Goldendoodle is one of the most adorable breeds of dogs in the world. Most people love them for their intelligence and people skills, so to speak. As adorable as it can be, dogs have needs too. And if they are not trained properly, they’ll do their business whenever they please and wherever they want. There are ways to train your dogs. So, don’t worry, let’s have a look at how to potty train your dogs.
1. Know when your puppy wants to do it
Before starting with all these training tips, you first need to know when your dog wants to do it. A Goldendoodle can handle it very cleverly, but if you want it to do it when it doesn’t have to, you will end up with failed training.
Usually, trapped dogs bark a lot when they need to do the thing. A few dogs have a habit of scratching the floor or the crate to get out and do it. One other common sign is to whine in circles. If you notice any of these signs, that’s when you know you have to let them out and bring them to the target location.
Be wary, a few dogs are playful and will do it just for the fun of getting out and having some freedom as well.
2. Make the training fun for you and the dog
Playfulness is one of the unique features of the Goldendoodle breed. They just want to play. Once they have done the thing, let them play a bit. The best part is for the owner to play with the dog, they love it.
Just before doing the thing as well, you can give them a fun time by allowing them to do a few things they love to do. And then you can bring them to the place where you want the business is to be done. The fun part is needed to conduct the training. Once they are trained well, they will not necessarily need the fun part to do it, but you can still use rewards. More on rewards is coming later.
3. Clean the smell, dogs can smell things
If your puppy or the grown dog makes a mess, make sure to clean it as soon as possible. These creatures have a smelling power over 10,000 times higher than us. That means they can smell the mess and will be stimulated to do it again, at the same place where you don’t want them to do it.
Clean the mess with clean water, detergent, and then apply some scent spray on it, just to make sure that the dog doesn’t remember what went over there. As you clean, it’s best if your dog is watching you clean it. He or she will feel the frustration you have in your face and trust us, no dog wants to disappoint their owners.
4. Select the proper location to do the thing
It’s usually in the backyard, right? But keep a particular spot in the yard where you want it to happen. Remember that the dogs have a high sense of smell? They can remember the place and will be guided to that place as you take them out for a walk. After the training is over, you can even see that the dog would spontaneously go to that place to mark the place as his, not just to empty his bladder.
But during the training, with all the play stuff, you should lead the dog to the spot. This takes a few weeks for a few dogs to do and a lot of them learn much quicker. Since they are in training and you are the trainer, you should lead them to the place quickly. If you spend too much time playing outside and not getting to the spot, they might not recognize the importance of getting to the spot.
5. Start at puppy level or start all over again
The training might be needed on two different occasions. One is when your Goldendoodle is a puppy, and the other is when you move houses. If your dog is a puppy, you have to allow it to be at least 12 weeks old. Most dogs don’t control their bladders until this age. And it’s pointless to train them when they cannot control it. A few dogs take more than 12 weeks to be in control of their bladder as well. You need to be aware of whether your dog is in control, or the bladder is.
The change in residence will alter the behavior of the dog and this is more serious that you have to train your dog from day one. Once the dog chooses a location of its own, it becomes difficult to change its mind. A trained dog will look for his or her location to empty the bladder, and if you guide them the first time when they need it, they will get used to it within a few times. Make sure to take care of your Goldendoodle and not forget it in the business of unloading your stuff and arranging your new residence.
6. Have it linked with feeding
As you train your puppy, it is easy to associate things with feeding. Feeding is best associated with any other habits, symbols, sounds, and training. When an animal needs food, and if it is assured of food, it will do anything to get the food. This is true in the wild as well. So, this is a basic instinct, and we can use this to habituate our dog.
You can do it just before feeding, which will become a reward for the dog as well. As he needs the food, he will do the job quickly rather than being playful and spending a lot of time outside before doing it. The training also becomes easier and timed-up because their feeding schedule has times.
7. Watch closely during the training period
During the training period, especially when they are puppies, you need to be with them closely. You cannot leave your puppy alone for too long because when they want it and if you are not around, you will not notice the signs and they will do it in desperation.
If you are around and watching, the dog notices that too. You can see that the dog would come to you and start showing up the signs. Therefore you have to be around the dog during the training. This can result in the dog looking for you every time it wants to do it. But it’s okay because once the dog has started to do it regularly, it will eventually not look for you and run out to complete the job.
Watching closely and being around also helps you to clean up any mess they make in the beginning. Remember that you have to clean any mess as soon as possible? The dog learns not to do it if you react immediately and clean the mess. So, be prepared to be around while you potty-train your dog.
8. Freedom and control
You are going to use commands to let your dog know that you are asking him to do something. But you also have to remember that no one likes to be controlled and that applies to animals as well. If there is too much control, the tendency is to break loose. Instead, you can give them plenty of timeouts to be free.
Especially when the dog is a young puppy, you need to let it out every hour to make sure that it has ample free time and to increase the chance of urinating outside the house. You can know if you are giving enough freedom to your puppy by their barking habit. They will start looking up at the sky and bark continuously, like crying. This means, they have been locked up for a long, and they don’t like it anymore. Make sure not to get into that situation. You should learn how to stop Goldendoodle from barking continually.
9. Rewards, everyone loves them
The reward is not just playtime, but playtime can be a reward as well. Rewards are part of animal conditioning, a way through which animals are imposed to do something at command. The fun time during the training is to make the training fun, but the reward is to assure the animal that it will benefit after doing a certain action.
The best rewards are in the form of a meal. You can give a cookie each time the dog has done a thing. This applies to all sorts of behaviors, not just emptying the bladder. You can give the dog something small to eat, but they will start loving it. And the next time you take them out to do the thing, they will be excited because they know they will be rewarded after completing the mission. These are positive reinforcements.
10. Conclusion
Potty training a Goldendoodle will be fun if you chose the right age, method, and timing to train your dog. No one said it will be easy though. During the first few days, your dog will test your patience. If you are that person that is tempted by the second, then you should allow someone else to train the dog. Because if you mess up and frighten your dog, you will not be able to train them. Middleway through the training, your passion for the dog would have grown and the dog will be more attached to you than ever before. Happy Goldendoodle potty training guys!
