For proper housetraining, you need to follow one rule: never punish your puppy when you find out that it has eliminated in the wrong place. Also, if you find a mess that was left when you were not there, clean it up and forget it. Being scolded, punished or even hit for defecating or urinating at the wrong place only scares the puppy. The poor fellow will never understand why you are scolding it. The only message it will get is, it is being scolded only because it has eliminated in front of you. Your puppy's only reaction to such a situation will be to go and eliminate where you cannot see or do it behind your back. Best way to avoid these 'accidents' is to follow your dog's body language. The puppy will show the same behavior every time. It may vary a little from pup to pup but they always show their own pre-potty pattern before the act.
