bichon/toy poodle housebreaking

Question
Hello,

My puppy is about 10 weeks old. She is only 2lbs and will get to be 5-6lbs. She is paper/pad trained right now and REFUSES to potty outside. I've kept her out a full hour after eating and she would not go, and waited till we went inside to go.  She is constantly missing the paper by a couple of inches and so hitting the floor. Or simply going in other parts of the house. I watch her, but she waits till my back is turned to go, I have only seen her pooping/peeing once or twice. I never punish her for going in the wrong areas, and I praise her the few times I've seen her go in the right place. I dont know what I am doing wrong. I work from 1-7pm and know that it takes time to housebreak, but as a first time dog owner I'm completely frazzled.

Thanks

Sarah

Answer
Hello Sarah,
To start off with, your puppy is at an age where she doesn't really know when she has to potty yet.  All she knows is that she is going along and all of a sudden, she has to pee.  She doesn't quite have that sensation that tells her that she has to go.  Puppies usually get this sensation around 12 weeks of age, give or take.  

You are good to praise her when she goes potty where you want her to go, but go ahead and correct her when you see her going somewhere where she isn't suppose to go.  Give her a "NO!" or "Ott Ott" and pick her up and take her to her papers when you see her going where she isn't suppose to.  
If she is missing the papers when she uses them, put down a few more so that she has a bigger area for now.  
When you clean up a mess of hers, use paper towels and put them on her potty pads so that she can smell that she has gone there before, and will be more likely to go there again.  
Also, be sure to clean up any mess with a pet approved cleaning product that is made for Pet Messes.  This way, you will be sure to get the odors out and your dog won't want to return to that same spot and potty again.
Wal-Mart makes a good product called "Out" that you can find in their pet section, and most Pet Stores have some good Pet Approved Cleaning Supplys that work good.  

When she is loose in the house, either keep doors closed to other parts of the house, or put baby gates up so that she doesn't have access to those rooms.
Be sure to keep an eye on her so that you will know when she starts sniffing around, which is a good indication that she is looking for a place to potty.

To get her to potty outside, take her to the same place everytime.  If she doesn't go in the first 15 minutes, bring her back inside and put her in her crate for about 5-10 minutes, then take her back outside.  Keep doing this until she goes potty.  Praise her when she does.  If you have any of the urine soaked paper towels, you can put them outside where you want her to go.  

The best times to take her outside are going to be after she gets up from sleeping, after she plays, after she eats and before bedtime.  To help her control her urges at night, take her water up 2 hours before she goes to bed and make sure that her evening meal is about 3-4 hours (at least) before she goes to bed.

Feeding:
You didn't say when your dog eats everyday, but I would suggest feeding her 2-3 times a day for now.  This way, she gets a measured meal and you know when she is eating.  
For her size, I would feed her about 1/4-1/2 cup per meal.  (feed her a little less if you are feeding her 3 times a day).
If you are going to feed her 3 times a day, you can do so until she is about 6 months old, then you can drop back to 2 times a day and increase the amount a little.

She sounds like a smart dog, so with a little patience and time, you should start to see her going where she is suppose to go.  

Well, I hope this helps you some.  If you have other questions, please feel free to ask.

Thanks for using AllExperts.com,
Kim