Help! 8 Week Old Puppy Has Too Much Concentration

You have had this dog, which is a baby, for two days. How many babies do YOU know who can concentrate for very long? This is typical puppy behavior. Focus for food, but the attention span of a Gnat. Kind of like this:

You (with food): "Look!"

Puppy looks. You feed.

You: "Look!"

Puppy looks. You go to feed. Puppy sees a butterfly and leaves, "Oh look! Butterfly."

Normal puppy. You don't want them any other way! Relax. This is a BABY. You can get anything with food at this age but you can't get anything for very long!!

This is just day two of the rest of your lives together. You can just focus on house training and enjoying your baby puppy for now, because they grow FAST (and yes, that attention span will increase, too). Keep it simple!

ETA: Your bond is still forming with this puppy, too, and you will have a much easier time training skills when you've bonded more closely. Spending quality time together right now, playing with a toy, going on potty breaks, are the primary things. You can let her sleep in your lap, chew a toy you're holding, etc. From the beginning my puppy was at daycare or at my parents' house when I was at work, and I remember feeling the switch go off one day (a few weeks in) when I could tell she knew I was her person. Until then, we were all great providers of love and food, humans were just fine as a whole.

airillusion said:

I feel like all the rooms in my house have something to chew or sniff. She loves outside because she can smell all the rabbits that hop through our yard or digs or eats rocks, grass or whatever other plant life is there. How can there be such a thing as less distracting when everything is distracting to this puppy. This is only day two so could it just be because it's new? Has anyone had a puppy like this who started to grow bored with all the distractions after a few days?

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I feel like your expectations for your puppy are far too high. I understand wanting to lay a training foundation with your puppy, however expecting your puppy to focus on you and not get distracted is like asking a 6 month old human baby to sit still and pay attention in a kindergarten classroom.

Your puppy will get used to your house and likely find things slightly less stimulating after a few MONTHS, at least. Definitely not days.

I'd highly suggest hiring a trainer to help you start a foundation with your puppy, or look into foundation classes at a local training facility. As I said before, I think your expectations are off, and you could potentially spoil your puppy's desire to train with you if you do too much or ask too much at this age, and especially if you become frustrated and your training sessions become a source of tension or unpleasantness as a result.

Thank you everyone! I guess maybe I am expecting too much. I have been trying to tire her out. I can't seem to do that physically so was trying to mentally by trying to train her for just a few minutes every few hours. The breeder suggested she will be a pup who needs a job and in the future we intend to do scent games with her and maybe start hunting with her if that's what she enjoys (she is a hunting breed for sure). I know its too early to start with scent games so I was trying to encourage her to check in with me frequently, manding (sitting and looking at me when she wants something), and getting her used to her name by calling her when she is only mildly distracted (as per The Puppy Primer by Patricia B. McConnell). I didn't think I was expecting too much as they were all recommended for pups her age but maybe its just too early since she is in a new environment with new people.