Remove the opportunities for your dog to nip and play rough by limiting the close up play. Play with your dog in such a way that nipping would be difficult, and keep yourself at a distance from your dog. So, no tug-of-war or wrestling or rough play. If you play rough, your dog will too. Instead, toss a toy or ball for your dog to retrieve, or do something so that he is not in such close proximity to you, so as to curtail the nipping. You can reward your dog with treats after play sessions when he responds the way you want him to. If puppy does nip, immediately stop the play session so he is not rewarded for this behavior. You can try playing with him again later. Be consistent, and eventually puppy will realize that when he nips he no longer gets to play.
Dogs typically really want to please their people, but you have to teach them what pleases you by giving positive reinforcement when they behave the way you want them to.
Start a log with half hour increments when you first bring puppy home. This log should show time of day, and have blank space to note each time puppy eats, drinks, walks/exercises, pees and poops. This log will help you to determine the best potty regimen for your puppy. Go to this Puppy Potty Log for a suggested starting schedule for a 2 month old pup. Start with the suggested intervals and log whenever your puppy pees or poops. Review this after several days to adjust to your puppy's patterns – each pup is different.
As puppy grows his potty schedule will change. Example: 3 mos old may drink water at 10 am and need to walk and pee at 10:15. At 5 months old, may drink at 10 am and need to walk and pee at 10:30. At 8 months old, may drink at 10am and need to walk and pee at 11am. Most puppies should be able to hold their potty all night long once they reach 6 months old, some as early as 4 months and of course some may take up to a year. So, you should review your puppy's schedule every couple months and adjust according to his latest habits.
Puppy should be accident free for at least 2 months before you consider him potty trained. It is much easier to maintain the training regimen than to revert back to square one if you stop the strict housebreaking regimen too early.
Until your pup is completely potty trained, he should not be allowed full run of the house, nor should he be allowed on furniture. Mattresses and stuffed furniture are very difficult to remove urine accidents from, so it is best to wait until you know you can trust puppy not to potty on them.
Whatshould I do?
You should first establish a specific potty spot outside. Then it may be helpful to place some of your dog's poop and a towel you have used to clean up pee in that designated spot for him to sniff and see where you want him to do his chores. Another option is to purchase a Potty Rock. Catalog Source PP-1 Potty Rock