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My 5 month old puppy is still peeing and pooing in the house. I've used puppy pads but I only leave one out at night for him now. He goes to the back door to do it but how do I get him to bark to let me know that he needs to go out?

My 5 month old puppy is still peeing and pooing in the house. I've used puppy pads but I only leave one out at night for him now. He goes to the back door to do it but how do I get him to bark to let me know that he needs to go out?

Updated On July 25th, 2017

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Medium (23 - 60lb) | Male | unneutered | 5 months and 3 days old

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Answered By Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA

Veterinarian, Certified Dog Trainer

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It's completely normal for Ziggy to still be having accidents in the house at this age - most puppies are not reliably housetrained until 8-12 months of age. For now, since he is still having accidents, I would recommend taking him out very frequently (every 20-30 minutes, unless he is sleeping) - praise and reward him with a treat as soon as he pees or poops outside. Inside, he needs to be supervised at all times to prevent accidents. When you aren't able to watch him, he should be in a crate or a puppy-proofed room where accidents will be easy to clean up. He will start letting you know when he needs to go out when he gets a little older - first, he needs to have a strong habit of going potty outside, which it sounds like isn't really established yet. For now, you need to be taking him out frequently even if he doesn't bark or give any other kind of signal - this will come with time.

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