The survey, which quizzed 100 owners of dogs under the age of 6-months, showed that the biggest stress new owners faced was in successfully training their dogs not to go to the toilet in the home.

Many dog owners get disheartened when house training their puppy when it appears the dog has mastered the habit only to seemingly go back to old ways a few days later.

K9 Magazine publisher, Ryan O'Meara, on the common problem faced by new dog owners:

"Often when someone gets a dog for the first time they've never actually been exposed to the messy side of dog ownership. It can sometimes take people a little while to get used to the idea of their beautiful home being soiled by this adorable bundle of joy that has recently come in to their lives. However, where problems take hold is when owners start to despair and worry that they will never be able to house train their puppy. Our survey showed that many owners started to question whether they'd done the right thing in actually getting a dog at the point where despair had taken hold and their fears set in about never having a house trained dog."

In the survey, 89% of owners said they had turned to the Internet to help them succeed with puppy house training.

84% said that articles such as K9 Magazine's 'puppy paper training' guide had helped to assure them that support was available and that small problems could easily be overcome.

Next to puppy house training, the biggest problem new dog owners complained about was puppy biting and puppy howling.

K9 Magazine has produced several tip sheets and reports on curing the most common puppy behaviour problems.