Hi. Willow is 14weeks old and is paper trained at the moment . Well mostly, we have the odd accident but whenever I leave her to go upstairs in the morning to get dressed or to do any little jobs, she wees or poos not on her pad even if she has already just been.

I leave her with the run of the hall and kitchen but shut the gate to the living room and usually I put the tv on for sound.

It's not occasionally, it is almost everytime she is left.   I know she is still only young but like to know how I can prevent it. I don't wish to take her upstairs with me because I have carpets upstairs and don't want her to pee there.

She also barks and cries but when I leave her to go out of the house, she is put in her crate and doesn't make a sound but I don't want to crate her just to be able to go upstairs for a few minutes. 

Personally I would ditch the paper training - what you are actually teaching her is it is okay to toilet indoors. She needs to be taken outdoors at regular intervals throughout the day (and the night while she is still so young) after feeding, playing, training and waking up. Take her out on her lead and really praise/treat her when she performs. You can then introduce a word that means go to the toilet - I use the word "busy" and say that as she is performing and still continue to praise her. She will learn to  associate the word with the action and eventually you can use the chosen word as a command.

You need to be very vigilant and take her outside at the first sign of her needing to go - often this will be sniffing the floor or circling - as well as giving her plenty of opportunities to toilet outside as said above. Praise and consistency is needed :-) If she has an accident indoors don't make a fuss, just clear it up and wipe the area with a solution of biological washing powder in warm water.

The other problems with paper training a puppy are that at some point you are going to have to teach them to toilet outside - so might as well do that from the outset- and dogs can't distinguish between paper they are allowed to go on and paper that is off limits - not only confusing for the dog but it's possible they will learn to toilet on any piece of paper that is on the floor - or on the settee, coffee table etc.

>dogs can't distinguish between paper they are allowed to go on and paper that is off limits - not only confusing for the dog but it's possible they will learn to toilet on any piece of paper that is on the floor - or on the settee, coffee table etc.

How right you are Harley.  Many, many years ago, I trained a Toy Poodle pup to paper.  I was invited, with my dog, to tea at a friends house.  I hadn't been there before, so didn't know their set up.  Before I asked to take my pup out to the garden, she had found somewhere to wee.  On the newspaper left under the budgies cage to catch spilled seed.

I have an aversion to paper on the floor now.  :-o

Yes. I have always done that in the past but have never had a pup this time of year. With the weather being as it has been so wet, I haven't been doing that.. Will start today!

> With the weather being as it has been so wet,

This is another reason why you often get accidents.  You pup doesn't want to hang around outside on her own and if she does wee, she probably does it very quickly and doesn't empty herself.  Puppies are a bit like children in this respect, they are easily distracted and don't quite finish.  Make sure you take her into the garden and stay with her until you're confident she's finished.

Then if you do leave her unsupervised then make sure she is on a wipe clean floor or back in her crate.  I've never let young pups into the hall to watch me go upstairs - I found they were more likely to shout and make a fuss and I find it easier to minimise the excitement when I return if we are in their usual room.  I also think an over excited puppy can be a trip hazard at the bottom of the stairs!  If we are nearer to the back door and there is also less chance of an accidental wee :)

I go out into the garden with her. I wouldn't dream of putting her outside on her own at the moment. It is so muddy and wet.

The paper was proper doggie pads.  I take them to my daughter's when ever we visit and she has never had an accident there. Always uses her pads.

We gave it a go outside today but it was soooo wet and raining that she just sat down in the wet and did nothing so have decided to abandon it for the time being and continue with the doggie pads. 

As soon as it is possible in the garden, I will put the time in to get her completely clean.

> I go out into the garden with her. I wouldn't dream of putting her outside on her own at the moment. It is so muddy and wet.

> We gave it a go outside today but it was soooo wet and raining that she just sat down in the wet and did nothing so have decided to abandon it for the time being and continue with the doggie pads.

Perhaps you misunderstand your role in this, some pups need to be be more proactively managed.  If she is on a lead you simply keep her moving around the garden until she finds somewhere she is happy to go - if it's raining they'll often choose a spot under a tree or other shelter, or possibly nearer the back door.  You can help by taking her to the same spot every time.  Once she has marked a spot she'll often be happier to repeat the action in the same place every time.  You just have to wait it out, some pups will go quite quickly but others might make you wait outside with them for up to 20 minutes, or more! :)

I used a pee pen for just this reason with my last puppy.  This was a small enclosed space, created with puppy panels, that my boy could use every time.  I took him outside popped him in his pen and waited, as soon as he performed I'd praise, reward, and then let him bimble around the garden for a quick play.  The scent of wee in one place often encourages a reluctant or shy puppy to repeat wee and means that your pup learns to go outside for anyone - even my teenage children had no trouble with this training as the pup cannot get distracted or wander off.  It's a godsend when you are still needing to do the dawn toilet visit!  I just used a very large golfing type umbrella to give my pup a bit of shelter if it was raining...

Thanks dogs a babe - I forgot to say take the dog outdoors on it's lead. My last puppy was being housetrained throughout the winter months and I spent many a cold, wet night out in the garden waiting for they pup to perform. If the dog is on lead it doesn't get the chance to play - if it sits down just take a step forward and the pup will most likely stand and follow you. Having one area in the garden for it to use is a great idea and they soon get the hang of realising that when they are in that spot, on their lead (or in a puppy pen :-) ) then they are there for one purpose only.

I also had a chart on the fridge and whoever took the pup out would write down the time and what was produced lol so we were able to quickly establish what the pup's own time clock was telling it and we also knew if the pup was asking to go out because it wanted to play. This method worked really well with our pup and he only ever had one accident indoors and was reliably clean at 14 weeks old. I also set the alarm for 3:00am so I could take him out and thus ensure he had the opportunity to go outdoors - just popped his lead on, took him outside, praised when he performed and then straight back inside and popped him back in his bed with as minimal fuss as possible. He very quickly learnt that night time garden visits weren't for playing and was reliably clean and dry at night in a very short time.

I think that establishing a routine with a pup is the best route to success. My pup was fed at the same time every day, I got up several times during the night to take him into his area in the garden for toilet, it is very much like having a newborn baby for those first months, full on, intense and exhausting but well worth the effort as you generally have a pup who is house trained quickly.

If he was ever left alone for a few minutes he would be popped into his crate with a toy, I also found that they are less likely to mess in their small area (crate) for a few minutes of being left, this all helps towards teaching them the right way. the added bonus is also that my boy will now go, if he needs to, on command, as have my last 3 dogs, using this method.