Housebreaking woes

Question
Hi Sarah

I hope you can help me out with our puppy. We have had her for 2 weeks now, she is 4 months old. We are having a nightmare of a time paper training her.

Initially we wanted to teach her to poop outside. So we used the crate training method, as many have recommended. The idea is to confine her almost 24/7 till it was time to poop, after meals etc. That was quite successful. We were told to allow her some playtime after her pooping outside as reward, but this was where the problem began. Because she can poop about three times in a row, I have had the unfortunate task of cleaning up her pee and poop during her playtime.

Someone else suggested paper training her, as she may be too young to control her bladder. It made sense, so we tried. She has been quite good when she is confined, pooping on the paper if we can't take her out during the night when she has to go. But when it's playtime, she can't seem to remember that the paper is her toilet. She pees and poops again indiscriminately in the house. If I notice that she has to go and take her outside, she will pee at the lift lobby while we are waiting. (i'm on the 2nd story of a 3 story building so it's not a long wait. I've tried using the stairs with her in my arms, but it is not a feasible method in the long term.

I am really at the end of my rope and I just want a good housebroken puppy. Any ideas? I really hope you can help me.  

Answer
Four months is still very young, I would not expect a puppy to be housebroken completely at this point.
My advice would be to continue with the crate training and teaching her to poop outside.
I always advise against paper training at all costs because it teaches them that its OK to go in the house and then they find it very difficult when they're suddenly considered too old to be using the paper and its taken away - they then have to be re-housebroken.
A puppy will go to the toilet about eight-ten times a day, so you need to take her outside at least ten times a day including before and after every meal.  It takes a while but a little firmness and consistency will get the job done.
Hope this helps
Sarah