In reply to the following Personal Message I have received:

Honestly, a puppy can be trained very quickly to go outside if your techniques are right. It took less than a month to get my puppies to go outside.
The first thing you need to know is that dogs learn in the moment. There is absolutely nothing you can do if you find a puddle of pee or a pile near your bed. Even if it has just happened 2 minutes earlier! Disciplining your dog after the fact will not give him any information about why he is getting disciplined.
When you catch him in the act, you must let him know that it's not okay to do it inside! I personally yell out an "AHHHHHHH!!!!!" to startle the dog, and I immediately pick up the puppy and bring him outside. The important thing here is that you CATCH him in the act, while he is still squatting.
One step people forget, is that you must reward him for going outside! When you bring him outside, wait patiently without playing with him, then as soon as he is done (I literally mean when he stands up from squatting), praise him and give him a bunch of treats! He just got it right!!!
Puppies give out signs which tells you that they are about to go. When a puppy wakes up, he will need to go do his duties, so bring him outside right away! Whether it is in the morning or just after a nap, after he wakes up bring him outside right away! (Or right when you let him out of the crate). They also have to go after playing with his toys, your cats or you.
When they have to go, they will usually start sniffing around for a few seconds before. Remember, a puppy can't hold themselves as long as a grown dog, so when they gotta go, it means they gotta go!
... And since you crate your dog, you should easily toilet train him. Put him in his crate any time you cannot supervise him, and pay close attention when he is out. Eventually, with time, you want to create situations where you don't bring him outside right away, and see what he does, yell out your 'AHH!' if you catch him inside and bring him outside!
It just takes a little bit of time; you just have to make sure that:

Hi Cathy! Welcome to the website!Hi Jean,
I just started using your website and it's all new to me but I like it.
I have a Min-Pin (miniature pinscher) that is just over 5 months old. She knows her name, she will sit (but not stay) and so far that's it. I live in a small mobile home with my husband, my min-pin and five cats. I am having a little difficulty with my training her because she is distracted by the cats and everything else. Am I expecting too much since she is so young? I can't even take her to a room without anything going on since the home has sliding doors and the cats push the doors open without a problem (even the tiny bathroom).
I also am having problems with her potty training. She stays in a crate at night and has stopped wetting the bed. I take her out immediately in the morning and when I get home from work. I play with her as much as I can and take her out afterwards. When I first got her, she eliminated on a throw rug. I have washed the throw rug over & over but if I'm not looking, she will still go on the throw rug. I have used a carpet cleaner underneath where the throw rug is to try to illiminate any smell so she won't go there but she still does. I watch her constantly and try to teach her to go outside. I couldn't use papers because I had no where to block her off. I love her but I just don't know what to do. I got her in June and figured in the warm weather it would be easy to train her to go outside, but she doesn't go to the door when she needs to go. Any suggestions? Thanks, Cathy

Honestly, a puppy can be trained very quickly to go outside if your techniques are right. It took less than a month to get my puppies to go outside.
The first thing you need to know is that dogs learn in the moment. There is absolutely nothing you can do if you find a puddle of pee or a pile near your bed. Even if it has just happened 2 minutes earlier! Disciplining your dog after the fact will not give him any information about why he is getting disciplined.
When you catch him in the act, you must let him know that it's not okay to do it inside! I personally yell out an "AHHHHHHH!!!!!" to startle the dog, and I immediately pick up the puppy and bring him outside. The important thing here is that you CATCH him in the act, while he is still squatting.
One step people forget, is that you must reward him for going outside! When you bring him outside, wait patiently without playing with him, then as soon as he is done (I literally mean when he stands up from squatting), praise him and give him a bunch of treats! He just got it right!!!
Puppies give out signs which tells you that they are about to go. When a puppy wakes up, he will need to go do his duties, so bring him outside right away! Whether it is in the morning or just after a nap, after he wakes up bring him outside right away! (Or right when you let him out of the crate). They also have to go after playing with his toys, your cats or you.
When they have to go, they will usually start sniffing around for a few seconds before. Remember, a puppy can't hold themselves as long as a grown dog, so when they gotta go, it means they gotta go!

... And since you crate your dog, you should easily toilet train him. Put him in his crate any time you cannot supervise him, and pay close attention when he is out. Eventually, with time, you want to create situations where you don't bring him outside right away, and see what he does, yell out your 'AHH!' if you catch him inside and bring him outside!
It just takes a little bit of time; you just have to make sure that:
- 1 - You reinforce him for going outside. (Treats, praise, games.)
- 2 - You catch him in the act inside, and bring him outside immediately.
- 3 - The less often he is allowed to do his duties inside, the quicker he will learn to only go outside.
