Puppy toilet training

I have a gorgeous 10 week old male pup that has been in our home for 2 weeks. I'm looking for some advice on toilet training as I don't seem to be doing very well with it so far. I've got puppy pads in a couple of different spots but he doesn't use them and goes right beside them sometimes. If I pick him up to place him on the pad he just stops peeing altogether. I've done a lot of reading and am doing everything advised but thought some of you would have some practical or tried and true suggestions. I don't ever tell him off for going in the wrong place and always praise when he goes outside. He sleeps outside at night and comes inside during the day for periods of time when we are here. I know he's only very young and it takes some time so maybe its just a matter of persevering? He can already sit and stay when commanded to and mostly comes when his name is called, so he isn't silly. Cheers, Sonya

Hi & welcome. 

I don't much like using the puppy pads, I think they can confuse the issue. 

I tend to take the pup into the garden/yard every hour or so, plus directly after waking up, playing & eating. When they do their business outside they get praise, when they do it inside they just get taken outside,no telling off etc, just calmly call outside. What sort of cleaner do you use?

Hi & welcome to the forum  

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Hello and welcome from us.

Congratulations on your staffy puppy, look forwards to hearing more about Leroy

As to puppy toilet training, there will be alot of differing opinions.
My girls live indoors and are in their play pens when alone in the house (to keep them safe and out of mischief). Nifty had been weaned using puppy pads but Opium had never seen one before I went I fetch her.
I used puppy pads as I don’t work from home so the girls are a few hours without access to the garden. I can’t expect the young puppy to hold on for a few hours so I leave an alternative.

I only put one puppy pad in a corner of her play pen, opposite to her sleeping area. She appeared to adopt the pad very quickly and she would do her business on it when we were out.
When we are in, we open up the play pens and the girls wander about the house and the garden.

I made sure that the puppy pad was changed as soon as it was soiled.
I also made sure that we took Opium out in the garden every hour to pee, I expected a poop around each meal time (just before or just afterwards).
Any accident in the house was swiftly cleaned up with a cleaner, any delivery outside was very highly praised.

Opium stopped using her puppy pad regularly at around 4 months old and at 6 months old, has no more puppy pad for a while now.

I would suggest you limit the number of puppy pads in your house - they are supposed to be an emergency measure and not a lazy option to going outside. Ensure you take him out regularly and big praise. He’s a staffy so very smart, he’ll be clean before you know it !

Thanks for the replies gillybrent and Nifty staffy. I use paper towel to soak it up then eucalyptus oil to clean over - he definitely doesn't like the smell of the eucalyptus. I'll limit the number of puppy pads inside from now on and try to get him outdoors as soon as it looks like he's making signals he is going to go. And keep taking him outside regularly as well.

It's not so much that you need to use something that smells horrible, more that you need to make sure you don't use something that will attract. FOR example, bleach based cleaners have ammonia, which smells (to a dog) like pee, and so it attracts them back to the same spot to do their business.