One of the biggest problems people have with the dog potty training of indoor puppies is thinking too much about what it means to them (ie the mess to be cleared up) and not enough about where the puppy is coming from. Obviously, this is understandable. But by focussing on this aspect, you tend to miss the main contributing factor. If you are doing all the right things such as:

taking the puppy outside periodically

making a great fuss when he does perform outside

and ignoring the ‘bad’ performances inside

but still your puppy seems a bit slow to grasp the idea, you may be unconsciously contributing to this. So lets have a look at what most people do with a puppy when they first bring him home. The puppy is confined to a small area, often the bathroom or laundry, particularly at night, on his own. Now lets take a look at the wild dog’s family, and so where your new puppy comes from. You can immediately see that they always remain as a family unit. Wild dogs never put a puppy in isolation, or solitary confinement, which is what this amounts to. Dogs are pack animals. They are gregarious by nature. Isolating a youngster can cause enormous emotional trauma, which does nothing to help in your efforts at dog potty training or your future relationship and trust. Couple that with the recent trauma he has already suffered of being separated from his mother, often at too early an age, as well as his siblings. If you have bought your puppy from a pet shop, this will have happened. Young puppies are more appealing to us, so tend to be taken from their mothers much too early. But their mothers play a key role in dogs development. A traumatised puppy will become more and more concerned (whether or not he shows it – some internalise their emotions just as some humans do), becoming more and more anxious. And so the potty training goes out the window – he is far more concerned about being accepted by his new family. How can he make you like him better? And you become more and more frustrated and so irritable towards your puppy. It’s an endless spiral. It’s up to you to put an end to it. Understand your puppy’s needs and everything will start slipping easily into place. By keeping your puppy with you at all times, he will become confident and balanced and able to learn what you gently try to teach him. You take over his mother’s teaching and bonding role. One way to avoid the mess and keep your puppy close by, is to section off a part of the room you are in (including your bedroom), to confine him and the mess. Put lots of newspaper or wee pads down. You might have an old toddler mobile play unit, that you can move around the house with you. Or buy a second-hand one. You’ll find that your dog potty training will progress much more easily, because you’re not creating any separation anxiety. Not only that, but your puppy will be much easier to train, because you have created a close bond with him. He trusts you. You have proved to him you are his family. You have understood his basic needs.