As a professional dog trainer, I have never been asked to help make a puppy more hyper, but almost every new puppy owner requests some training on how to make their puppy more calm. 

To achieve the goal of puppy calmness, it’s mostly about trimming the fat…or eliminating things you are doing that overstimulate the puppy. In addition, most new puppy owners unconsciously create and reinforce the unwanted hyper puppy behavior.  Calming hyper behavior in your puppy is about down less, not more. 

Here are 3 tips to help make your puppy calm

1. Stop talking to them so much with commands they don’t know in a high-pitched voice. It’s gibberish to them, similar to Charlie Brown’s school teacher. The puppy has no idea what you say, and your voice is a form of affection that will get your puppy more hyper. “Talk low, talk slow, and don’t say much.” John Wayne.
2. Stop touching them so much when they are hyper - this will only reinforce the unwanted behavior. Save affection as a life reward when your puppy is calm and tired.
3. Ensure your puppy gets enough sleep, exercise, mental stimulation, and leash training and is on a strict schedule for discipline. 

You can purchase my book here: https://www.amazon.com/author/dalebuchanan

RESOURCES:
Podcast Website: http://puppytalkpodcast.com
Sponsor Website: http://www.topgundogtraining.com
Dale's books: https://www.amazon.com/author/dalebuchanan

The goal of raising a puppy is to prevent unwanted behaviors from developing so that you can live harmoniously with your puppy. Most new puppy owners allow most unwanted behavior to develop, even reinforcing the behaviors in the puppy. 

The behaviors I get called the most to help “fix” are play biting, jumping, barking, chewing, and pulling on the leash.  Once the puppy has associated the unwanted behavior with something that’s ok for them to do, they will keep doing it. 

It only takes 1-2 times for the puppy to rehearse an unwanted behavior, such as play biting, jumping, barking, or chewing furniture, for the behavior to be programmed into their software (brain).

How to prevent unwanted behaviors:

1. Stop reinforcing them
2. Stop allowing them to develop
3. Find replacement behaviors

You can purchase my book here: https://www.amazon.com/author/dalebuchanan

RESOURCES:
Podcast Website: http://puppytalkpodcast.com
Sponsor Website: http://www.topgundogtraining.com
Dale's books: https://www.amazon.com/author/dalebuchanan

Focusing on your puppy being calm in the crate lets you create a list of ways to achieve this goal. I will help you get started with this list. It is up to you to expand on this list and follow through.

1. Help your puppy develop a positive association with the crate by feeding them their meals there. Also, playing games with your puppy, going into the crate to fetch a toy or treat, and calling them out of the crate playfully and happily will allow them to associate fun and good things with the crate. 
2. Help your puppy learn to relax in the crate and that it’s not a torture device. Try putting the crate in a location where the puppy can see you. Try moving it to the living room if they cry or bark with the crate in the bedroom. Explore your options and see what works best. Place a bully stick, Lickimat, or stuffed Kong in their crate with them.
3. Help your puppy learn that it’s not the end of the world when you leave. If your puppy is very attached to you and can’t leave the house without them crying in the crate, you will have to start with a very short duration of 30-60 seconds and build up from there.  Once you get to the puppy being calm for 10-15 minutes, you should be OK.
4. Help your puppy desensitize to departure cues, such as the sound of the front door closing or you grabbing your keys to leave. This is the hardest part. If you are unsuccessful on your own, you should consider hiring a CSAT (Certified Separation Anxiety Trainer) to help you. This is usually done virtually so you can work with any CSAT anywhere in the world. 

These are just a few things you can do to help your puppy not bark or cry in the crate. Here is a great article from the ASPCA about separation anxiety.  This is not my expertise. I am only here to pass on some useful resources to you.

https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/dog-care/common-dog-behavior-issues/separation-anxiety

You can purchase my book here: https://www.amazon.com/author/dalebuchanan

RESOURCES:
Podcast Website: http://puppytalkpodcast.com
Sponsor Website: http://www.topgundogtraining.com
Dale's books: https://www.amazon.com/author/dalebuchanan

This is a great question. In this podcast episode, I will discuss why so many puppies are being rehomed and how to prevent this from happening to your puppy.

Why Are So Many Puppies Being Rehomed?

1. Owners don’t have time to raise and train a puppy.
2. Owners have unrealistic expectations for their puppies.
3. Owners realize they have the wrong dog for their lifestyle. 
4. Puppy develops behavior problems that are hard to fix. 

How to prevent rehoming your puppy

1. Choose the right puppy
2. Provide very clear rules and boundaries
3. Put them on a structured schedule
4. Get obedience training for them ASAP
5. Get leash training for them ASAP
6. Set them up for success

Use this website https://dogtime.com/ to look up breed characteristics before getting a puppy. 

You can purchase my book here: https://www.amazon.com/author/dalebuchanan

RESOURCES:
Podcast Website: http://puppytalkpodcast.com
Sponsor Website: http://www.topgundogtraining.com
Dale's books: https://www.amazon.com/author/dalebuchanan

Here is the List of some Essential Equipment for New Puppies:

• Dog Bed for relaxation and teaching place
• Play Toys for enrichment
• Kong® mental stimulation toys
• LickiMat® mental stimulation feeders
• Dog Puzzles for mental stimulation
• Bully Sticks for heavy chewers
• Dear Antler for aggressive chewers
• Nylabone® Puppy Starter Kit for moderate chewers
• 6” Snap Leash for leash training and walking
• Collar for use with the snap leash
• Long Line for enrichment and teaching recall
• Front Clip Harness for training walks
• Rear Clip Harness for enrichment walks
• Crate for safe place confinement
• Playpen to give your puppy a place to play
• Baby Gates to help establish boundaries 
• Training Treats for reward-based training
• Dog Clicker for a marker during training

You can purchase my book here: https://www.amazon.com/author/dalebuchanan

RESOURCES:
Podcast Website: http://puppytalkpodcast.com
Sponsor Website: http://www.topgundogtraining.com
Dale's books: https://www.amazon.com/author/dalebuchanan

Isolating your puppy in the house and yard during their critical socialization period of 4-16 weeks is a big mistake.  Lack of puppy socialization during the critical period of their life is the number one reason they develop serious behavior problems as adult dogs.

Here is the link to a resource on the importance of puppy socialization from  Robert K Anderson, DVM  http://trainyourdogmonth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/APDT_TYDMRKLetter.pdf 

Here are some great places to take your dog for socializing, enrichment, and practicing obedience commands with distractions. These stores require your dog to be on a leash, but also consider parks and other outdoor places to socialize off-leash.

• Home Depot
• Lowes
• Ace Hardware
• Bass Pro Shops
• TJ Max
• Michael's
• Hobby Lobby
• Dicks Sporting Goods
• Petco
• Petsmart

This is just a short list of indoor socialization stores where you can bring your dog or puppy. Be sure to contact the store in your area before going, as individual locations may have specific dog rules.

You can purchase my book here: https://www.amazon.com/author/dalebuchanan

RESOURCES:
Podcast Website: http://puppytalkpodcast.com
Sponsor Website: http://www.topgundogtraining.com
Dale's books: https://www.amazon.com/author/dalebuchanan

Every puppy has different needs. Below are the ingredients, and it’s up to you as the puppies owner to determine the exact recipe. This list is presented in order of importance for creating a happy, healthy, and obedient puppy. 

• Exercise
• Mental Stimulation
• Socialization
• Enrichment
• Play

At the very end is affection. Don’t substitute affection for any of the other components listed above. Use affection as a “life reward” for the puppy doing things well and following your rules, boundaries, training, etc. 

You can purchase my book here: https://www.amazon.com/author/dalebuchanan

RESOURCES:
Podcast Website: http://puppytalkpodcast.com
Sponsor Website: http://www.topgundogtraining.com
Dale's books: https://www.amazon.com/author/dalebuchanan

Mental stimulation is often referred to as enrichment and covers a wide variety of activities. They often appear to be fun games or clever ways to feed snacks, but they're really so much more than that! You can read the full article here.

Here are 4 reasons why your dog must have mental stimulation.

1. Entertainment
2. Improve Anxiety
3. Wear Them Out
4. Provide An Outlet For Natural Behaviors

You can purchase my book here: https://www.amazon.com/author/dalebuchanan

RESOURCES:
Podcast Website: http://puppytalkpodcast.com
Sponsor Website: http://www.topgundogtraining.com
Dale's books: https://www.amazon.com/author/dalebuchanan

This is a great exercise to build the relationship between the handler and the puppy. We start this in the house with no distractions, then move it outside with distractions so she can get focused back on me when she has reactivity to other dogs or people.

Here is the video teaching my puppy Dixie the Watch Me command: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4RVPIfmXPs

You can purchase my book here: https://www.amazon.com/author/dalebuchanan

RESOURCES:
Podcast Website: http://puppytalkpodcast.com
Sponsor Website: http://www.topgundogtraining.com
Dale's books: https://www.amazon.com/author/dalebuchanan

I found this post on another dog trainer Olivia Mergl of Mannered Mutts Dog Training on Instagram. Below is her post text. The image that goes with the post will be placed on a blog post here.
 
No is not a cue!!
No is not a behavior, it’s not something your dog can perform.
You might mean one thing like stop, come here, stand still, lie down, drop it, down but it’s likely very unclear to your dog what you want.
Stop telling your dog no and start asking for a behavior they know instead, tell them exactly what is it you would like them to do.
Set your dog up to succeed!!

You can purchase my book here: https://www.amazon.com/author/dalebuchanan

RESOURCES:
Podcast Website: http://puppytalkpodcast.com
Sponsor Website: http://www.topgundogtraining.com
Dale's books: https://www.amazon.com/author/dalebuchanan