I apologize for getting folks riled. This is exactly what I meant. Over the years, far too many times I've seen dogs left alone in a yard or worse, tied to the deck and not even played with by "their kids", then the owners would kvetch to us about how ill-behaved and untrainable the dog was or that it barked all day (tell me!) and they could not get it to stop. It's a bit upsetting to me, if you can't tell—it's very unfair to the dog to not treat it properly then blame it for its behavioural issues.
@EBirdsong, I can't believe I forgot—train with hand signals! At least for the basics like come, sit, stay ("just stand there for ten seconds while I grab that chicken/pick some tomatoes/laugh helplessly because [family member] walked into the sliding glass door while carrying a pie"), bring it. For some reason they are really helpful in training. Just figure out what signal + word combo you are going to use, and be consistent with it every time.
I'm sure some of the actual trainers can explain why this is.
Also, in odd situations—you think you hear someone in the house when you're alone, or maybe you think you heard a rattlesnake in the brush, or you are just on the phone or calling the kids back—it's super nice to be able to get obedience without having to say a word.
ETA
@reddogmaster2, those "long downs" are a good idea (though still not entirely sure about a puppy, they sound like they are worth trying). Especially for those really bad health days many have, they might come in handy.