Hey everybody, obviously I'm new to the site, and I am a 1st time gsp owner. My question is this, (any response will be appreciated)

My girl is 16 weeks old tomorrow and she is beginning to be very stubborn.  From 10 weeks until now we have worked on a number of skills, some being advanced for her age.

Sit and stay,  blind scent retrieval,  return bird to hand, heal, etc...

She was doing all of these things perfectly, and without hesitation.  She would give you that look that makes you think that she knows what you are about to say before you say it. 

All has changed now and I cannot even get her to heal, and she will run off and pretend that she doesnt hear me. She is very attention defeciet!  We do exercise everyday. At least 2 miles, sometimes 4.  I understand that at this age there are a lot of psyche changes and independence issues.

My question is this, should I change my direction in training? Or just fight through it!  How do I get her to regain the interest and zone in to the training?

Just keep reminding yourself that you're little one will improve w/ age.  I recall that 5 months old was the most frustrating & difficult for me w/ Kota.  He was getting stronger & stronger & his teeth were still like razor blades.  Once his baby teeth were all gone & he hit 6 months old, he seemed to be a wee bit more attentive.  We've discovered that with GSP's that there are a lot of baby steps as far as accomplishments, milestones, etc.  Puppy school, beginner obedience, etc are all good ways to keep them busy & learning every day. 

GSP's also are virtually impossible to wear out.  You could run them forever & they won't stop until you make them stop.  So, just remember that they have growing joints & to take frequent walks/runs.  That's what we do.  Kota can go for miles & miles until we just say no.  Just can't seem to wear the guy out. 

Your story sounds really familiar to us!   Our 6-mo. old can also be a psycho pup.  I'm as new to this as you are, but we had the same thing with her not wanting us to leave the room.  We finally started "weaning her off of us" and leaving for regular, short amounts of time.  After getting used to it, she's definitely starting to improve.   We both work from home, so she was pretty darn spoiled with having her family around all the time, but now she's getting used to the fact that we'll be back... I think.    

So glad to know someone knows what we are going through. I am home with her all day and I try to leave several times so she gets used to the idea. When I come home it's like she hasnt seen you in 3 days even tho it's been like an hour. We start obedience classes tonight. We just really want her to come when she called when she gets outside off leash. It was very scary that day she almost got hit!