Bradley's training up until this point

We started training Bradley early. Nothing too complex, just the basics. The most important things we had to focus on were polite leash walking and not seeking attention from passersby, as these are the minimum skills necessary to take him out into public. He needs the exposure to various public venues so he can adapt readily to new experiences in his working future. To be honest, we haven't taken him to as many places as I would have liked to. We've taken him to the Subway restaurant a couple blocks from where we live, Barnes & Noble, Target a mall and a movie theater. Throughout the several visits to each, he's had his ups and downs. However, he has still done much better than you could expect from a puppy.

We haven't trained too many commands yet since he doesn't quite have the basics down yet. The commands he's fair to good at are:

"Stop": Rather than meaning stay in place, "stop" means to stop and sit. We use this more than anything. He stops whenever I stop walking, at doors, before crossing the street and before going up or down steps. So far he only stops on command. The goal is for him to do so in all these situations without being told.

*This is a very similar command to "sit" but carries more weight, as it is most necessary when working, as opposed to sitting to be pet or have a collar put on, etc.

"Sit": This is just a basic sit. Less formal than "stop" and is intended to be used for much shorter periods of time than "stop".

"Down": A basic lay down.

"Up": Return to sitting position from down.

"Wait": Similar to a basic "stay" but means 'wait in this place until I say further'. A concluding command like "down" or "come" usually follows shortly after "wait".

"Stay": Intended for longer periods and not necessarily under constant supervision. We have not yet worked on a formal stay. At this point, he thinks it's the same as "wait". We'll start working on "stay" for longer periods of time once he masters "Sit", "Wait", "Down", "Up", and "Come" at a distance.

"Come": Come to me immediately and sit in front of me. He's at about a 95% success rate during training sessions but we have not yet worked on "come" when he's not focusing. At this point, he'll come when called if he's involved in something else, as long as that something else isn't more interesting :)

He get's the idea of all these commands. However, we give him latitude, as he is young and we do not want to demand more of him than he can offer. He's quite mature for his age so we'll be building on these skills rapidly, yet in fun, short bursts. I'm a firm believer in neither overwhelming a dog with more than he can absorb, nor boring him with skills he's already mastered if he's not enjoying himself.

Bradley regressed significantly in his training progress during the month of July. During June, even at his young age, he was right on the ball. He was easily motivated by food rewards and was happy to cooperate. During July, it was almost like he was another dog. he would spit out and abandon his treats and acted as aloof as if he was on another planet during training sessions.

I was frustrated. I was so proud of everything we accomplished and then it was ripped out from under me. I didn't know what I was doing wrong. Bradley's training was my first experience with primarily positive training and it was hard for me to remain positive when there was so little to reinforce. There are two things I attributed his regression to:

1. The heat; he really doesn't enjoy training if he's too hot.
2. His age; he was no longer in the "baby" mindset that young puppies are in when they are so dependent on their caregivers. He was growing into his mature personality and didn't need as much validation.

Both or neither may be true. Either way, I'm glad I stayed positive. In the past 2 weeks he's an angel again. It's like it just clicked. He's still a little resistant in the heat or when he would rather be doing something else, but what puppy wouldn't rather be playing?

That's why I changed my method of training. I just changed 2 days ago and it's already going wonderfully. Rather than going around the block as if it's drill practice, we go to the park 3 times a day and practice the already learned skills over a game of fetch. Rather than giving a food reward (which at this point he could take or leave), his reward is the ball. I've only trained 3 dogs in basic obedience before. One was trained with praise alone. Bradley is my first dog who relishes a toy reward so it's new to me. I'll have to recondition the clicker to be associated with the toy, rather than food.

I really want his training to be fun for him. I understand it will take a lot longer than a dog trained by a professional, since I'm still learning myself. As long as he's enjoying it though, I think it's worth it.