In my opinion this is ok for now. I got my puppy and didnt start here with a dummy until she was almost 6 months old. The season opened when she was 9 months old and she retreived 293 birds for me and last year she was a jam up dog retreiving everyday we hunted for a total of 386. I never thought i could train a dog but I think she trained me. Just keep with the obedience and take your time. The key is to enjoy what you are doing and do not get aggrevated with your pup. Its all in what you want as a dog owner. My dog willblind retreive never breaks works to a whistle and hand signals but she is far from perfect. i just enjoy knowing that i did it myself. Hope this helps