housetraining my bulldog

Question
My family just bought the most adorable English bulldog.  She is now about 16 weeks old.  The breeder had her house trained to go to the door when she wanted out, but she had started with dog litter.  We brought her home at 15 weeks and she would not go to the bathroom outside.  Finally she has started every once in a while.  She will go outside and come in and within minutes go.  We have tried a crate, but when we got home the bed, the puppy and everything in the crate was covered with poop.  We have tried the litter but she goes beside it but not in it.  We have praised her when she goes outside but that doesn't matter. What should we do?

Answer
You're expectations are unrealistic for a 16 week old puppy you've had for one week. She hasn't even adjusted to your home and your schedule yet, much less your way of doing things.

You need to choose a course of action and stick to it. Use a crate. Take everything out of the crate except a toys or two. Pick up her food by 5 pm. and water by 6 pm.  Take her outside as late as possible and as early as possible in the morning.

Puppies need consistency and patience in order to learn. Bulldog puppies aren't the brightest stars in the sky so it takes them longer to get the drill.

Puppies eat, poop, sleep, poop, eat, in that order. The minute she wakes up from a nap, she goes out.  She stays out until she does something, anything. Lots of praise for a job well done.

I've never heard of anyone training a Bulldog to a litter pan. It's a total waste of time.  If you email me directly I can send along some training information.