He really does sound like a normal puppy. He's just a a baby. They take a while to grow up. Have you ever tried to help a 4 year old human make a picture with bits of construction paper? Part of the time they are cutting out the paper shapes. Part of the time they are pasting the shapes to the paper backing. The rest of the time they are seeing what else the scissors will cut and are eating the paste. It doesn't mean the kid is bad or unteachable. It doesn't mean you are wasting your time with art projects. It just means the kid is a kid.
If you happen to have a herding breed in your puppy class, don't make the mistake of comparing your pup to that one. Shepherds and collies tend to have laser focus on their handlers. It's just the nature of these breeds. You will get good focus too if you play lots of fun games and keep things exciting for him. It will just come later after you have been working with him a while.
I deal with treats by keeping a variety of flavors in my pouch. I find that having a variety of flavors keeps the puppy interested. He wants to know the next flavor to come out of my pocket. So I might reward with a piece of kibble, then a piece of dried liver, then two more pieces of kibble, then a dried minnow. Including kibble in the mix also helps ward off diarrhea. Giving an entire pouch of dried liver to a 10 week old puppy will have wetly explosive results, shall we say. Too high value, like steak, might overwhelm the puppy in some situations. He can't think about anything apart from diving into my pocket to get some of that steak. Too low and the dog won't work. What is too high or too low depends on the situation. In my living room I might be able to practice with kibble. In class I might need to use steak or chicken pieces to get his attention back from another puppy.
At this age the puppy class really should be about socialization and learning to learn. My current puppy Ritter didn't really master how to sit or lie down in his puppy class. I taught these at home. What was invaluable were all the other experiences. He learned not to be scared in a big echoing room and not freak out when someone knocks over a chair. He learned that sometime he gets to play with other puppies and sometimes he doesn't. He learned that sometimes we run around and sometimes we just sit and watch someone else run around. Again, think of pre-school for 4 year olds. You aren't expecting the kid to come out knowing long division. Everyone is usually happy with a kid that can get along with other kids, pay attention to the teacher, and (hopefully) not eat paste.
If you happen to have a herding breed in your puppy class, don't make the mistake of comparing your pup to that one. Shepherds and collies tend to have laser focus on their handlers. It's just the nature of these breeds. You will get good focus too if you play lots of fun games and keep things exciting for him. It will just come later after you have been working with him a while.
I deal with treats by keeping a variety of flavors in my pouch. I find that having a variety of flavors keeps the puppy interested. He wants to know the next flavor to come out of my pocket. So I might reward with a piece of kibble, then a piece of dried liver, then two more pieces of kibble, then a dried minnow. Including kibble in the mix also helps ward off diarrhea. Giving an entire pouch of dried liver to a 10 week old puppy will have wetly explosive results, shall we say. Too high value, like steak, might overwhelm the puppy in some situations. He can't think about anything apart from diving into my pocket to get some of that steak. Too low and the dog won't work. What is too high or too low depends on the situation. In my living room I might be able to practice with kibble. In class I might need to use steak or chicken pieces to get his attention back from another puppy.
At this age the puppy class really should be about socialization and learning to learn. My current puppy Ritter didn't really master how to sit or lie down in his puppy class. I taught these at home. What was invaluable were all the other experiences. He learned not to be scared in a big echoing room and not freak out when someone knocks over a chair. He learned that sometime he gets to play with other puppies and sometimes he doesn't. He learned that sometimes we run around and sometimes we just sit and watch someone else run around. Again, think of pre-school for 4 year olds. You aren't expecting the kid to come out knowing long division. Everyone is usually happy with a kid that can get along with other kids, pay attention to the teacher, and (hopefully) not eat paste.
