Your golden retriever will quickly become your best friend. You would not want to allow your best friend to enter your home without first being potty trained. There is a way to communicate with your dog so that he or she will understand the importance of going to the bathroom in the appropriate location.
Having a puppy in the home is a joyous experience. At the same time, teaching your new golden retriever to behave as you expect when indoors can seem, at times, to be an exercise in futility. What you need is a plan. That is exactly what this guide to potty-training a golden retriever is designed to give you.
5 Steps to Potty-Training Your Golden Retriever
Let’s get right down to the details of why you are reading this post in the first place. Here are five key steps that will help set you and your golden retriever on the path to successful potty training.
Frequent Trips Outside Are a Must
During the potty-training stage, you must take your dog outside as often as possible. You will hear some experts recommend doing so every quarter-hour or so, while others say once an hour is fine. The key is to make frequent trips outside so that your golden retriever begins to understand the significance of not going to the bathroom inside.
A general rule to keep in mind is that puppies can control their bladder for roughly one hour per month that they have been alive. So, the amount of time does gradually increase the older they get. This is why it is important to get on top of the potty-training game as early as possible in your retriever’s life.
The Same Location Outside Matters
One of the rituals of a dog’s life is to smell the urine of other dogs. It might sound strange to us, but you must learn to adapt to the animal kingdom’s ways if you want them to master where to go to the bathroom.
To help with this, you will want to take your golden retriever outside to roughly the same location each and every time. This is because other dogs will tend to go to the same location and create exactly the type of cycle you are looking for.
There is something important to note here as well. You will want to make sure you clean up inside accidents as soon as they happen to the point that your puppy can no longer smell the urine. If you don’t, then they will likely end up going to the bathroom in the same spot as soon as they smell it again.
Give Your Golden Retriever Frequent Praise
It is important to keep in mind that your puppy will not know where to go to the bathroom when they first arrive home with you. It is up to you to illustrate the appropriate places for them. This is obviously going to be outside, so heaping volumes of praise when they successfully do their business outside will go a long way towards accomplishing this goal.
A fundamental principle here is to remember to wait until they have finished their business before praising them. If you don’t, you may startle your puppy and cause them to lose focus on what they were doing. Instead, wait until they are finished and immediately give them a treat or other reward form. Verbal praise is highly effective as well.
Constrain Your Puppy Until Potty-Training is Complete
Your golden retriever puppy needs a lot of attention. Since you cannot always be there for your dog 24 hours a day, it is important to keep them constrained when your focus is elsewhere. This will prevent them from having too many accidents in the home.
If you are busy in the house, do not be afraid to put your puppy in a crate for a few hours. Crate training is effective for potty training, and it helps prevent your puppy from causing other accidents around the house.
Another benefit of putting your golden retriever in a crate is that dogs generally do not like to pee where they sleep. They will wait until you get them out of the crate. When you do that, take your retriever outside immediately to their favorite spot and allow them to relieve themselves.
Give an Appropriate Reaction to Accidents
If there is one thing that you can count on through the process of potty training your golden retriever, it is that accidents will happen. It is important that you appropriately deal with these. Here are four things to keep in mind when an accident occurs.
- Punishment is not an option – Do not swat your dog or try to get them to smell what they have done. Instead, remain calm and work to correct the situation.
- Your dog does not realize they have done something wrong – You need to keep this important principle in mind. Punishing them for an accident is counterproductive and could damage the relationship you are trying to build with your dog.
- You can interrupt an accident in progress – If you happen to come across your puppy as they are having an accident inside, feel free to stop them. Tell them that this is not the place to go to the bathroom and then take them outside where they can finish their business.
- Cleaning up is important – You will want to use a good cleaner that takes care of the smell and any resulting stains. The key here is to eliminate all signs of the accident so that your golden retriever does not think this is their new bathroom spot.
Getting Started With Potty-Training Your Golden Retriever
You are probably wondering by now just how long this entire process will take. While there is no definitive answer, how diligent you are in following all of the aforementioned steps will go a long way towards determining how long it will take before your golden retriever is potty-trained.
Since every puppy is slightly different, the general guideline is that it will take as little as two weeks to as many as several months before the potty-training process is complete. As you begin the process, you will want to make sure you have the following items purchased, unwrapped, and ready to use.
- A crate – As you will learn in this guide, you will want to have a crate available to put your puppy in when you cannot watch him or her. While you might not like the thought of your dog not being able to run around at will, this is for their own good. It is also a major part of the potty-training process.
- Plenty of treats and other rewards – Your puppy will want plenty of treats as they begin to go potty in the right place. Find out what they like the most and have them on hand and ready to dish out at the appropriate times.
- A comfortable leash – Respect the leash laws in your local community and keep your puppy safe at the same time. You will want to attach the leash every time you take your puppy outside of your enclosed yard, so make sure you have one that is comfortable and that your dog responds well to.
- Potty spray – This is another useful item that you will want to have in your tool kit. You can spray it outside to help indicate where you would like your puppy to go potty. This will be a valuable part of the process.
The key is to do everything you can to deny your golden retriever any opportunity to relieve themselves inside the house. If you can do that consistently within the first few weeks, then you will find that potty-training is a thing of the past before you know it.
8 Times You Need to Take Your Golden Retriever Outside
If you want to effectively potty-train your golden retriever, then you will be taking your puppy outside very often throughout the day and night. That being said, there are certain times when you will want to make sure you go outside right away. Some of those include the following.
When You See Them Drinking a Lot of Water
It is a good thing that your puppy is drinking water. In fact, this should be encouraged. Of course, that water must come out at some point, so this is a good time to take your dog outside.
After Mealtimes
As mentioned before, puppies do not take long to digest their food. Getting them outside after they eat is a way for them to relieve themselves more quickly and get on with their day.
As Soon as They Have Finished a Healthy Indoor Play Session
Your golden retriever loves to play. However, all of that excitement will inevitably lead to an accident if you do not get them outside soon after the play session has ended.
When They Have Just Stopped Chewing on a Toy
Dogs love to chew on toys, but this also simulates eating food in the mind of your puppy. Your retriever will soon want to go potty, so get them outside before that urge hits.
When They Wake Up from a Nap
Just like you typically use the restroom after you wake up from a nap, so will your dog have the urge to. Get them outside as soon as you notice them waking up.
The Moment You Remove Them from the Crate
While crate training is advisable for your puppy, the entire point is that they do not go potty inside the crate itself. You will want to make sure they can get outside right when you remove them from the crate to prevent an accident.
As Soon as You Wake Up in the Morning
Your dog has done a good job all night holding their urge to go the bathroom. You will want to reward them by not making them wait any longer. As soon as you wake up, let them outside so they can do their business.
Right Before You Go to Bed at Night
It is also important to give your golden retriever one last chance to go potty before asking them to call it a night. Not only is it the right thing to do, but it could possibly save you from waking up to an accident in the morning.
Paying attention to specific situations that could lead to an accident will assist you in your efforts to help your golden retriever avoid going potty inside the house. Recognizing these signs will serve to speed up the overall process in the end.
This is How You Know Your Golden Retriever Needs to Potty
Your golden retriever may not be able to speak to you in a human language, but your puppy does have a way of communicating certain needs. One of those is the ability to tell you when it is time for a potty break. If you will listen to the following signs, you will help your dog avoid accidents in the house and become potty-trained much more quickly.
- Your puppy begins circling you – Unless your dog is playing, there really is no other reason for them to be doing circles around you. This is their way of telling you that they are holding in their pee, but not for long.
- Your puppy starts to sniff the ground where they are – Sniffing is a bad sign. This means that your dog is trying to find a location to go potty. Make sure that the location is outside.
- Excessive whining is an indication that a potty break is needed – Puppies do tend to whine from time to time, but it usually stops once you start paying attention to them. If the whining does not stop, you need to listen to them. A potty break is almost certainly in the cards.
- Pay attention to if your puppy starts to nip at you constantly in a way that is out of character – Nipping is a dog’s way of talking to you. In this case, it is quite likely that they are telling you to take them outside before they take matters into their own hands.
- Look for your puppy to be sitting next to the front door – This is probably one of the more obvious signs, and it is also an indication that potty training is starting to work. When your dog is sitting by the front door, it means they either want to go for a walk, or they need to potty.
Common Mistakes When Potty Training
Effective potty training of your golden retriever is a process. While there may setbacks along the way, you and your dog will get through this if you stay the course. Naturally, there are some common mistakes that people tend to make that you should resolve from the beginning to avoid.
Giving Out Punishment
When your puppy has an accident in the house, make sure you do not lash out in anger. Your temperament in this situation does matter. Remain calm and help teach your dog what they did wrong and show them what they should do next time.
Failing to Go Outside Often
The potty-training process takes a lot of work. You might be wrapped in a sporting event on television, but do not neglect your duty to take your dog outside regularly so that they can relieve themselves.
Neglecting to Consistently Praise Positive Potty Behavior
Your puppy needs to know when it is doing something right. The best way to do that is to heap a lot of praise on him or her when they go potty in the right place.
Failing to Notice When Your Puppy Needs to Go Potty
You will want to be looking for signs that your puppy needs to go to the bathroom. If you fail to do this, accidents will inevitably happen. Remember that potty-training will go relatively quickly if you focus on your puppy’s needs for a few weeks to months. You can get through this together.
Not Cleaning up Enough After an Accident
Do not make the mistake of waiting too long to clean up after an accident. While it might not be your favorite chore, this is a critical part of the overall potty-training process.
Pushing the Limits of Your Puppy’s Bladder
You might think that your puppy can wait to go to the bathroom, but do you really want to find out? You will want to avoid the mistake of waiting too long. As soon as you see a sign that your golden retriever needs to go potty, you will want to make sure that you oblige.
Wrap-Up
This guide has provided you with a great deal of information designed to help you learn how to potty train your golden retriever. Remember to be patient with your puppy. They want to please you, but it just takes them some time to learn how to do that effectively. Be calm with them, stay the course, and they will become potty trained before you know it.