We have just bought a 6 month old cocker from a breeder who bought him at 4 months old as a stud dog.  He lived with lots of others dogs previously in a house, and the we were told that he still had the odd accident in the house.
The 1st night he was home with us, he wee'd and poo'd in the kitchen.  He has quickly learnt 'be busy' command and wees in the same area of the garden.  He also wees and poos on his walks.  He is fed at about 8am after his walk, and then about 6pm when we have our dinner, and then he is walked about 7pm.
After the 1st night's accidents, he was clean at night for 4 nights, then the last 2 nights he has soiled again - once only a poo, and last night was 2 poos and a wee.
He doesn't soil in the house during the day when we're home with him, or if he's left for a couple of hours.  He doesn't soil in the pub we take him too either.
Any suggestions on how to stop it happening?
He's fed on Chapppie only - this is what he was being fed on previously, and of course has plenty of water throughout the day.  We lift his food and water up at night time.
Thank you.

What time does he go out for a last wee extra prior to you all going to bed?  It might help to bring his evening meal forward a bit to give him more chance for it to go through his system.  My adult and young dogs go in the garden at around 11pm and are still ready to be up and outside for their first wee of the day, no later than 8pm.

Btw - you have to wonder what kind of breeder buys a 4 month old puppy and knows he will be a stud dog.  One who owns a crystal ball maybe?! :-)

Forgot to mention - he should have access to water on demand - don't lift it up at night.  Imagine how you'd feel if you woke in the night really thirsty and no water came out of the taps!

Poor dog having moved twice in two months, no wonder he's confused.  I suspect that at one of these houses this dog has been kenneled and has therefore not learned to be clean - he's learned to soil.  So you should take him back to basics and take him out during the night.  Clearly during the day he can cope but at night, he needs to be able to go out until he can hold on - and I agree that you should take him out last thing, but also to get up at eg 3am and let him out again.  Depending on how he does, you may need to keep doing this at regular intervals for a few weeks perhaps longer, but if he's making a mess then he needs to go out... you could try changing his food, no reason why not.  All dogs need access to water over night... horrid to be thirsty.  I can't work out what you mean by he has his tea at 6pm but you lift his food and water up.  What is in this food bowl?  If he's been eating after his dinner then this may be why he's pooing in the night.

On reading the original post again I'm not sure whether there is anyone at home with this youngster during the day?  He is fed at 8pm after his walk. Then fed again at 6pm and walked at 7pm.  It does sound like he may be home alone too - if not, why these timings for food and walks?

I would treat him like an 8wk old puppy & start the toilet training from scratch.
It sounds like he has had quite a disruptive life already & probably feels insecure atm.
Some puppies do still have to wee/poo during the night at this age, there is no single cut-off age it stops, they are all different.
I've had some toilet trained by 9/10 wks & others that have taken upto 8 mths.
If you are just consistent with him & once he is a little more settled, i'm sure it won't take too long before he gets there.
Not sure if feeding him Chappie helps either (maybe a good quality kibble mixed in)  & perhaps you could feed him a little earlier at tea time.

On reading the original post again I'm not sure whether there is anyone at home with this youngster during the day?  He is fed at 8pm after his walk. Then fed again at 6pm and walked at 7pm.  It does sound like he may be home alone too - if not, why these timings for food and walks?

Mmm the post says they're home during the day, but he may be left for a couple of hours, so there must be someone there most of the time..... perhaps OP says about these walks because of thinking of overnight?

>We lift his food and water up at night time.<br />

Apart from being cruel, it is illegal to leave a dog without water, and you can be prosecuted under the new Animal Welfare Act covering pets.

I don't understand why a puppy is being fed Chappie.  He needs to be on puppy food. 

I agree that you need to go back to basics, and treat as you would a normal 8 week old pup.  Set an alarm for you to get up a couple of times during the night, and go outside with him.  So that you can make a really big fuss of him when he performs.

"He doesn't soil in the house during the day when we're home with him, or if he's left for a couple of hours."

This doesn't necessarily mean that there is someone home with him during the day as a rule?

You say he was bought in by a breeder at 4 months old as a stud dog - do you know why they didn't keep him?  Did they use him on a bitch?  Where was he before this?  Poshs6gal have you had dogs/puppies before?  It might be wise in this instance to forget the age of this one - his background will have adversely affected his development and it's likely that he operates as a much younger puppy.

Given that he is now in his third home he's entitled to be a bit confused about what is expected of him.  At this age, things learned in one house/situation do not necessarily transfer to a new one and some regression is likely.  Good breeders wouldn't have conducted themselves in this way either so I'd be inclined to disbelieve some of what you've been told.  Firstly if for some reason he wasn't suitable for his first owner, they would have (should have) rehomed him back to his original breeder, not sold him on to another owner.  You may now have a puppy that was kept outside for some of his life and he genuinely will have little or no clue about where it is appropriate to toilet.  Luck and vigilance will ensure he's clean when you are around but he needs to go out during the night too so set your alarm.  On the plus side it's really easy when the weather is warm and it's a great bonding opportunity too.

I agree with the others that you must leave water down at all times and you should be feeding him a quality puppy food.  In fact he may not have had the best nutritional start so it will be particularly important to get him on the right food.  Have a look online at Fish4Dogs or Arden Grange Puppy for to give you an idea of what you should be looking at - I can recommend both of these foods :)  Good food and regular feeding times should ensure he has fairly predictable bowels and you can keep a diary for a few weeks to check his timings.  It makes it so much easier to plan!!  Don't forget to weigh his portions accurately to ensure you are feeding the right amount though as it does make a difference to their output - too much food generates a lot of poo...

As an aside - is he from show or working lines?  Is he KC registered?  If you have his pedigree you can look up his parents on the KC database and see what health tests they had.  With his registered name you can also trace his original breeder who might not know where he is, as he was sold on.  You could get lucky and find it's someone who will be pleased to help you and with whom you can swap news and information.

Let us know how you get on :)

Can I also recommend a great book - The Puppy Primer by Patricia McConnell.  An excellent book for experienced and novice owners alike