I love dogs so much!

You only go around once; might as well have fun on the way.

Winning!!

well, maybe not but it made me smile that the dog was sooooo happy!

sP

Perfectly normal behavior for a Goldie, I can tell you from experience.
They are always clowning around, even tho they can focus quite well when they want to.

She has a golden doodle (who was one of two pups in the litter who were grey, so my friend calls her a "minority doodle&quot . This dog is extremely smart (the poodle part), but she has the attention span of a gnat (the golden part?). She'll beg to go outside to go potty, and usually it's either been long enough between potty breaks or she's just eaten, so I know she really needs to go -- but then we get out there and she is distracted by every little thing that happens. It's like she forgets she needs to go at all. A person walking by, a noise inside someone's house, a smell, even the damned wind. I don't get it. When I need to go, I CAN'T think about anything else!

Goldens can be very very focused, and they are quit smart..in fact, in the top 4 ratings of smart dogs.
But they need, as any dog, constant reinforcement of training.
Which is the joy of being home in my retirement, I can work with my Goldie every day, and he is quick to pick learn.

In fact, he is trained to pee and poo on command.
And yes, at times he gets distracted, which is when I give him the command to re-direct him.

What needs to happen is your friend's dog needs to be re-directed, using any word that she knows means go potty.
Helpful to have a leash on, by the way, to stay connected to you when you want to get her to focus.
They do well with direction and then praise.

I think maybe what you see as a distraction is the dog's need to make sure the environment is safe enough to squat and do business.
Dunno how much noise you/she has in the environment.
I lnow when my guy first gets out of the house, he looks around, sniffs around, walks around, checking out the yard, making sure it is an ok place.

And yes, it is really distraction when she's beginning to squat and sees a neighbor and changes her mind.

We're both experienced dog owners; we know how to use leashes, commands, and praise. I've seriously never dealt with a dog that has this much trouble doing her business.

Wow....that is interesting.
I assume that she eventually does her business. It would be fine if she were able to just be in the yard/bathroom area until...
but gosh, with bad weather and people schedules, that is not realistic.

What's not to love? He's a big old loveable clown!!!

I love goldens. I miss you Duke, you were a good boy.

I am no fan of domestic dogs... but if I had to have one... this one is it!