training my GSD puppy

Question
Hi,
I have a 4month old GSD puppy. In the first two weeks after purchasing him he could do all the basic commands (sit, stay, heel, down and 'focus')I'm very proud of him as he is very dedicated when I train him, however I'm doing something wrong and need to how I can fix this.when I taught him 'down' I took a treat and dragged it from his front feet until he touched the ground and then I said down and praised him. The problem is everytime I give the down command I have to do the step in the way I trained him. If I give a 'sit/stay' command and walk away and try to give the 'down' command he won't do it. Guess he's not getting it so how can I change this? Also, when I tell him to 'heel' he'll HEEL, but NOT at my heels. He goes 2 steps ahead and then heels and sit. Is this a problem or can we just move on?

Then I have a tricky situation - should it be possible for HIM to obey me even if my other dogs are running around? I guess he should, hey BUT not sure how to get all of his attention focused on me! As you know he's still young and I'm very consistent with his training.any advice is much appreciated!!

If you know of any other activities him and I can do together to stimulate/challenge his mind even more I would appreciate it even more!

Thank you in advance and looking forward to your reply!
Have a fantastic day!

Answer
Congratulations on your new pup and the training you've done with him so far.  Great work!

Let's start with the down.  What YOU perceive as the cue for lying down (the word "down") and what the DOG perceives as the cue for lying down are 2 different things.  The dog thinks that the cue for lying down is when you bend over with the treat near his feet.  He hasn't made the association with the verbal cue.  Dogs will always tune into our visual signals/body language before they pick up on what we say, so be careful what you train first.  If you want him to respond to your voice, don't train new skills with hand signals.  You can always add hand signals later on.  See paragraph below on how to add a new cue.

So, how do you transfer an old cue (bending over) to a new cue (verbal cue "down")?  Give the new cue (down), then the old cue (bending over) - not at the same time, but sequentially!  The dog will perform the behavior, you toss the treat so he has to get up to get it.  Do this 3 times in a row.  The 4th time you're just going to give the new cue without giving the old cue afterward.  You're going to wait until he offers you the down on his own.  No further physical cueing allowed.  When he does it on your verbal cue alone, toss him a bunch of treats and have a party! From this point on, do not give the bending over cue.  Wait for him to get it on his own, but give him time to think about it.

Heeling:  Teach him to walk next to you by rewarding him where you want him to be.  Carry treats in your left hand #assuming he's walking on your left side# and feed him in that position - directly next to your left leg.  Reward him every few steps as long as he's at your side.  If he moves out ahead of you, do a u-turn and go the opposite direction.

Once you have his basic skills solid when there are no distractions, you can begin to work outside where there are more things to catch his attention.  When you do this, take your very best treats - small pieces of meat or cheese.  Work at a distance from the distractions so that he's successful.  Remember that you have to be more interesting that what's going on around him, so be exciting and use those great food rewards.  You may have to relax your criteria a bit when you move to train in new locations.  

GSD's thrive on solving puzzles and anything that will stimulate their mind and their nose.  Have him find things, like toys or dog food that you scatter in the yard.  Make him work for his kibble by using food dispensing puzzle toys.  Play hide and seek with him, so that he has to find you or a family member to get a treat.  

Learn about clicker training.  The questions you asked today makes me believe that you would really enjoy this type of training with your dog.  It can fine tune what you're doing with him and allow you to really expand on what you can do in the future.

Check out Kay Laurence in the UK:  http://www.learningaboutdogs.com/html/clicker_training.html and Karen Pryor:  www.clickertraining.com.  Watch videos, read articles and join a Yahoo list like Clicker Solutions to help you out.

Let me know if you have further questions.  Good luck!