How to potty train a 2.5 months old puppy?

Question

I have a 2.5 months old Golden retriever and I have been house training him for the past 1.5 weeks. Once every 2 hours I take him to his designated area to pee and he does it. But if I miss, he doesn't even call me or give any idea that he is about to pee and pees wherever he is, even near the place where he sleeps.

Also I could see that he doesn't sniff before peeing and if I lift him while he is peeing and then drop him in the designated area, he stops peeing for a long time.

So, why hasn't my puppy already learned that he has to pee only in the designated area?

On the other hand, pooping is a difficult task as he does that on different times every single day and I have no clue how to make him schedule it.

Are these both behaviors caused by the fact he is still young?

One more thing, we wash the designated area most of the time to neutralize the smell. Could that be an issue itself?

Answer 1

What is the "designated area"? Not outside? If inside, you should use special pads for training or incontinent pets. They work similar to diapers, so can be reused for small business several times, binding it and avoiding smelling.

Removing any scent from the intended area is essentially counter intuitive. You not only remove a mark "this is a toilet", but might even make the area "stink" for the puppy's nose.

What always worked for us so far is getting some special treats the dog really loves but doesn't get otherwise. Doesn't matter where dry or wet:

If the dog does their business in the right area, pause them and give the special treats. Rice and repeat. Within a week or two or dogs would insist on the treats, not going back inside without getting them.

Also something to try is play with and feed the puppy in areas where no business should happen. If the dog peed in the living room, make sure to make it a playing space. Dogs won't pee where they play, if they can avoid that. They don't want to stand inside it by accident (and it would give away their presence to potential prey).

The actual time it takes to train your puppy might vary, so don't get discouraged by no it just slow steps.