My dog is a 5 month old hound mix and I've never had a harder time potty training a dog in my life. To be honest, I'm only 19 and when I was young my family just used the "put their nose in it and pop them" method. This always seemed cruel to me and, now that I'm older and have a dog and place of my own and did proper research, I realize that this is not the way to go. To be fair to my dog, I've been inconsistent with what I've wanted him to do. I tried using traditional puppy pads, then switched to a grass pad that I kept inside. I then tried moving the grass pad out on my balcony before finally moving it back inside. I live in an apartment so my goal is for him to use the pad long term (eventually out on the balcony) because honestly I don't want to take him downstairs every hour. For the last month, the grass pad has been inside in the same spot. Everytime he used the bathroom somewhere else, I interrupt him with a "ah-ah" and move him onto the pad. When he does use the pad, he gets a big celebration and a few treats. Now, my problem is, I KNOW that he has put two and two together and associates peeing on the pad with praise and treats because whenever he pees on it he will IMMEDIATELY run where I keep the treats and stare at them wagging his tail. He does this every. single. time. Despite this, he still pees on the carpet and in the kitchen 85% of the time. I can only assume at this point that he just doesn't care that much. I know he likes the treats because I use them for training tricks and he seems VERY interested in them then. He's always willing to give me a high five or a spin in exchange for a treat. I don't know what his deal is when it comes to potty training. Please help.
TL;DR: Puppy clearly associates peeing on pad with treats, but still won't pee the on pad 85% of the time, but will do tricks for treats.
TL;DR: Puppy clearly associates peeing on pad with treats, but still won't pee the on pad 85% of the time, but will do tricks for treats.