Help Your Dog Relax and Be Calm

Small things you can do to teach your dog to be calm.
Correct at the first sign of excitement. If you notice your dog gets extremely pumped up and overly excited when he sees other dogs, people,cats,basketballs,whatever,correct the very first sign of interest in those things. In no time you’ll be walking past that stuff like it wasn’t even there. Don’t worry it doesn’t mean he won’t be able get pumped up and play and be silly, it just means that he’ll be calm until he has permission to go bananas.

Reward calm. If you see your dog being incredibly chill in a situation that normally would have sent him over the edge to crazy excitement- give a small amount of affection, or light verbal praise. Be very calm and don’t overdo it, if you do too much praise your dog may bounce up with energy defeating the whole rewarding for calm process.
Don’t reward the craziness. I often see unknowing owners with an extremely energetic,pulling,whining,barking,panting,overly excited dog petting and praising when he’s doing the exact behavior they’d like him not to do. Sometimes as humans we think soft stroking and trying to talk to our dogs might calm them down when in reality it has the exact opposite effect. Your best bet in these situations is to correct early and if you’ve missed the opportunity and he’s already started going bananas leave the area or remove whatever is getting him amped up.

Teach your dog a long down/stay and or place command. If you teach a great place command (down/stay on a bed or cot) and work on long durations up to a few hours over time; your dog will go into a calm state whenever you put him on place, because he knows what’s expected of him.
Make sure your dog has daily physical exercise. I recommend two structured walks and some play time. Being out and about walking every day will expose him to lots of sites and sounds too. If you’re incredibly busy you may want to think about hiring a dog walker.

Teach your dog to wait for food and wait for permission before going through doorways. Waiting teaches dogs tons of impulse control and helps with creating a more calm home environment overall.