bulldog pup

Question
Hi Marjorie! My wife and I just purchased your first Bulldog pup Toby is 7 wks old.  We Love him so much and want to him to understand to poop outside.  One problem is that we both work.  I wake up everyday at 5:30am and take him outside so he can relieve himself and then he gets fed.  Then he goes out right after he eats. (I hope he is understanding this routine.)  The major problem is when we are at work. We have him crated (wire) with his toys and a hanging water bottle.  I don't want him to be thirsty during the day.  With the crate we bought a playpen that we attached to the opening of the crate, so he has more room to play and wonder.  We have placed newspaper in the playpen area.  Sometimes he uses the newspaper when we are home. We have placed the soiled paper in the area so he could scent where to go.  

When he does relieve himself outside we give treats and praise him with kisses and "Good Boy". We have noticed his poop does smell.  What is your feeling on switching his food from Science Diet puppy to Royal Canine puppy? I have gradually started to switch.  We just want to do the right thing.  We Love him so much.  

Answer
It's hard enough to house train a puppy when there's someone home, but with two people working out of the house, it's almost impossible. Is there any way you could have someone come in midday to interact with him? This sets the puppy up for separation anxiety and other behavioral "issues".

Keep in mind, this is a baby. He's just 7 weeks old. Under the best of circumstances you cannot expect him to be house trained for at least 4-5 months. If his poop smells, it's because it's poop. If you think it smells more than what normal poop should smell like, take a sample to your vet to see if he has any parasites or bacterial infections, like coccidia or guardia going on.

Perhaps you could find a puppy daycare in your area?