Help my 3 month old Cocker Spaniel Needs Toilet Training

Question
Hi there Dolores,

I have only just got my 3 month old female Cocker Spaniel puppy last night.  It is the middle of the night now and I was woken by the smell of pooh and pee.  Thank God it was on the kitchen tiles.  I had taken Bella out last night before we both went to bed and allowed her to sleep in my bedroom because she is missing her siblings terribly and been whimpering on and off yesterday, understandably.

When I woke up at 5am this morning there was 2 lots of poop and a tremendous amount of pee on the kitchen tiles.  I was told that she was house reared and even asked the breeder what was the specific command she used to toilet train them with which she said was "go for wees".  So that is the command I used with Bella last night before we went to bed.  She got lots of praise afterwards and I let her explore our back yard for awhile.  She also seems to have a definace problem with being on a lead too.  No matter how much encouragement I give her, if she does not want to "come" on the lead she just fights it.  I realize this is a totally new environment for her and that her and I are still getting to know each other, but I would like to know how I can nip this peeing, pooping and "come" on the lead defiance problems in the butt now, before she continues to give me grief.  I am using specific commands and when she does what I want her to correctly she gets lots of praise.  I was also told she knows the word "no" and the breeder was rather loud with this so I thought just sounding firm but not yelling it would be better.  Well it seems to me she will only now listen to "no" in a yelling voice.  I don't understand why she is fighting me on the lead though and not coming when I ask her to.  I was told she knew "come" "no" and "go wees".  This breeder was not very helpful and only just tolerated all my pre-buy questions and seems to be in it just for the money anyway, so I would hardly want to reach back out to that hard old cow again.  At any rate, can you please help with the "come" defiance and the "go wees" peeing and pooping throughout the night problem.  I tried putting her in her bed and locking her in the bathroom, but she just cried, whimpered and got so loud I worried about waking the neighbours.  So after a few bouts of "no" which did nothing, I resorted to bringing her and her bed into my room and being very firm with her to "sit" "stay" and "go to bed".  She kept trying to jump out though.  Is this just because she is settling in and missing her litter mates?  I think that breeder totally lied to me for which I feel very angry!  Anyway I would appreciate your advice.  Kind Regards, Ruth in New Zealand

Answer
Okay..first of all this pup is in a brand new place with someone she doesn't know.  Her whole world just turned upsidedown.  You're expecting too much and need to view the first couple of weeks as observing, training, and being patient and calm.  The accidents could also be due to just being upset.

Start out with her as if she's NOT housebroken and go back to square one!  Take her out - watch for the signal she's about to go - THEN give your command.  After she goes - praise and reward.
This has to happen every few hours.

You're going to have to "tough it out" for a few nights so put her in her crate (or a confined space with her bed) for short times during the day.  Let her out without comment.  She must learn to be alone.

with a puppy this age, routine is your friend.  You'll still have to feed her 4x daily so always take her out directly after eating - after naps - after playtime.

To solve this leash issue - get a short leather leash & snap it on her while she's distracted and let her drag it around with her (always supervised).  Pick up the end - tell her to Come and have a treat in your hand...gently pull her towards you.  Give treat and  Let her go.  Fairly quickly she'll come when commanded.

And you're in New Zealand!  The best dog food I've found is from New Zealand.  It's called Addiction and is a raw, dehydrated food.  Highly recommend it.

I think you're expecting too much and thought this little girl was going to come "all trained" and there's no way at that age.

Take one day at a time - get her on a routine - be patient but firm and you'll find in a week or two she'll have calmed down a lot.

Do write anytime - I'm happy to offer suggestions.  
Delores