ALBANY (CBSNewYork) — There’s a new mess in Albany, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo was quick to recognize blame from the newest member of his administration: Meet “Captain,” the 14-week-old, not-yet-potty-trained first puppy of New York.

“The puppy is working on housebreaking,” Cuomo told the New York Conference of Mayors on Monday. “We call it mansion training here.”

Squirming before the cameras, the dog was identified as a mix of Siberian and Shephard with “a little Malamute” in his genes.

“This was the idea of my daughters, who had to have a puppy, had to have a puppy,” said the governor. “They are nowhere to be found now. Dad has the puppy.

“He goes outside,” he added. “He’ll stay outside for any period of time he deems necessary and he will then come inside and urinate as soon as he gets inside. He will only urinate indoors.”

Cuomo said he wanted to name the dog “Excelsior” after the state motto but was overruled by his daughters.



His transition into the family has been a welcome though mixed experience.

“He keeps me up all night, that dog,” said Cuomo. “It never fails and he has a howl that you can hear through the whole house when he has to go.”