Hi everyone!
To give a little bit of background, I’ve had experience with dogs, but not as a primary caretaker/owner. About a week ago, I adopted this sweet little boy, Haku🤍. I already love him dearly and am willing to do anything I can to help him.
I’ve had a bit of a frustrating experience training him so far. Specifically with potty training. I’ve done a lot of research. As a puppy who’s not even a full 3 months old yet, I understand he can’t hold his bladder very long. I came into this fully aware that I’d be having accidents in my house. This is what I signed up for when I decided to give this sweet boy a new home.
I’m just frustrated at the accidents that have been happening when I am home and awake. When I’m home, I try to walk him every 30-60 min unless he’s sleeping. I’ve been trying to teach him that potty outside is good. Whenever he pees/poops outside, I immediately give him a treat and praise for going potty outside. I’m trying to keep a tighter leash so he knows outside equals potty. I’ve been trying hard to reinforce potty outside, but he still goes inside.
I’m trying to watch him like a hawk when im home and when I see him sniffing around or circling around a spot, I immediately tell him no or clap to get him out of that trance. He’s terrified of the crate so I ordered a playpen for him so I can keep him more enclosed whether I’m home or not.
This is a whole new experience for me being a primary caretaker. Despite my frustrations, I love Haku so much. I know different people have different experiences with different goldens, but what are some steps you take to reinforce going outside?
Thank you in advance to the people kind enough to offer some advice to a rookie❤️