Hi,

Welcome to the wonderful world of puppeis[8D]!!! It will get better, I promise! It might not seem so right now, but it will.

First off, the average attention span of a puppy is about 9 seconds. This is according to some very good trainers I know. On the bright side, that's twice as long as my teenagers. So that kind of puts into perspective the stick chewing and lack of focus by your pup.

Secondly, he IS a pup. 13wks is not really very old. So you've had him home now what, maybe 3 to 5 weeks, less perhaps? He is probably just getting to point where he is comfortable around you and his new home. It might be a little early to get into real serious training with him just yet. I personally don't get really serious about much more than the really basic stuff (come, hup, and house breaking), until they get around 3 to 4 month old mark. Maybe let him enjoy his puppyhood a little longer (Labs do tend to mature slower, as do most large breed dogs).

What can you do? Well, first and formost, all training MUST be treated as a game for him. Throughout his entier life. The instant they aren't having fun doing something, they stop doing it! Kinda makes them a bit smarter than us in someways. Keep sessions short. I try to keep my training sessions no more than 15min at a time for dogs of any age. Less for pups. Retieving drills for your pup, no more than say 6 tosses at a time. Then it's play time with you. Now, that doesn't mean that 's all for one day, you certainly do multiple sessions in a day. But keep each session short.

Second, be lavish with your praise anytime he does something right. They live to please you! Use that to your advantage. Another thing to do, get down on his level. Don't stand on your feet, get down on your knees and get at his eye level. Standing upright, we are a huge and imposing figure to a pup, and a bit scary to approach.

Lastly, always end your session on a good note. No matter how aweful the session went, have the dog do something that you know your pup will do right. Then love him up and end it. If you feel yourself getting frustrated, end the session also. They know when your mad.

He might be a bit young to retrieve yet. So don't fret that too much yet. What I do to start retrieving is, to start in the house. I have a long narrow hallway that I use. Keeps them from running around or away from me, they have to come back to me. I don't use a buck at first. They are a bit too hard feeling in the mouth for some pups. I use some wadded up old socks. Get on your knees and tease him with it, be excited about it. When he's wound up, toss it 5-6ft. He should go after it. When he gets good at it, move outside to the yard. Watch out for teething. Their mouths' get pretty sore then and they can stop retrieving on you during that time.

Have fun with him and enjoy everything with him! Just be patient, good things will happen!

Dale