[Mom to Hot Rod]

You've gotten a lot of good suggestions. I'd like to add some. If you and your son are playing with the puppy, are you 2 being consistent? What I mean is, does the puppy exhibit behaviours that you excuse while you are playing with him but them when you are tired of it, discipline the pup for it? If while you are playing and you let the pup put his mouth/teeth on you and you let it go for the sake of play but then when it is not playtime and the pup does it, you say it is not good?

Potty training needs to be just that. You need to keep the pup on a strict schedule. Not necessarily to the minute but to the same routine. Once he gets up, eats, when you get home from school, or work. You need to let him know what the routine is. He may still continue to have accidents, but unless you are consistent with what you want, he will never learn.

Have you tried the holder for the training pads? I know that at first mine didn't like the hard holder...it was a different feel under their feet as we used the pads on the carpeting at first. Once they realized and got used the hardness, they would use the pad in the holder.

You may want to take your little ones to puppy class. This will be a great learning and bonding experience for all involved. Instead of calling it puppy class, I say it should be called human and dog training. I learned much more than Hot Rod did at his obedience class. He was my first dog ever and I had no idea what signals and vibes that I was giving off to him until it was brought to my attention. You have to remember, dogs do not speak human, you (and your son) have to learn to speak dog.

What may make sense to you will not mean the same thing to your pup. It's almost like having a child, but you have to learn a whole different language.

Best of luck to you and your son and your pup. It can be done, you just need to be consistent, patient and open to it all.