This is all really good information and lots to consider. I knew there would be a wealth of info to be found here and thanks to all for sharing. I will employ all of it as appropriate and according to how Grayson responds. Probably one of the key realizations for me is that he is still very young and there is time to take to get it right with him. If he doesn't respond well now, I'll keep at it at a slow pace and we'll get there. As Dean mentioned, patience and consistency are important.
The suggestions to keep the training sessions to 10 minutes or less and to let him run off some energy before a training session I think will work well with this pup. He's much more biddable after a mile or two.
I too know of many gun dog owners who have no need for some of the obedience commands. Their dogs are kennel dogs whose main purpose is for hunting, which is perfectly fine. For me, “Whoa” and “Come” are critical and should be fully ingrained as the foundation for further training whatever it may be.
As a gun dog strictly, “Heel”, “Stay”, and “Sit” are perhaps unnecessary. I like the suggestion for the “Stand” command as an alternative for “Sit” for the reasons stated (thanks Gary!) and I will be forever disappointed if Grayson sits when he points a bird. I don’t want to even think about how to try to correct that! My hope is that his pointing instinct is strong (there have been plenty of signs of this,) and he will lock up nicely. However, since Grayson is also a family pet, I am going to need him to heel and stay reliably. My wife and kids love to be with him indoors and out, but trying to keep an unruly dog under control and safe is not fun for anybody. So I will continue with these commands and get to the point where he is reliably compliant.
Lastly, thanks to all for your suggestions on collars and harnesses. I am going to try as many as needed to figure out which one works best.
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