When it comes to housebreaking a puppy, you need to make sure to start potty training them right from the start. It's easy to get caught up in their cuteness and the excitement of having a new pet, but you want to be sure to establish good habits with them right from the beginning or it could cause problems later on.
When it comes to housebreaking, there are plenty of methods out there for doing it. Paper training is one commonly taught method, which I don't recommend. Paper training involves training your puppy to pee and poop inside of your house on a puppy pad or on newspapers. Then, after they've learned to do that, training them to go outside. It's much more effective to train them to go outside right from the start if that's where you plan on them going for the long term.
One other method is crate training. Crate training is very popular and very effective. Basically you get a crate from the pet store that is about the size of your dog's bed. Dogs will typically not go potty in this area when they are in it because it is such a small space, they would be forced to lay on it or very close to it.
Anytime you can't supervise your pup, for instance when you leave the house to go shopping, or when you are at home cooking, cleaning, painting, etc., you put your puppy in its crate. This teaches them they're able to hold it if they have to go to the bathroom while in there. They learn their body can hold it and they don't have to go the second they get the urge.
It's very important you get the right size crate. A crate that's too large may cause them to go potty in one corner and sleep in the other. If the crate is too little, they won't be able to lay down comfortably. They should have enough space in the crate to move around a little bit, and lay down.
Here's a tip that will be very helpful for you. You should teach your dog a 'potty word'. No, not profanity! It is a word you use when you want them to go to the bathroom instead of playing around in the yard. Any word or phrase you want to use will work fine, as long as you are consistent with using the same word/phrase every single time.
When your puppy is outside going potty, you will say the 'potty word', then praise them and give them a treat. This will teach your pup to go potty when you take them outside for that purpose.
When you take them out to play games or go for a walk, you wouldn't use the word. This way they know the difference between going outside to play, and going outside to go potty.
