Hi,

I've never paper trained a pup older than a few
weeks & then it was just a temporary thing. Picking
them up and taking them out to do their piddles is
good, when they are big enough to follow you to the
door on their own & then taking them outside with
you is better. They can connect going to the door with
"outside" or "potty".
You said the dog was a Christmas present. Who's present
was it? From whom ? Good luck with the training !! Liz.