Today is Sunday, and Cracker Jack and I spent about 3 hours outside this morning working on his basic training commands. Well, unfortunately, it appears Jack has spent about as much training as I have performing open heart surgery. BUT... I still totally believe in him and am sure with more practice he will have it all mastered in a few weeks.
THE GOOD
He walks well on the leash and doesn't try to run, unless he spots a butterfly or a leaf falling from a tree. Otherwise he is good on a leash. He will generally walk very near you.. a few feet at the most, but the bad thing is that he likes to criss-cross in front of your path, so you wind up constantly bumping into him. So I need to focus on keeping him on my right side only... when walking... but this is definitely achievable in the short run.
His next best attribute is sitting, but it does take some some. He'll eventually sit within 10 or seconds, but sometimes it takes some treats for incentive, or a little push on butt while he's standing.
THE OK
He is pretty good at coming to you when you call. You may have to coerce him a bit, by saying "COME" joyfully like you have treat... and I have to say it in a loving and exciting tone. But, in the end, he will definitely come to you.
Twice now, (in a gated area) I let go of his leash and he wandered about... When I shouted his name and said Come (in an excited tone) he came right to me. So I don't suspect he is a runner... unless I'm competing with his attention over a butterfly or leaf.
THE BAD
The concepts he has yet to understand, are lay, stay, stop and DOWN (as "don't jump on me all day when I'm trying to work). So while there is a ways to go, it was only our very first day at obedience training. So all-in-all, I can't complain. Jack is just an energetic bundle of puppy who is just interested in anything and everything around him. But soon I capture his attention and he'll be ready for a great permanent home and family.
ON A LAST NOTE:
In less than a minute, I fully trained Cracker Jack how to retrieve a ball when you throw it. (OK, maybe he was born with that natural instinct - he is a Labrador RETRIEVER after all) But considering how much he still has to learn, I am taking full credit for teaching him to play fetch!
VOICE COMMANDS
As for as his obedience training right now, I can only get his attention verbally, I will slowly start introducing hand signals to reinforce the training.
In other few days, we'll go to the park and work at obedience training for a few hours... and I'm hoping to see some positive progress... but we'll see.
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