I started taking her out every 2 hours.. She got used to the schedule, and I began to delay the schedule by 15 mins every couple days.. Like 6AM, 8AM, 10AM, 12PM, etc.etc.. then it was 6AM, 8:15AM, 10:30AM and so on.. now we're MOSTLY at 6AM, 9AM, 12PM, 3PM, 6PM and 9PM.. Don't scold when we have an accident or the puppy will think it's a bad thing to eliminate.. When I went out or had a shower, she was in her crate.. Now I'm trusting her out of her crate if I'm just running to the plaza across the street or something, gone no longer than 1/2 hour.. if we're accident-free, we get a treat..

Trixie's 10 months old and I don't let her hold it longer than 4 hours during the day..

When I noticed that alot of our accidents were in the morning as I was getting dressed to take her out, I kept her in her crate until *I* was ready to go out (completely dressed with my coat and shoes), then I put her on my bed, put her coat/collar/leash on, and carried her outside to go.. When she went outside, I praised her like an idiot and gave her a small piece of Rollover.. I still reward her for going in the right place, just to reinforce it.. It's takes sometimes takes as long as 5 mins for the puppy to realize they're supposed to go here..

Housebreaking in an apartment building (I'm on the 4th floor) in the middle of winter is NOT an easy thing.. =)

I think the main keys are praise like a fool when they do it, reward when they do it, don't get mad at accidents, and reinforce with a crate.. Trixie had a small bout of diarrhea yesterday (just mucus, nothing major), she ran to the floor and looked at me while doing it like 'I'm sorry Mommy, but I can't hold it!'

Trixie seems to be very in tune with me, and since dogs won't soil where they sleep, she must realize that the big high square thing I sleep on is not a place to go either, and that's why I can trust her during the night not to go on my bed or when I put her coat on up there in the morning.. =)

Now when I say 'Trixie, go pee', she goes... 'Trixie, go potty' leads to the other thing..