*takes a deep breath*
Okay. The first thing you have to remember is that you have a baby animal under your care. Somehow, over the next couple of years, this fluffy baby animal has to become a stable, confident, healthy, well-behaved adult dog. And it's your job to make sure she gets there and beyond. Hitting your dog is not part of building confidence in a puppy... there is never a necessity to smack your dog, in any kind of training. Please stop hitting her. It teaches her nothing but fear.
Puppies can only hold their bladders for as many hours as there are months in their age. A two month old puppy can only hold it for two hours; a three month old puppy can only hold it for three hours. At this point you should be taking her out every two hours to be completely safe. If she is holding it for four hours when asleep you can stick to that, but bear in mind that she can hold it for longer when asleep than when she is awake. Take note of when she eats -- she will need to poop shortly after. Take note of when she plays and walks -- puppies ALWAYS need to go after a play session.
You're doing the right thing by limiting her space while she's not housebroken. A crate would expedite the housetraining process but it is possible to housetrain without one as long as you are very, very vigilant about supervising her. Keep a leash on her and tether her to you so she never gets into chewing things or pooping without you seeing her. The minute you see her sniffing and circling, interrupt her and rush outside. When you are outside for potty time, she is on a leash all the time... she does not get to run around and explore and play. Play time is play time, potty time is potty time. Stand in one spot with her on a leash and wait for her to go. When she does, shower her with praise and treats and then it's straight back inside.
Get an enzymatic cleaner for the spots where she has pooped or peed indoors. Nature's Miracle is a good one. Otherwise she'll be able to sniff out her previously soiled spots and will most likely go in the same spots again.
Okay, now for walks. Remember what I said about her being a baby? At this age you want your dog to feel that everything in the world is safe. Everything in the world is rewarding and no harm will come to her from the outdoors. This is the best way to raise a confident dog that isn't fearful of things like strangers, strange dogs, cars, bicycles, skateboards... expose her to them at a young age and make the experience of being exposed to them a REWARDING one. Bring treats out on walks. Don't force her to walk further than she is comfortable. Coax her and praise her for exploring the outdoors. No tugging on her leash if she doesn't want to walk any further -- you can try to encourage her using toys, praise or treats, but yanking her along isn't going to accomplish anything.
Let her be comfortable on her walks. If she's only comfortable within a block of the house, keep it that way for now. Make being outdoors FUN. Slowly, as she gains confidence and starts to trust the great outdoors, she will become braver and more willing to venture further away from the house. Force her to walk now, or scare her while she's on her walks, and she will become fearful and never want to explore any further. But make her walks fun and she will realise that the outdoors is a strange but exciting place. And then you will hardly be able to keep her down...
Be patient! Don't expect too much too fast. This dog is going to be in your life for the next 13-15 years! You have a lot of time to learn and grow together. Puppy-raising isn't easy for ANYONE so just take it easy. Everyone makes mistakes. It sounds like you have a smart cookie on your hands but even smart puppies take awhile to learn.
Okay. The first thing you have to remember is that you have a baby animal under your care. Somehow, over the next couple of years, this fluffy baby animal has to become a stable, confident, healthy, well-behaved adult dog. And it's your job to make sure she gets there and beyond. Hitting your dog is not part of building confidence in a puppy... there is never a necessity to smack your dog, in any kind of training. Please stop hitting her. It teaches her nothing but fear.
Puppies can only hold their bladders for as many hours as there are months in their age. A two month old puppy can only hold it for two hours; a three month old puppy can only hold it for three hours. At this point you should be taking her out every two hours to be completely safe. If she is holding it for four hours when asleep you can stick to that, but bear in mind that she can hold it for longer when asleep than when she is awake. Take note of when she eats -- she will need to poop shortly after. Take note of when she plays and walks -- puppies ALWAYS need to go after a play session.
You're doing the right thing by limiting her space while she's not housebroken. A crate would expedite the housetraining process but it is possible to housetrain without one as long as you are very, very vigilant about supervising her. Keep a leash on her and tether her to you so she never gets into chewing things or pooping without you seeing her. The minute you see her sniffing and circling, interrupt her and rush outside. When you are outside for potty time, she is on a leash all the time... she does not get to run around and explore and play. Play time is play time, potty time is potty time. Stand in one spot with her on a leash and wait for her to go. When she does, shower her with praise and treats and then it's straight back inside.
Get an enzymatic cleaner for the spots where she has pooped or peed indoors. Nature's Miracle is a good one. Otherwise she'll be able to sniff out her previously soiled spots and will most likely go in the same spots again.
Okay, now for walks. Remember what I said about her being a baby? At this age you want your dog to feel that everything in the world is safe. Everything in the world is rewarding and no harm will come to her from the outdoors. This is the best way to raise a confident dog that isn't fearful of things like strangers, strange dogs, cars, bicycles, skateboards... expose her to them at a young age and make the experience of being exposed to them a REWARDING one. Bring treats out on walks. Don't force her to walk further than she is comfortable. Coax her and praise her for exploring the outdoors. No tugging on her leash if she doesn't want to walk any further -- you can try to encourage her using toys, praise or treats, but yanking her along isn't going to accomplish anything.
Let her be comfortable on her walks. If she's only comfortable within a block of the house, keep it that way for now. Make being outdoors FUN. Slowly, as she gains confidence and starts to trust the great outdoors, she will become braver and more willing to venture further away from the house. Force her to walk now, or scare her while she's on her walks, and she will become fearful and never want to explore any further. But make her walks fun and she will realise that the outdoors is a strange but exciting place. And then you will hardly be able to keep her down...
Be patient! Don't expect too much too fast. This dog is going to be in your life for the next 13-15 years! You have a lot of time to learn and grow together. Puppy-raising isn't easy for ANYONE so just take it easy. Everyone makes mistakes. It sounds like you have a smart cookie on your hands but even smart puppies take awhile to learn.
