I haven't read the replies yet. So sorry if any of this has already been covered.
moonra
-It’s extremely difficult to get his attention - when you say his name he doesn’t acknowledge you (maybe 1 out of 10 tries), he rarely comes when you call him, I was almost convinced he was hard of hearing, but upon observation I watched him become attentive to unfamiliar noises. This also makes it hard to praise him for good behavior because he’s not paying attention - I’m worried he’s not connecting the praise to the desired behavior.
Why should he want to? What have you done to "teach" him that THIS noise/word means, "Pay attention" or "look at me"?
moonra
-during the day, when left alone in his kennel cage (which is adjusted to his size) he will pee in it, even if left alone only briefly for maybe 2 hours. - 4 hours has been the longest so far.
Has he been checked by a vet to rule out a medical condition? What sort of conditions was he raised in? What do you do when you find the mess? Does he dislike being left? And/or does he dislike being in the crate? If the crate is used carefully, it can actually boost a dog's feeling of security, but if the dog does not like being in there then his dislike at being left is compounded. Does that make sense? How has the crate been introduced?
moonra
-He not hesitate to naturally pee in the house when he has to go. (For this I have rubbed his nose in the pee and scolded him, this worked immediately with our last dog and after a couple times I never had to do it again) but with Boomer, he seems oblivious as to why it’s happening - this makes me like a mean owner.
Yes this is very mean. Please do not do it again, ever. This is a clue as to why he has no interest in paying attention to you. You are scary and unpredictable and to be honest he would rather avoid you. You need to be the Most Interesting Thing On The Planet for him. You can bond through appropriate play. But also through a program like Learn to Earn. This is where you teach the dog a simple cue like "sit". You teach it using a positive only technique and you only ever say the cue once each time. When you know he will "sit" reliably each time, start asking for a "sit" for things he wants in life - toys, treats, attention, games. There is no need to ask him to sit to go outside at this stage, more imprtant to get him outside promptly to minimise mistakes.
Of course he will not hesitate to pee whenever he needs to go. Why should he? He has no concept of how unpleasant it is for you to clean it up or how expensive the carpet is. He is just a dog. Rather than punishing him for the WRONG thing, you need to reward and encourage the RIGHT thing. What is his FAVOURITE treat? Have a pot of those by the door and take a couple with you when you take him outside to the toilet. WAIT for him to go. AS he goes, say (for example) "be quick". The moment he finishes step up and pop this SUPER treat in his mouth. Tell him he is a CLEVER pup, or a "clean boy!" (My sisters dog was accidentally trained to pee when she said good boy - no kidding!)
Ignore his mistakes. Take him outside to pee very often and especially when he is likely to need to eliminate. At his age, this is very after eating, drinking and waking, as well as during or after long periods of play or chewing. Also any time that he has not been outside for an hour or so and any time he circles, sniffs or paces.
Excitement and activity lessen his bodily control, so encourage sedate behaviours indoors (like lying quietly near your feet) and play energetically outside, to stimulate his bladder/bowels. Anxiety, stress and fear also lessen his control, so avoid punishing him, especially for toilet training mistakes. Supervision is key! Watch him watch him watch him ALL THE TIME. Prevent mistakes, engineer "good behaviour" and reward like crazy for the latter.
You should also employ the Rolled Up Newspaper Technique if your dog does have an accident:
1. Interrupt the dog and gently take him outside - reward him for anything doen out there.
2. Put the dog somewhere safe and out of sight. It may be reinforcing for him to see you handle his waste and he is very likely to pick up any anger and frustration from you which will not be helpful.
3. Pick up/soak the waste in a paper towel and put it in the place he SHOULD have gone! Clean up with an enzymatic cleaner.
4. Take him to the "place he should have gone" and just allow him to sniff it. No need to say or do anything. Just let him see/sniff.
5. Take a roll up newspaper. Hit yourself repeatedly over the head with it and say: "I must watch my dog more closely!" ten times, hitting yourself with the paper each time.
moonra
-he yelps to go outside approx. 3 times during the night. he’s let out and brought back in quietly, but when the sun comes up, he cries loudly in the kennel until it’s just unbearable and he just has to be let out and the fed.
Set an alarm to wake you before he does. Go down, WAKE HIM, let him out, reward him when he pees/poos, pop him back to bed. Keep it all very low key. If he wakes and cries you can't ignore him or he will have an accident. But if you don't ignore him he is rewarded strongly for crying. So the alarm is important.
moonra
-he doesn’t like to walk with the leash; he’ll drag his body and I’ll nonchalantly just keep walking, which he’ll then join, but always wants to go back in the direction of home (?)
Has he had his shots yet? Have you consulted with the vet and/or his breeder on the amount of exercise he should be having at his age? What were his parents hip scores?
Using bits of kibble and tiny pieces of his favourite treat, teach him to walk beside you in the house and garden. Just put him next to you and start feeding treats. Take ONE step. Stop and reward some more! Build up a step at a time, occasionally still rewarding after one or two steps to keep him interested. Add a cue like "Lets go!" Then repeat, this time adding the lead. When you go out for a walk, you can use "let's go!" to tell him the same thing is expected. Keep the walk short and fun and make it a repeat of the exercise in the garden at first, as dogs don't generalise well. To be honest I would suspend all walks for a few days while you bond with him, get to know him and let him know that actually, real good stuff happens when he listens to you!
Try clicker training, yesterday.