INCREASING YOUR CRITERIA

Nothing should be a straight line of increasing difficulty:  When we're increasing the difficulty of any one aspect of a behavior (such as distance, OR duration, OR distraction) we don't make it a little harder each time.  Your dog will recognize that pattern and come to dislike the game.  Instead, think of a stock market chart-- up a little, then down a bit, then up, then up more, then down a bit, etc.  Throw in some easy wins.  If you're working on duration of a down-stay, for example, and you're going to do it 5 times (I will call each time a "trial"-- because each time we're going to see if the dog is successful) your plan might look like this (in seconds):  3,4,5,4,5 .   (That's an average of 4.2 seconds over all the trials).  Later that day in another short little training session, again 5 trials, your plan might look like this:  3,5,6,4,6  (that's an average of 4.8 seconds).  Stock market chart.  Not a straight line.  And baby steps.  You're making progress, don't worry, and you're keeping it fun and engaging for your learner.