As you said, the fact that she's a pet store puppy is indeed very relevant to the discussion. If the pups are puppy mill products, chances are the pups were effectively taught to eliminate indoors. Breaking that habit becomes that much harder to do, since pooping inside is the only thing they have ever known. We're harping on this not to give you a hard time, but because it directly relates to how much time you need to spend watching over the pup.
That the store only buys from local breeders really doesn't mean anything unless you actually visited the breeders yourself to confirm the conditions; no pet store will ever admit that they buy from a puppy mill. A local breeder can mean anything, and a small-breed specialist really just means more dogs per square foot. If the store is constantly turning over its "inventory" (meaning there are always puppys available for display in the store, rather putting clients on a waiting with the actual breeders), then chances are the breeders are indeed puppy mills.
Anyway, at 10 weeks, the pup is not giving any indication that she needs to go out because she has no idea herself. At that age, their bladder & rectal muscles are too weak to really hold anything back; they go when they go. Your best bet is to adhere to a very strict feeding/walk schedule. The general rule of thumb for how often a pup should be taken out is the age in months + 1 hours. At 10 weeks old, that's 2.5 months + 1 = every 3.5 hours. Obviously, this is a general guideline, and will vary from dog to dog; you'll need to chart her meal times and eliminations to get a better idea of when you need take her out for walks.
That the store only buys from local breeders really doesn't mean anything unless you actually visited the breeders yourself to confirm the conditions; no pet store will ever admit that they buy from a puppy mill. A local breeder can mean anything, and a small-breed specialist really just means more dogs per square foot. If the store is constantly turning over its "inventory" (meaning there are always puppys available for display in the store, rather putting clients on a waiting with the actual breeders), then chances are the breeders are indeed puppy mills.
Anyway, at 10 weeks, the pup is not giving any indication that she needs to go out because she has no idea herself. At that age, their bladder & rectal muscles are too weak to really hold anything back; they go when they go. Your best bet is to adhere to a very strict feeding/walk schedule. The general rule of thumb for how often a pup should be taken out is the age in months + 1 hours. At 10 weeks old, that's 2.5 months + 1 = every 3.5 hours. Obviously, this is a general guideline, and will vary from dog to dog; you'll need to chart her meal times and eliminations to get a better idea of when you need take her out for walks.
