# How to calm down a 8-week golden pup?



## runawaytain

We got him from the breeder when he was 7 weeks old. Now he is so active and can never calm down when we try to train him. He only knows how to sit down and stay a little bit.

We see on youtube that there are so many smart pups that can do lots of tricks at his age.

Please help.....


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## Wyatt's mommy

runawaytain said:


> We got him from the breeder when he was 7 weeks old. Now he is so active and can never calm down when we try to train him. He only knows how to sit down and stay a little bit.
> 
> We see on youtube that there are so many smart pups that can do lots of tricks at his age.
> 
> Please help.....


 
He is only 8 weeks old and has only been in your home a week. Please don't expect miracles LOL! He is a baby. I would focus on potty training.


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## drofen

runawaytain said:


> We got him from the breeder when he was 7 weeks old. Now he is so active and can never calm down when we try to train him. He only knows how to sit down and stay a little bit.
> 
> We see on youtube that there are so many smart pups that can do lots of tricks at his age.
> 
> Please help.....


How do you calm down a puppy? Play, play, play, play with them. Then play with them some more, until they are literally falling asleep on their feet.

Then they'll be calm for at least 20 minutes.

While they recharge.


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## LibertyME

Please dont compare your puppy's "trick list" to others too closely!
At this age, focus on the big stuff...his name...recalls...sits...housebreaking.
A dog with nice manners is a joy to live with...a dog with tricks and no manners is just 'A Pain in the Neck' who knows some tricks!


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## Brave

drofen said:


> How do you calm down a puppy? Play, play, play, play with them. Then play with them some more, until they are literally falling asleep on their feet.
> 
> Then they'll be calm for at least 20 minutes.
> 
> While they recharge.


This is very accurate. We could not get Bear to settle until he was about 3-4 months old. If he was ever too much for me, I would put him in the x-pen (exercise pen) with some toys and relax for a while. He is always in sight, even in the x-pen. 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## Megora

runawaytain said:


> We got him from the breeder when he was 7 weeks old. Now he is so active and can never calm down when we try to train him. He only knows how to sit down and stay a little bit.
> 
> We see on youtube that there are so many smart pups that can do lots of tricks at his age.
> 
> Please help.....


1. Go with the flow.

2. Use treats - and only give treats for something the puppy does that you want to encourage, not just because. 

3. Like LibertyME said above, don't compare your puppy to other people's. The experience level of the owners and spare time makes a big difference in how quickly the puppies develop training brains. 

When you watch those videos - learn the handling skills of those people or what they are doing to get the puppies to learn.... and figure it out away from your puppy. When you train your puppy, keep it short. Only 3 reps and quit. They are absolute SPONGES between 8 weeks and 15 weeks especially, but have short attention spans. 

Never overdo or get frustrated while training. If it's not working, stop and do something else. 

Between 8 weeks and 20 weeks - this is the time you want to train your puppy to walk nice on leash, react to your voice/praise, learn your hands are treat givers, and that when you want to train it's going to be FUN every time you train (several quick 1-5 minute sessions a day).


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## Wafer1141

My pup is 8 wks also. I thought the same thing you did and had to check my expectations. I can say you guys are doing better than us. Mine only knows sit and down. At one point I thought, "what if i got the slow one!" lol But I am proud of him for learning other things. He has an incredibly soft bite for a puppy and thats something we worked on. He is doing excellent at potty training. Hes good at things and hes learning which is important to me. I had friends tell me their puppies learned all their tricks in the first week too and it was discouraging. But we have his whole life to learn the tricks that will impress people. Becoming a family member with manners is most important to us at this point. Good luck with your new puppy.


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## Macie the goldie

How did you soften his/ hers puppy bite?! My pup is a biting machine! lol


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## puddles everywhere

Each puppy and each handler are different. We all learn at a different pace and puppies are no different. The experience of the trainer is a big factor as well. If you are a novice trainer just remember you still no more than the student. Make training fun but don't expect it to last for than a couple of minutes before you need to change games. 

A dog that walks nice on a leash, knows their name and will come when called, lets you trim their nails and potty outside is much nicer to live with than a dog that can find kibble under a cup and digs a hole in your carpet.

They don't stay small very long, enjoy them. There is plenty of time to learn tricks together. Training is learning how to communicate what you want your dog to do. Once you master the communication gap the rest will come.


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