Our pup is 10 weeks old. He seems to have mastered (ish) the 'come' command already and without us really trying to teach him it.
I was wondering though, how soon can we expect him to sit, stay, lie down, etc. He just doesn't have any attention span at the moment. Am I expecting too much too soon?

With his attention span as it is at the momment I'd say you'd be best to do short (10-15 min) bursts of training a few times a day. His training will 'click' but you do need to put in the work first.

He is still so very young, but i would say the most important thing is to be consistent, which may seem obvious but it is very easy to let things slip.

Make sure everyone knows what word your using for each command ie is "down" lie down or get off the table? Angel (quite conveniently) confused stay with play!
If one family member use down for one thing and someone else uses it for different reasons it will be very confusing for your pup

We used Sit, Wait, Off (for get off my friends head, sofa etc) and Down (for lay down).

when they are this young, try to use your basic commands throughout the day ie "Wait" when you are putting their food down, sit while you are putting the lead on.

It will click in the end! good luck!

Sam and Angel

I was thinking this very thing while walking in the park this afternoon.
Meg is 12weeks old and has mastered sit, in process of down, (will lay down but not stay down) The wait (stay)is also coming along.
I was really stressed up until this afternoon when I saw how much better she was on the lead.
Its the toilet traning we're having real problems with !!

I'm with Angel on this, of course I may be old fashioned but I don't like intense training much before 6 months. I find it can be counter productive and put the dog off formal training for ever!

I agree throughout the day use the terms you intend to use when he gets older, be consistent and introduce more learning opportunities as he learns each command, but please remember that in human years he isn't even 2 years old yet! Just a baby so don't rush, enjoy this fleeting time of puppyhood, getting him used to commands and showing him what each command means will do for now. Enjoy!

Well, they do say that Labradors come into this world half trained, and Springers leave it half trained......

Personally I'd just keep plugging away - it's a bit like comparing a 5 year old just starting school at his age with a 16 year old sitting exams. You won't have a well trained reliable dog until he's at least 18 months. You might think you have it sussed just as he hits 6 months, then it will all go pear shaped as the hormones cut in, but as long as you have a good foundation by then, the teenage years will be easier to ride out (just like kids really!)

10 weeks old is very young and the only thing I asked of Ghillie at that age was 'come' and 'sit'. We did lots of retrieves progressing to him having to hunt for them as he got a bit older to keep him occupied mentally.

I didn't start stay until he was 6 mths old. I think if you keep asking them to do something you give them the chance to ignore you and then it can go pear shaped. So for example with re-call, unless he is going too far away from me I don't constantly recall him, I may change direction and go the other way or hide so he gets the message that way.

There were times when he wasn't in the sligh-*test*-('") bit interested in training but I wasn't too bothered about it.

Now he's 8 mths old, I am more insistent that he does as he's told but I still make sure Im the most fun person he knows; always having toys with me and treats and letting him climb all over me...on my terms of course!! Taking him to the pub......