever Training A back to basics approach By Robert Milner. And be patient and build the foundation carefully. Good luck and have Fun!

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

I've had a couple dogs that were like that. Best advice is already given, keep the training sessions short, maybe even 5 minutes. End on a good note with a tennis ball or dummy thrown just for fun. It helps build them up and coming back for more.

[Farmboy1]

Pay attention to the dog. They will tell you when they are done training. The tail drops, their demeanor changes, etc.

When they are done, switch to something they know such as some simple sit stay heel drill so they can end on a good note. Maybe some play time at the end also. Give him something to be excited for at the end of training.

[Labfan1]

Thank you for the fast responce and to everyone who replied! I will definetly Use the methods mentioned above!!!

[SDbowhunter]

Mix in fun with your training. Play with him first to get some of that built up energy out. While training if he gets distracted play with him for a while and then work for another 5 minutes or so. Keep sessions short. If you can do 5-15 minutes in the morning then 5-15 minutes in the evening you will be well on your way. Dogs really dont have much of an attention span until the get to about 8 months and even then they arent out of the puppy stage untill 1 to 1.5 years. I dont recommend the use of treats for training because doing as asked should be the reward but, as you see your dog progress and it strives to please you using treats can be effective for harder to learn commands. I only used treats for down which proved to be difficult for my dog but once he got it down no more treats just praise.