guess i am really lucky. my mix pup is 15 weeks. will wee if left in the kitchen alone for a length of time. but will never poo! . is completely clean if left in her crate! and at night sleeps on the foot of my bed, clean and dry! First time i have been that lucky. I never make a fuss unless i actually catch her squatting. Must be hard at that age. I have however had pups who were very slow. and elderly dogs who just couldnt help it.x

Like jackson pointed out... dogs and puppies work on the now. They do not know they are being told off about something that happened hours ago or even 20 minutes ago... and even by showing them the poo, chewed shoes or wee puddle wont make them know either.

I had a friend many years ago (who I lived with for a few months) they bought a jack russell puppy, when they brought her home she was about 8 weeks old. She was shut in a tiny bathroom for the first few weeks with hardly any attention, so therefore was just pooing wherever she felt like. They then decided to let her roam the house and obviously she had messes on the floor, they used to scold her and shout at her and in the end I noticed she started eating her poo. This is often due to trying to hide the evidence. Obviously I didn't like any of this, but it was not my house or dog to say anything.

I'm sure you have had enough advice already and know enough as you have dogs.

Just try to remember that dogs need to be corrected/rewarded there and then, not after it's be done, otherwise you aren't going to get anywhere.

I should also imagine it can be harder to house train a pup completely/quicker when you leave it on it's own for so many hours a day while you're at work, as you're not there to keep an eye on mistakes that could happen or there to reward good behaviour.

Good luck