It is such a challenge sometimes to catch and hold the attention of a young dog. The world is an amazingly good (and bad) smelling place! To a pup who is just coming into their role in the social scheme of things, this can be soooo distracting. So we must be extra patient.
If your puppy is struggling with attention in a certain area, such as Sitting when people are present, then you know that is what you can take some extra time practicing. But put some distance between you and the distracting thing. If it is simply being outdoors that your pup can't handle, try to budget some time to hang out as the 'anchor.' Taking your pup to a mildly distracting area, such as your front yard, and just quietly standing there holding the end of the leash until he loses interest in that circle of space, can be the difference between success and failure with obedience behaviors.
Don't expect too much from them either. If you are aware that the sight of kids playing undoes all your hard work, go back to simply trying to play the Name Game with her for a few minutes, a bit farther away from the children playing, until your puppy is paying closer attention to you. As she gets better at focusing on you, and ignoring the kids, you can move closer and try again. You may only get a step closer at a time, but keeping it simple, like using Name Game, and asking for a Sit before moving away again, will ultimately net you a very reliable dog.
Allowing your pup to ignore you altogether when there are distractions is unacceptable. Dousing his senses to a degree that you no longer matter actually teaches him to ignore you as he grows. Setting yourself up at a distance the pup can focus in, while still slowly increasing his tolerance to distraction, is vital to your long-term success.
It can be a hard line to walk between asking for enough to keep the pup focused on you, and knowing when to just stop for a moment to allow the pup to realize that "thing" wasn't worth trying to reach. The more you ask for, the better your focus will be: assuming you've taken the time to teach the puppy what you want, before you try it in an area of higher distraction.
It always cracks me up a little when I see someone with a new puppy at a busy park on a Sunday afternoon, trying to teach him to Come, or better, to Stay. I can't help but ask if he's practiced this at home yet, and the answer is usually something like, "No, (guy with giant grin says) we just got him yesterday!" I love the initiative to show the pup the world, but expecting a pup who is still adjusting to his new environment to listen enough to Stay put more then a millisecond, is asking too much...I think anyway.
Some puppies are so high energy, that it can help to play ball or other activity in the backyard, before you try to work in the front yard. If a pup is too excited, they are in a reactionary state of mind, and not in the thinking one we need for training. Every day and every minute should be a 'training session,' as in, this is just the way of life for your dog. "you want outside? Sit...Wait...ok!" "you want dinner? Down...Wait...ok!" You cannot expect your dog to just 'become good' all the time, if you are only asking for good behavior when you decide it's "training hour."
There is no Sometimes for a Dog.
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