My 16-week puppy won't housebreak. Why does he still pee inside?

Question

Why does my 16 week old puppy still do his business in the house. I've been trying to housebreak him for 5 weeks. I've tried taking him out every hour, given treats & praise when he goes potty outside, cage him after he messes, but if we let him out of his cage and confine him to 2 rooms he still does his business. His nose is constantly to the ground unless he's sleeping or playing with us so it is very hard to tell if he has to go. Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Female | spayed | 25 years and 1 month old | 5 lbs

Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA · Accepted Answer

It's very normal for a 16 week old puppy to still be having accidents in the house - most puppies are not reliably housetrained until 8-10 months of age, or older. It sounds like you're on the right track by taking your puppy out frequently, and praising and rewarding him when he goes - but if he's still having accidents in between potty breaks, I would recommend taking him even more often. I take my puppies out every 20-30 minutes while they are being housetrained, unless they are sleeping. There is no need to cage him after he has an accident, or use any other type of punishment, as this won't help - focus on getting him out more often to prevent accidents in the future, if this is happening. Don't wait for some type of signal that he needs to go - just take him every 20-30 minutes. Once he's gone a full 14 days with no accidents at all, you can start to give him a bit more freedom and space out his potty breaks a bit more. Just be patient and consistent, and give it time - he's still just a baby. He will get the hang of things as he gets older :)

My 16-week puppy won't housebreak. Why does he still pee inside?

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