Dog litter box question

Question
QUESTION: Hi I am training my 4 month old chihuahua to use a litter box. I have a big crate for him, one side is his bed and the other a litter box. When he is in the crate he knows to go in the box and does. But when I let him out he goes anywhere he wants. I say NO and put him in the box when i catch him in the act, but what about when im not there? If I come back and find his accident, i show him and say No and put it in the litter box and show him that this is where he is suppose to go. Its been about a week. The problem is that he likes to go on a towel so i've been slowly making the towel in his litter box smaller and smaller. I think he may think the carpet feels like the towel so he thinks he can go on the carpet and not in his box. Please give me some advice as to how i can train him to only go in the box when hes out of his crate. Thanks!

ANSWER: The carpet probably DOES resemble the towel to him, Evin. Putting a towel in the litter box was probably your first mistake. It's good that you're trying to wean him off of that.

When potty training a puppy, it is very important that you NEVER let him out of your sight, even for just a second. This is so that you can catch him in the act if he starts to do his business on the floor, and get him immediately outside or to the litter box. If you have to, keep him on a 6-8ft leash when he's out of the crate, because if he has an accident on the floor while you are not around, there's nothing you can do at that point. You absolutely MUST catch him in the act. Start using the leash to get him moving towards the litter box on his own, rather than carrying him to it; he needs to learn to go there of his own volition.  

You should have a separate litter box outside his crate.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Well im starting to think about giving up on litter box training because he doesnt seem to understand that when hes out of the crate to go in the box. And if i take him to someones house he wont go in the box even if i bring it and show him. If I decide to switch over to taking him outside instead, how would I make that transition? He has a large crate and i can put up a divider but i am not home all the time to take him out(work/school) and i hear him pee in the middle of the night. Should I stick to the litter box since ive started or would training him to go outside be too hard of a transition and confuse him more at this point. I do take him for walks where he pees and poops.

Answer
If he uses the litterbox while he's in the crate, then I would leave it in the crate since you are not able to take him out as often as he needs to be taken out. By the time he's 8-9 months old, though, he should be able to hold it all day, and at that point, you would either need to get him a smaller crate, or use a divider to make the current one small enough so that he only has enough room to stand up, turn around, and lie down in.

Since he doesn't use the litter box when he's out of the crate, you will just need to follow the advice I've given a hundred times (which can be found in previous answers) and never take your eyes off him and take him outside as soon as he starts showing signs of needing to go.