Five weeks old? First of all you have 2 weeks until the little guys brain can comprehend anything....studies have shown that at or around 49 days of age the "light bulb" turns on and is actually trainable.

At 5 weeks of age you also have quite some time before introducing the pup to gunfire. For the time being I would start by making noise while it is eating its' meals. I fed my dog in the kitchen and would use that time to wash dishes, put them away, etc.....making some loud bangs and clangs while doing so. They go from being startled and jumpy to ignoring the noises in no time....it's a good starting point.

Walters books are OLD school but worth the read. I would suggest reading books from different trainers and tailoring your training to your dogs traits and personality....all dogs are different (soft vs. knucklehead) and need to be trained different, IMHO.

Goldens are awesome hunting and family dogs. Their intelligence and eagerness to please makes them among the easiest of all dogs to train. There is a reason all helper dogs are either Goldens or Labs. Have fun and keep us posted!

Ike